Materials in Eco-friendly Packaging
Stop and think for a moment, do you use any plastic (in any forms) today? Maybe you stopped by your favorite coffee shop in the morning and bought a fresh Kopi Peng in a to-go bag, then rushed into a meeting in the afternoon so you need to pack a sandwich for lunch. After work, you went for a quick grocery shopping to get some fresh ingredients for dinner and walked home with two plastic bag full of stuffs. Sounds familiar?
Plastics have become an integral part of our lives even without us realizing it. Due to their low cost, ease of manufacture, versatility and water proof property, plastics are almost irreplaceable in packaging. However, plastics have also done so much harm to our environment as they take really long time to be broken down by microorganisms (bacteria, fungi or algae) into water, carbon dioxide and biomass. Thus, polluting our land and sea and they are commonly derived from non-renewable resources.
Packaging made of renewable materials and recycled materials can be the solution for our environmental crisis. A lot of research and developments have been performed to provide with material options that are more eco-friendly than petroleum plastics. Let’s explore them together:
Renewable materials - use of plant-based materials such as wood, bamboo, starch, cellulose, sugarcane, and waste from food corps (wheat straw, bagasse). Most common example under this category are:
- Polylactic Acid (PLA) which is a biodegradable transparent plastic produced from sugars in corn starch, cassava or sugarcane. PLA is used to make biodegradable straws, gloves, plastic cups, produce packaging, linings for paper cups or paper box/ bowl.
- Crystalized Polylactic Acid (CPLA) which is a modified PLA that is stronger and able to withstand higher temperature. CPLA is used to make disposable cutleries and lids (for hot cups or soup bowl).
- Bagasse which is a fibrous material made of sugarcane that is used to make disposable containers (plate, bowl, trays, serving ware, etc) and usually lined with PLA to make it waterproof.
Recycled materials - use of recycled waste or materials such as post-consumer recycled plastic and recycled paper. This material can be used to make shopping bags, paper straws, paper towels, paper cup sleeves.
Petroleum-derived plastics with biodegradable additives such as OXO-degradable plastics(degrade by oxidation) and HYDRO-degradable plastics (degrade by hydrolysis). The additives helps accelerate the plastic degradation time which can be beneficial for our environment.
With these available options in the market, you can now take part in the green movement and make an informed decision for your eco-friendly packaging solution.
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