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The Packaging Experts
Providing solutions that improve our customer’s image and increases their value
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Paper or Plastic? (Update)
As more media attention is focused on "Green" issues, new buzzwords such as Global Warming, CO2 emissions, and recycled products are becoming more common. As a supplier of packaging we thought it would be a good time to address the issue by providing some information on which packaging products make the most sense; environmentally speaking.
Focusing on the four primary areas of differentiation will make it easier to determine what the best packaging choices are. The primary areas to consider when choosing sound environmental packaging are:
1. Energy Consumption - to produce, ship, and recycle.
2. Toxicity in the manufacturing process.
a. This includes not just the base material but colorants and inks
3. Recyclability
4. Sustainability
This is a very complex issue without one clear-cut answer. To try and simplify and educate our readers on this subject we will compare paper and plastic bags since they are one of the most abundant of packaging products. When asked which is better for the environment, paper or plastic, many believe the correct answer is paper. You might be surprised to learn that plastic bags consume 40% less energy to produce and generate 80% less solid waste than paper bags. On the other hand plastic bags littered on the side of the road can take 1,000 years to decompose whereas a paper bag would take about a month to decompose in the right conditions.
So which is better?
Paper bags require far more energy both in the production and transportation to their destination. In addition, because of their bulk, if paper bags end up in the landfills our waste disposal resources will get depleted far faster than with plastic bags. Paper bags also require the use of chemicals in the manufacturing process that are known pollutants. In addition, it is necessary to cut down trees in order to produce paper bags.
Plastic bags, while less energy dependent and lighter, are made from oil and natural gas which is believed to be a finite and non-renewable resource. As mentioned above, plastic bags will not degrade if littered and can be dangerous for marine life if they end up in the waterways. Marine animals can get entangled in plastic floating in lakes or the ocean making them dangerous if improperly discarded.
Printing with water-based inks are a much better choice for the environment since solvent (alcohol) based inks release airborne emissions that contribute to the destruction of our ozone layer and increases global warming. Because paper bags are so bulky most paper bags are produced in North America for domestic use. As a result of the strict EPA regulations, it is likely that most printing on non-laminated paper bags is done with water based inks.
While the majority of plastic bags made in the United States are also produced with water-based inks, due to their light weight many plastic bags are imported from Asia. Plastic bags are often colored and printed. Plastic bags made in countries like China may in fact be printed with solvent inks and are manufactured with colorants that contain heavy metals. An imported plastic bag printed with solvent ink and using harmful colorants can be detrimental to the environment in both the manufacturing process and throughout the solid waste stream.
Recyclability is perhaps the most overlooked issue in the debate about environmentally correct packaging. Paper enjoys far better recycling rates than plastic however that is not to say that plastic is not recyclable. Plastics are in fact very recyclable but lack of consumer education and recycler willingness has prevented more plastic from being recycled. An important part of the equation for stores choosing to offer paper or plastic is the need to educate and promote recycling, or better yet, offer to collect bags from consumers. The single biggest way we can improve the environment is to act locally by doing our part to recycle and educate others about the benefits of recycling. It is important to understand that not all products are recyclable. Products containing "mixed" materials are not easily recyclable and as such, will ultimately end up in the landfills. Examples of mixed materials are plastic bags with cardboard bottoms, paper bags laminated with plastic, or paperboard laminated or coated with plastic.
Sustainability is a controversial issue that will undoubtedly dominate the news for years to come. Sustainability in simple terms means to grow the raw material for a product and when it has been consumed, compost the remains so it returns to the earth to contribute to future growth. Paper can be composted and therefore is sustainable, provided we have enough trees. Plastic made from hydrocarbons are theoretically not sustainable. As demand for sustainable products grows, plastics made from corn and other starch products are now becoming available. The negative affect of this is the use of farmlands to grow products like packaging and ethanol instead of feed for livestock, cattle and human consumption. The world is already seeing rising prices of corn, chicken, and beef as a result of the competition for corn for ethanol and other sustainable products production. This creates a double-whammy since cutting down trees to make more paper products or to create more farmland to grow "sustainable" crops increases the likelihood of global warming. The question we should all be asking ourselves is if it is really better to use our farmland to grow energy and packaging materials rather than to feed the planet?
So what is the right answer? Well like most complex issues the true answer is; it depends. The ideal choice is a recyclable product made from post-consumer recycled materials, produced in clean production facilities, using water based inks and colorants that do not contain heavy metals.
To truly be green the adage of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is still the best policy. When one ton of paper bags is reused or recycled, three cubic meters of landfill space is saved and 13 - 17 trees are spared! In 1997, 955,000 tons of paper bags were used in the United States. When one ton of plastic bags is reused or recycled, the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil are saved.
For more specific information on "Green" packaging contact Command Packaging at (800) 996-2247.
* Some more facts about these two products may help us to answer this age-old question:
- Plastic bags were first introduced in 1977 and now account for four out of every five bags handed out at grocery stores.
- Paper sacks generate 70 percent more air and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags.
- Paper bags are made from trees, which are a renewable resource. Most plastic bags are made from polyethylene, which is made from crude oil and natural gas, nonrenewable resources.
- 2000 plastic bags weigh 30 pounds, 2000 paper bags weigh 280 pounds. The latter takes up a lot more landfill space.
- It takes 91 percent less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper. It takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag. Energy to produce the bags (in British thermal units): Safeway plastic bags: 594 BTU; Safeway paper bags: 2511 BTU.
- Paper is accepted in most recycling programs while the recycling rate for plastic bags is very low. Research from 2000 shows 20 percent of paper bags were recycled, while one percent of plastic bags were recycled.
- Current research demonstrates that paper in today's landfills does not degrade or break down at a substantially faster rate than plastic does. In fact, nothing completely degrades in modern landfills due to the lack of water, light, oxygen, and other important elements that are necessary for the degradation process to be completed.
* From the EPA web site www.epa.gov
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