How to make your packaging more sustainable?

Today, we bring you some resources to make your packaging more sustainable. We have already talked about reducing the environmental impact of packaging, but in this post we will answer four key questions to increase the sustainability of your packaging. First, we will try to define what sustainability is. Then, we will analyze how the materials, the manufacturing process, the transport and the recyclability of the packaging affect how sustainable the packaging you use for your products is.

But first, let's see.

What is sustainability?

In a factory you need resources to produce great products. Ideally, once those products are sold, your customers will be able to recycle them – converting them back into resources. This is what we call the life cycle of a product. Let's take, for example, the case of paper:

• Wood producers grow trees.
• Paper mills use the wood from these trees to produce paper.
• Paper is consumed by customers.Once used, it is recycled. It becomes new resources for paper mills!

This is a simplification of the paper life cycle. In all these steps there are a multitude of agents involved to move from one level to another – for example, the percentage of used material that can be recycled – varies from one type of material to another. And that's exactly what we're going to talk about now.

Materials, the key to making your packaging more sustainable

First, you should ask yourself what is packaging I use made of? There is a huge variety of materials – each with its own specifications!–. However, we can divide them into three large groups:

Paper or carton packing

As suggested by ELITER Packaging Machinery, most of the cardboard or paper packaging can be recycled by the end customers by throwing it into the blue container. Keep in mind that there are some finishes – such as metallic or waxes – that can make this type of packaging require specialized facilities to recycle it.

Plastic packaging

If you use thick plastic – like the one in the corners of our wooden boxes - your customers can use the yellow container without problem. However, if you use packaging made of thin plastic, such as inner bags or shipping envelopes, the regulations vary depending on the country.

Wooden packing

Wooden boxes are environmentally friendly packaging. Is packaging more sustainable than paper? The answer is that much less CO2 is emitted during its production than for papermaking.

Attention! There are some mixed packaging - made up of paper and plastic; or plastic and wood, which are really complicated to recycle. Especially if separating each of the pieces is a complicated task. That's why we make the wooden and plastic parts of the Seamless boxes easily removable.

Production

How does the factory use the available resources? In the breeding centers many decisions are made that affect the sustainability of your production. Not only at the level of what materials are used, but what processes are established to reduce the environmental impact or the creation of waste.

Transport

The key to making your packaging greener is to limit the environmental impact of transportation. Ask yourself how much your packaged product takes up to transport. You should think about the entire logistics chain: from the moment your product leaves the factory until it reaches your customers' homes... Also passing through logistics or distribution centers. The larger the package, the more CO2 it will need to transport it from one point to another.

Recyclability of your packaging

How do your customers get rid of your packaging? When we started the post, this seemed to be the main question. However, we have already seen that this is not the case. All of the above steps have an impact on the sustainability of the packaging! The best way to make it easier for your customers to recycle packaging is by using recycling codes.

Zixin Yuan - Digital Marketing Coordinator at ÉLITER Packaging Machinery Website: https://www.eliter-packaging.com