Table of Contents
The packaging is becoming one of the most important parts of our daily life.
We can’t imagine our life without the packaging of different products.
Several materials are used to produce the packaging, but plastic and paper is the most useable material.
It has been using for many years.
Now a day there is a lot of discussion among the people regarding plastic packaging and paper packaging.
Some people think that plastic is becoming a cause of negative effects on our environment, but on the other hand, it is considered that plastic is one of the best packaging material that is used for various purposes especially to keep the food fresh and nitrites.
Here we are going to discuss both plastic and paper packaging that will help you to understand which one is better and environmentally friendly.
Plastic Packaging
It is a long lasting packaging material and also beneficial for the packaging of different goods that the companies want to display.
Plastic packaging is a lightweight that why it is useful for the companies to use these packaging if they want to avoid the transportation or shipping cost as well.
In food industries, plastic packaging is ideal for keeping the food fresh.
It will help to reduce food wastage.
It is no doubt that product that wrapped and came with the plastic packaging never needs protection.
There are different types of plastic that companies used for the production of packaging.
Natural Gas, feedstocks, which is derived from the refining of crude oil and the feedstocks, which is derived from the process of natural gas, is used for the production of plastic.
Almost everybody knows that the extractions of natural gases as well as the oil leave negative impacts on our environment.
So, according to this point of view, the plastic packaging is not good.
Moreover, once you take a food product wrapped with plastic packaging at home, you will defiantly throw it away after a single use.
But the majority of people didn’t think that what will happen in the future.
Most of the plastic material is not recyclable.
According to the study of EPA it has seen that in the year 2014, only 9.5 percent plastic material that found into wastage was recycled, 15 percent material was burnt to get the energy, and 75.5 percent was sent for the landfills purpose.
Each time when the plastic material is recycled, it will lose its efficiency.
More Facts about Plastic Packaging
There are some more important facts about the plastic packaging that you should know.
- In the United States, almost 12 million oil barrels are used annually for the production of plastic packaging bags.
- The 11 barrels of oil energy is saved after reusing the 1 ton of plastic packaging bags.
- Over the past 50 years, the production of plastic packaging has doubled
- The main cause of increasing the production of plastic is plastic packaging.
- Some countries replace the plastic packaging of food with the banana leaves
Benefits of Using Plastic Packaging:
There are some advantages to using plastic packaging that is given below:
Provide Durability
Plastic packaging provides great durability to consumers.
As compared to the paper packaging, the plastic packaging has great power to carry the weight even more efficiently.
You can carry more than one plastic packaging without any issue because there will be no issue of any damage.
Some plastic packaging can also reuse for several times.
Water Proof
Plastic packaging is water resistance that will never allow the water to touch the products or goods inside the packaging.
It will help to keep your product save.
Your food will also remain fresh and healthy while it will be in plastic packaging.
Ideal for Shipping
As compared to the paper packaging, the plastic packaging is considered ideal for the shipping purpose.
They are light in weight and cut down the extra cost that you may have to pay for paper packaging box.
It allows more products to adjust in a single room.
The companies who need to ship out their products from one location to another location prefer to use plastic packaging instead of paper
Absorb the Flavors
When we talk about the food items, the plastic packaging is considered best for it.
Plastic packaging can absorb the taste and smell of food items.
Foods that have intense flavors such as mint, garlic, curry, tomato soup or some other foods maintain their flavors and smell when they are in plastic packaging.
Paper Packaging
Paper is another common and most useable material that is used for packaging purposes.
It is considered the best alternative to plastic packaging.
For the production of paper, the companies used trees and wood pulp that will help to capture the carbon.
Some people think that the paper material is more recyclable and compostable as compare to the plastic material.
But the paper packaging is not considered reliable and best for the transportation of shipping purposes because they are heavy.
Now, new technology, which is known as peptic that, can replace both paper and plastic in the future.
Paptic is material which is based on paper; it is entirely recyclable and great for packaging purposes.
This material will be contained on all advantages of the paper with the combination of plastic material’s fundamental properties.
Moreover, the companies who are environmentally aware and want to use recycled material prefer to pack their products in paper packaging.
Some paper material products can be recycled and continuously use for the same purposes.
These products are newspapers, phonebook, magazine, textbooks, and office paper as well.
There is another type of paper packaging that is used to pack foods such as pizza or burgers etc.
These types of paper can’t recycle.
Benefits of Using Paper Packaging
Paper packaging contains the following benefits:
Recyclable
Most of the paper packaging that is available in the stores is recyclable.
