Paper or plastic—this is a question a lot of people have, and it’s something that can pretty much determine the type of packaging for your business. Each of them have good and bad aspects of them, with plastics offering great convenience and ease that comes with this, but the paper is the more environmentally-friendly alternative. However, this is a bit more complex than you’d think, and we’ll go over each of the differences here.
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Plastic
Plastic of course is the most common way for consumers to package goods and is considered single-use packaging. Food packaging, grocery bags, and other materials are definitely plastic kinds. There are also some products such as liquids, medical devices, and the like that do benefit from the plastic packaging due to the static electricity which can build up and fry it.
The benefits of plastic include the following:
It’s generally really energy-efficient and cost-effective for production as well and can be molded into different colors, printing, and transparencies for the recognition of brands.
They’re lightweight and also pretty durable too, helping to reduce emissions
Offer protective properties, which is vital for electronics and health devices too.
They can be recycled up to 10 different times before the quality degrades
The disadvantages are worth mentioning too, and they include.
It isn’t recycled that much, so it does end up in waterways, landfills, and can harm animals
It’s not very safe, and can possibly transmit to food products, and does pose a suffocation risk too
It is costly to recycle
It has a low melting point so if put near heat sources, it can cause fires
Paper
Paper of course is a type of packaging that’s been around for longer, is a bit more attractive and doesn’t have as many environmental or safety concerns either. This is something that’s good for grocery items that can package on site, but it’s hard for anything that needs to be shipped or packaged for a long period of time.
The benefits of paper include:
It’s fully reusable and recyclable, so it’s easier on the environment
It’s safer for both animals and humans, and it’s likely not to harm to the ecosystems
It’s a lot more attractive, and are great for good marketing experiences, and customers can then become advertisements for the products at hand.
The disadvantages though are worth definitely looking at too, and they can include the following.
They take five times the energy it makes for plastic bags, about twenty times as much of the water, and it can cause a lot more greenhouse emissions over time
It’s not waterproof, so if you need something that’s waterproof, you can’t use that.
It’s much mor expensive, costing up to 10 cents each
What’s more sustainable
Some people think that paper is more sustainable, but the answer is a lot more complex than you think. Making paper does cost more energy and resources, and it creates a lot more greenhouse gases, solid wastes, and it can cost a lot more in terms of production. Paper is totally renewable as well, while plastic does come from oil, which is more finite.
But most of the oil is given towards plastics, and there are other resource requirements that are reduced too, including water and energy. Paper tends to be heavier, takes up a lot more space, and is a lot more costly in terms of transport too. So definitely look at all of these factors before making a decision on what’s better for you.
