With the increasing voices of protecting the environment, caring for the earth and saving resources in the world, the requirements of the international market for product packaging are becoming more and more strict. Harmless, non-polluting, recyclable and environmentally friendly packaging plays a pivotal role in commodity export trade. The basis for identifying environmentally friendly packaging is iso14000, and all countries use this as a standard to promote environmentally friendly packaging.
The classification of green packaging
- First, recyclable and remanufactured materials. Including paper, cardboard materials, molded pulp materials, metal materials, glass materials, common linear polymer materials (plastics, fibers), and degradable polymer materials.
- The second is materials that can be naturally weathered and returned to nature. For example, polypropylene, corrugated paper, edible rice paper, corn paper, edible and recycled fresh-keeping paper, and our daily paper packaging and paper handbags, paper cups, paper lunch boxes, etc. In short, various eco-friendly and degradable plastic product packaging and its raw materials that can be dissolved or polymerized. Degradable plastic product packaging refers to various plastic products and other packaging items that are degraded with photosensitizers and degraded with biological or chemical substances. include:
1. Paper product materials (paper, cardboard, molded pulp materials);
2. Various degradable materials (photodegradation, biodegradation, oxygen degradation, light/oxygen degradation, water degradation) and biosynthetic materials, grass, straw filling, shell filling, natural fiber filling materials, etc.:
3. Edible materials.
- The third is quasi-green packaging materials—materials that can be recycled and incinerated, do not pollute the atmosphere and can be recycled. Including some linear polymers that cannot be recycled, reticulated polymer materials, some composite materials (plastic-metal), (plastic-plastic), (plastic-paper), etc.
Some Misunderstandings about green packaging
- 1. Going green is expensive.
We are all addicted to the use of plastic. Demand is high, sales are high, and plastic costs are low; therefore, the cost of eco-friendly packaging is perceived to be high. But there are actually products rich in natural ingredients that are both sustainable and cost-effective. Environmentally friendly packaging materials – PLA comes from sugar cane and corn. Few other alternatives are cornstarch, mushrooms, seaweed and recycled cardboard/paper.
- 2. All plastics are recyclable/recyclable
In fact, only 15% of plastic beverage containers can be recycled, and there is a limit to how many times plastic can be recycled before it becomes unusable.
- 3. Eco-friendly packaging is boring and uninteresting
When we hear eco-friendly packaging, we think of simple, flat or green general purpose packaging. This is no longer the case. Many technologies developed now can actually make environmentally friendly packaging brightly colored and full of creativity.
For example, 75% of Nike’s clothing and shoes now contain some recycled materials.
- 4.Recyclable is recycling
A lot of people unknowingly lump the terms recyclable and recyclable into one, which is wrong. Both are different terms with different values. Many papers and cardboards are mistaken for recyclables, and some even have recycling labels attached.
Domino’s pizza boxes marked 100% recyclable are made of cardboard. However, any material soiled with food waste, grease is considered non-recyclable. If the pizza box is lined, and no food is sorted into the box, it can be recycled.