Recycling of paper packaging is more comfortable than plastic packaging.
Even some types of paper are used for the packaging can get into its original form after recycling it again and again.
Good Printing Performance
The paper packaging is considered best to give an excellent printing performance.
As compared to the plastic packaging the paper packaging can provide impressive printing results.
Which Packaging is More Environmental Friendly?
There are no doubt the packaging material create some impacts on our environment.
Whenever you go to a supermarket or departmental store, you will get a lot of good with different types of packaging.
Usually, two types are most common that is plastic and paper packaging.
Now, most of the grocery stores are decreasing the usage of plastic packaging because they have pressure from the environmental groups to replace it with environmentally friendly paper packaging.
As compared to plastic packaging, paper packaging is more ability to recycled more than one time.
However, there are also some environmental disadvantages of both packagings that are explaining here.
Environmental Disadvantages or Plastic and Paper Packaging
The people who are environmentally conscious when going to choose to package for their product may prefer paper packaging to save the environment.
But they have no idea that both materials have some drawbacks, so if you are an environmentally conscious person, it will help you to understand both of them.
Drawbacks of Plastic Packaging
Few people think that plastic packaging has not a good reputation in the market which is not true at all.
Plastic packaging has not a bad reputation in the market, but it has some environmental drawbacks that are:
Harmful for Wildlife
The wastage of plastic packaging is not suitable for wildlife because they consider it as a food.
So, you can feel that how eating plastic can be harmful to the stomach of animals.
It can become a cause of severe infections or death in animals.
Difficult to Recycle
It is no doubt that plastic packaging is difficult to recycle, but it takes less energy to recycle as compared to the paper packaging.
There are some types of plastic that you can use only once.
The recycling lives of some plastic materials that are used for packing are no more than 2 to 3 times.
Drawbacks of Paper Packaging
The paper packaging also has some environmental disadvantages that are as follow:
Consume More Energy
As compared to the plastic packaging, the paper packaging consumes 4 times more energy while the production process.
It means that a good deal of fuel is required for the manufacturing of paper packaging.
Become a Cause or Pollutions
Some people think that plastic becomes a cause of pollution as compared to the paper, but it is not true at all.
According to a study, it has seen that the paper packaging spread 70 % more pollution in the environment than the production of plastic packaging bags.
Moreover, it will not only pollutant the air but also pollutant the water 50 times more than the production of plastic packaging.
Provide an ineffective Recycling
The process of recycling paper packaging can be inefficient because the recycling process needs more fuel than the production of new paper packaging.
Production of paper packaging in pounds needs 91% more energy to consume as compared to the plastic packaging production in pounds.
Required More Water
The production of paper packaging needs three times more amount of water to consume, then the production of plastic packaging.
Which Packaging is less expensive?
If we make a comparison between both paper packaging and plastic packaging, we will see that paper packaging is expensive as compared to the plastic packaging.
Now, most of the companies used paper carton packaging one of the biggest disadvantages of this packaging is the poor resistance of water that can damage your product as well.
As compared to the plastic packaging, the paper packaging is not too effective in performance.
The plastic packaging material is the most useable material that you can see in the packaging of several industries such as food, cosmetic, grocery and clothes, etc.
According to a few people, some types of plastic can become a cause of more negative impacts on the environment.
However, if we will compare the price of both packaging, the plastic packaging will be less expensive and more beneficial as compared to the paper packaging.
As it can provide your lightweight, moisture and puncture resistance as well as the enhanced barrier properties that you may never get in paper packaging.
Which One is better?
The paper packaging is considered environmentally friendly as compared to plastic packaging.
But if we will see the durability, the plastic packaging will be more durable as compared to another material.
If you want to reduce the negative impact on the environment then you have to choose a packaging that is more durable and long-lasting, it doesn’t matter that which material is used for it.
A durable and long lasting packaging will allow you to keep and reuse it for several purposes.
However, the plastic is materials that are used for the decades and provides a lot of packaging ideas to the brands and other markets.
Some companies are switching from paper packaging to the plastic packaging to reduce their cost and the carbon footprints of the company.
So as compared to the paper packaging, the plastic packaging is considered even better.
Wrap Up
Both plastic packaging and paper packaging are getting more popular day by day and becoming one of the essential parts of life.
Whether you choose paper packaging or plastic packaging, both have their advantages.
The selection will depend on the demand and requirements of a company that what they want to produce and deliver in the company.
However, try to choose a high quality and durable materials that will not only help to keep your product protective infect also help to save the environment for extra pollution.
