Recyclable and sustainable plastic packaging materials are a major trend in the packaging industry

The sustainable development of human society makes plastic packaging face more and more environmental pressure, but plastic packaging will not be replaced by other packaging materials because of its unique advantages. In the future, with the progress of technology, plastic packaging materials will be used in a way that reduces carbon emissions and is harmless to the environment, so as to improve the use value of plastic packaging materials.

Our planet needs sustainable packaging solutions

Globally, it is estimated that 42% of plastic is used in packaging, most of which is only used for single-use purposes. Therefore, the problem caused by plastic pollution in the ecosystem is long-term and lasting.

The recycling rate of plastic is only 10%, which means that 90% of plastic is incinerated, buried in landfills or simply discarded into the natural environment. Plastic usually takes 20 to 400 years, or longer, to break down. Debris, or microplastics, from decomposing plastic gets stuck in the atmosphere, in everything from water to food and soil to everything we're involved in. Using sustainable packaging can break this negative cycle.

More and more countries are introducing laws to reduce single-use plastic packaging

In 2021, Australia announced its National Plastics Plan, which aims to ban single-use plastics by 2025. In addition to Australia, a growing number of countries and cities around the world are also moving to ban single-use plastics. In the European Union, the 2019 "single-use Plastics Directive" aims to crack down on the 10 most common single-use plastic items found on European beaches, which make up 70% of all Marine litter in the EU. In the US, states such as California, Hawaii and New York have moved to ban single-use plastic items such as plastic bags, forks and food containers. In Asia, countries such as Indonesia and Thailand have led calls for measures to ban single-use plastics.

In contrast to the legislative pressure awaiting from the government, Morgan Stanley research reports that from 2018 to 2019 alone, the number of US companies pursuing a "plastic strategy" more than doubled year-on-year. This shows that under the general trend of the future, enterprises are willing to pay relative profits to make changes to achieve environmental strategy and social responsibility goals. Of course, this does not exclude that the commercial benefits brought by sustainable packaging development may also be a major factor.

Not all plastic packaging alternatives are perfect, and sustainable use is more important

According to Ranpak and Harris, ecommerce customers in the US, UK, France and Germany are willing to work with companies that use sustainable packaging. In fact, in all these countries, more than 70 percent of consumers share this preference, while in the UK and France, more than 80 percent of consumers prefer to choose sustainable packaging. Consumers' love of sustainable packaging has led them to prefer paper packaging to plastic to protect their purchases.

But one study estimates that the overall environmental cost of using plastic in the beverage industry is nearly four and a half times lower than replacing it with alternative materials such as aluminum, paper and glass. That said, every alternative is not perfect. The best way to have the least impact on beverage packaging is to consider the life cycle of plastic products -- the packaging is put on the market in a sustainable way, the packaging can be recycled, and the overall environmental impact is minimal.

Influenced by the concept of sustainable development, single material packaging is paid attention to

At present, multilayer and composite plastic packaging is commonly used, but the recycling process after its use is very troublesome (the film of different materials needs to be peeled off and then processed separately). Due to ecological responsibility and local policies, global brands have begun to commit to using single materials, such as Nordic Chemical, Dow, ExxonMobil, Nova Chemical of Canada and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. In recent years, they have successively launched recyclable single material plastic films.

More and more countries and brands around the world are promoting circular economy as an important factor affecting the application of recyclable single-material plastic packaging, which aims to improve the efficiency of plastic recycling and processing. The COVID-19 pandemic severely constrained global economic growth in 2020. But research earlier this year showed that consumption of flexible packaging reversed in 2020, particularly in Europe and North America.

Brands are increasingly focusing on the sustainability of their business models

Environment, Society and Governance, often referred to as ESG strategies, are listed as key parts of many companies' growth because consumers and investors are becoming more eco-conscious. By improving the resource efficiency of the enterprise, the enterprise can improve its score and potentially gain more business value, including improved brand reputation, customer and employee loyalty, and access to capital.

With the increasing need for environmental action, as well as the win-win demand of enterprises to achieve economic profits and sustainable development goals, it is safe to say that in the near future, the development of more green, recyclable and sustainable plastic packaging materials will be the general trend of the development of the packaging industry.