Why are plastics still sitting at the naughty table? It’s not all bad!
Plastic packaging has become a symbol of modern convenience, yet it often faces scrutiny for its environmental impact. While it’s crucial to address environmental concerns, it’s equally important to acknowledge the many benefits of plastic packaging. In this blog, we explore why plastic packaging is not all bad.
1. Preservation of Goods
One of the primary benefits of plastic packaging is its ability to preserve products, particularly food. Plastic is highly effective at creating airtight seals, which helps prevent contamination and spoilage. This preservation capability extends the shelf life of perishable items, reducing food waste—a significant global issue. For example, fresh produce wrapped in plastic can last days or weeks longer than unpackaged items, allowing consumers to enjoy fresh products over an extended period.
Research by the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre has identified that nearly 300 kg of food is wasted in Australia per person per year. Let’s not start estimating the cost of this volume of food waste!
2. Versatile and safe
Plastic is a highly versatile material that can be moulded into various shapes and sizes. This adaptability allows manufacturers to create packaging that perfectly fits the product, reducing excess material usage and minimising waste. It is also generally easier to ship and store, taking less space than other packaging materials. Moreover, plastic can be engineered to have specific properties, such as being transparent for visibility, flexible for convenience, or even tamper-evident for security.
3. Hygiene and Safety
Plastic packaging is critical in maintaining hygiene, especially in the food and healthcare industries. In the medical field, sterile plastic packaging ensures that medical supplies and devices remain uncontaminated until they are used. Similarly, plastic food packaging helps prevent the spread of bacteria and other pathogens, keeping food safe for consumption.
4. Cost-Effectiveness
Plastic packaging is generally more cost-effective than alternatives like glass, metal, or paper. For businesses, lower packaging costs can translate into lower final output expenses, making products more affordable for consumers. The economic advantages of plastic packaging are particularly crucial in sectors where cost savings can be passed on to the end user, such as in consumer food industries.
5. Re-usable Plastics Packaging
Recycled PET (RPET), a real opportunity exists to see more products in RPET. Only five years ago, we could only achieve 50% RPET in plastic packaging; now, we can and do deliver 100% RPET packaging for many clients with great success. The reusability of plastics presents a significant chance for businesses to scale their green footprint.
6. Energy from Waste
Another significant benefit of plastic packaging is its potential to be converted into energy at the end of its life cycle. Plastics can be recycled multiple times before their properties degrade, after which they can still be valuable in energy recovery processes. Plastics such as Polyethylene and Polypropylene possess a high calorific value—45 MJ/kg—significantly higher than coal, around 25 MJ/kg. This means that even when plastic packaging is no longer reusable or recyclable, it can still serve as an efficient energy source, reducing the need for fossil fuels and supporting waste-to-energy schemes.
7. Energy Efficiency and Environmental Impact
A study conducted in Canada highlighted the significant energy savings associated with plastic packaging. The study found that replacing plastic packaging with alternative materials would require an additional 582 million gigajoules of energy, resulting in 43 million tonnes of extra CO2 emissions. To put this into perspective, the energy saved each year by using plastic packaging is equivalent to 101.3 million barrels of oil or the amount of CO2 produced by 12.3 million passenger cars. This underscores the efficiency of plastic packaging not just in terms of production but also in its broader environmental impact.
8. Recyclability and Innovation
While plastic has been criticised for its environmental impact, it’s important to note that not all plastics are created equal. Many types of plastic packaging are recyclable, and advancements in recycling technologies make it easier to process and reuse plastic materials. Additionally, there is ongoing innovation in developing biodegradable and compostable plastics, which offer the benefits of traditional plastics without the long-term environmental impact. With that said, we need our local waste management businesses and governments to embrace the process necessary to dispose of these new plastics because we need them to do more than sound and look good; we need them to do good.
Conclusion
While it’s undeniable that plastic packaging has its challenges, and yes, single-use plastics need to be eliminated, plastic done well offers numerous benefits often ignored by retailers, consumers and governments as they get caught up in the ever-present greenwashing noise.
Plastics ability to be recycled multiple times over, preserve goods, reduce transportation costs, provide hygiene and safety, and offer cost-effective solutions makes it hard to overlook in the world we live in now.
As we continue to innovate and improve recycling and waste management systems, the future of plastic packaging can be more sustainable, ensuring that we reap its benefits while mitigating its environmental impact.
