Five Packaging Materials Essential for a Circular Economy

If e-commerce businesses are to survive and thrive over the coming years, it is vital that, as part of a rapidly evolving packaging industry, they move with the times and embrace a circular economy by producing packaging with a low environmental impact.

Five packaging materials will be key to this successful transition.

In order to provide a bit of context to why these materials are so vital, in this article we'll first give a brief overview of how the old linear economy works. Then we'll explain the ways in which the circular model is more sustainable, collaborative and regenerative. Next, we'll touch upon the challenges of implementing a circular model and in particular, those obstacles facing packaging companies. After demystifying some of the terminology surrounding 'green' products, we'll take a closer look at where future packaging lies by examining each of the essential packaging materials in turn.

The Linear Economy: the old approach

Throughout much of the last century and most of this one, global industries have not followed the principles of a circular economy, but instead, have been based upon a linear model. This way of operating has inevitably permeated all echelons of life, from the way many of us in the western world live on an individual level, to the manner in which we do business, the regulations our governments put in place as well as the functioning of global economies themselves.

As its name suggests, a linear model works on a straight-line principle. Natural resources are taken from the land or the ground, they’re transformed into goods (and services) and then, relatively quickly, they’re put back into the environment, most often as landfill or waste. It's true, some of these resources are recycled or reused, but this is a tiny amount in comparison to what is used up.

The Circular Economy: the new way forward

In the last forty years, however, there's been a sea-change. Momentum has rapidly grown encouraging a new mind-set along with the implementation of an improved way of functioning, a sustainable solution which will benefit the environment and by extension, all of us, whatever our level of consumerism.

Very simply, a circular economy involves eliminating waste and pollution as much as possible. In such an economy, the lifespan of every manufactured product and service is increased substantially with the same materials being used repeatedly. Moreover, measurable, meaningful steps are implemented to regenerate and nurture natural habitats. Recycling will be secondary and restructuring vital, not only the restructuring of the way global economies and industries function, but also a change in the narrative of what it means to be a consumer.

There are many promising signs that the switch towards a circular economy is gaining momentum and in places, real traction.

A collaborative approach

Importantly, those in favour of a circular economy propose a way forward which is wholly collaborative. Within a circular economy, businesses and organisations – big and small, national and international – can be just as successful and profitable as they have been in the past, perhaps even more so.

For in a circular economy there are no losers: that is to say, one side is not worse off because the other reaps rewards. No individual, people or habitat needs to be exploited for the sole profit of others. Instead, the circular economy offers a solution where everyone prospers from those at the grass roots to others sitting in the board rooms of city skyscrapers. Communities, environments, industries, financial institutions and society as a whole simultaneously benefit. This is the aim of the circular economy.

Initial steps have already been taken. Global organisations, governments, industry leaders (in packaging and in general) and, of course, consumers are already committed to transforming the straight line of the old economic model into a circle. Laws are being introduced and initiatives made available to help and encourage companies wanting to transition to a more sustainable way of doing business, the overarching aim being to purposefully break away from the take-make-waste approach and instead, restructure, reuse and repurpose.

Circular Economy: challenges

Admittedly, a circular economy throws up challenges at every level. There are obstacles that may seem – at least in the short term - insurmountable, e.g., established infrastructures set up for linear operating models. However, along with these challenges come opportunities for businesses to shift towards true sustainability, reducing their carbon footprints whilst helping to alter entrenched mindsets. Any company that sticks to a linear model risks becoming outdated and obsolete. This might not happen overnight, or even in the next few years, but it will happen.

What does a Circular Economy mean for the Packaging Industry?

To enable the packaging industry to run effectively and play its part in a circular economy, truly sustainable packaging solutions will be fundamental. The industry as a whole must consider the use of its materials and ensure that the 5 ‘R’s are in play: reuse, reduce, recycle, renew and redesign. The entire supply chain should be considered, from sourcing to manufacture, actual packaging and then re-use. Moreover, everyone with a stake in the supply chain must be actively involved, whether it’s the company who supplies the raw materials, the packaging manufacturer, the packaging company, the individual customer who ends up with the box or the business doing the recycling or composting.

But what exactly is eco-friendly packaging? It’s not enough just to stamp the words ‘sustainable’ or ‘compostable’ on the back of a cardboard box or mailer just because it happens to be made from paper or cardboard and not plastic and is all plastic the villain it's made out to be? (More on that later.) First, the terminology in use in the packaging industry must be understood properly and this information passed onto customers so that they’re able to make fully informed choices based on unbiased factual research and rather than gimmicky marketing initiatives.

Demystifying the terminology of eco-friendly packaging.

It’s fair to say that most of us today feel pretty confident in our assumption that eco-friendly packaging is either made from recycled materials or manufactured from sustainable sources. These days, we’re all very familiar with words such as ‘green’, ‘eco-conscious,’ ‘environmentally friendly,’ and ‘ecological’.

Eco-friendly packaging however isn’t just about the material the packaging is made from. It’s not just about how and where it’s obtained. Eco-friendly packaging has a bigger remit: it’s also about a reduction in the amount of packaging used (and therefore created) as well as the elimination of toxic materials (for example, inks). It’s about how that packaging can be reused time and time again within the economy (recyclable) and how materials that aren’t able to be reused can be broken down and disposed of without causing harm or damage to the natural world (compostable and biodegradable).

So, let’s take a closer look at what ‘recyclable’, ‘compostable’ and biodegradable’ actually mean.

Recycling

Recyclable Packaging

Recyclable packaging is any packaging that can be used more than once: it’s not a single-use material that will end up as waste in landfill. Commonly, nowadays, a significant amount of packaging can be used and reused. Quite often, it’s the consumers themselves who find additional uses for it, but most often, it will be taken to recycling centres to be reprocessed, becoming part of an ongoing cycle. Around 80% of paper and cardboard manufactured in the U.K. uses recovered paper products with Defra hoping to increase this to 85% by 2030.

Recycling in general

Recycling, in general, is classified as the recovery or reuse of materials. Quite often, a product that is recycled continues its life as something different (open loop recycling). Sometimes a material is recycled and used to create a new version of that same material (closed loop recycling) and a good example of this would be the aluminium can. There will be times when a product is weaker than the original (downcycling) and others where it’s made into something more valuable (upcycling). Eventually, products will have been recycled so many times, that they can no longer be used any more. However, recycling and reusing expends far less energy than would be required to obtain raw materials and manufacture new products with the emission of greenhouse gases also significantly reduced. 

Recycling plastics

When talking about recycling plastics, we also need to understand the word ‘polymer’ - a substance with a molecular structure built up of similar units bonded together. Polymers are synthetic organic materials, like resin or plastic. The trouble with a lot of plastics is that they’re complex mixtures containing multiple polymers. To recycle these types of plastics, you need to employ specialised and specific separation techniques which are complex and expensive. Recycling single polymer material on the other hand is far easier; the energy required to split up its various components is a lot lower, recycling is quicker and far more cost effective than recycling multiple-polymer plastics or manufacturing single polymer material from scratch.

Compostable

Composting makes life simple for the consumer: they can simply put their packaging in the compost heap or the appropriate bin. If packaging is labelled as compostable it will fall into two main material categories: fibre packaging and compostable bioplastic packaging. Both mean that the packaging will break down in a similar way to food waste. It will leave behind no real distinguishable bits and pieces and equally importantly, no unacceptable levels of toxic residues because what’s produced as a by-product is simply a mixture of carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds and biomass.

Compost has many amazing benefits. It’s a wonderful source of fertilizer, adding valuable organic matter to the soil and greatly improving its structure. Indeed, for something that comes from waste, compost is practically magical; it helps the ground retain moisture and nutrients, it attracts beneficial organisms to the soil, reduces the need for pesticides (as well as fertilizers) and prevents soil erosion. Click here for the Royal Horticultural Society’s guide to making a compost heap at home. A fact to note, commercial composting operations often need more paper and cardboard because it serves as a bulking agent, that is, a source of fibre to mix with organic material. Bulking agents can be tricky to obtain but compostable packaging will add the necessary structure and much needed carbon.

One word of warning when it comes to composting: a home compost heap might not be able to cope with the variety of items that a commercial composting operation can with it’s much higher composting temperatures (we’re thinking here of some of the types of food packaging that are now labelled as compostable). 

Biodegradable

Although the word biodegradable often goes hand in hand with compostable, it is far more of a general concept than that of composting and is a relatively imprecise term. Many people assume they mean one and the same thing, but there are important differences. Everything compostable can also be classified as biodegradable (for example, green waste, paper waste, bags made from corn-starch), but not everything biodegradable is compostable (for example, biodegradable plastics). If something has been labelled as compostable, a consumer can be assured that it will have been tested to ensure it breaks down within a specific time frame and that it does so without releasing any toxins or pollutants into the environment. Unfortunately, some types of packaging labelled as biodegradable can’t be composted and should therefore be recycled carefully or risk ending up in landfill.

If a product is described as biodegradable this simply means that it is able to be broken down by microorganisms such as bacteria or fungi into the raw materials of nature. This sounds encouraging, but it can be a bit misleading. After all, how long is this breakdown going to take? Days? Weeks? Months? Even years? Conscientious suppliers of biodegradable products on the other hand will be able to stipulate a timeframe and whether or not there will be any harmful side effects.

Five Materials for a Circular Economy

If you’ve made it this far in the article then we can only commend your dedication to environmental issues as well as packaging concerns. Your patience is about to be rewarded. 

Here are the top five materials that we believe are essential in the world of packaging if the industry is to be a part of the circular economy.

Cardboard

The word ‘cardboard’ incorporates a variety of materials from corrugated cardboard to single layer cardboard and Kraft paper and it's a good job too because all cardboard's amazing. Made of a paper pulp material which mostly comes from timber, woodchips, shavings or natural wood fibres, cardboard has a multitude of uses, especially in the packaging industry, where it’s shaped into boxes, envelopes, bags and tubes of all shapes and sizes.

Lightweight, cost-efficient and resilient, cardboard is perfect for keeping shipping costs down while its solid structure means that it can withstand knocks and shocks, extreme fluctuations in temperature as well as moisture and damp. Best of all, it can be recycled many times with no loss of integrity and at the end of its life cycle it makes excellent composting material. It’s also been demonstrated that adding starch and bio-based laminations such as cellulose to cardboard material in production further improves cardboard's durability without sacrificing end of life biodegradability.

Kraft paper, like cardboard, is also made from wood pulp. Indeed it’s not picky; it can be produced from any kind of wood. It’s manufactured using the Kraft process and the resulting product is a lot stronger and tear resistant than other types of paper due to its long fibres. The resulting elasticity and tensile strength makes it perfect for the packaging industry as does the fact that it is hazard-free, relatively inexpensive and can be much recycled (up to seven times, down to those long fibres). It’s also somewhat water-resistant. If thrown away, it does pretty much the same thing as autumn leaves and will degrade in as little as a few weeks with no side-effects whatsoever to the environment.

So, to sum up, cardboard - in all its glorious types - is not only much in use already but it's also undeniably essential for a circular economy because it's manufactured mostly from sustainable sources or waste products (i.e., woodchips), it's lightweight (thus keeps carbon emissions down), it's reusable, recyclable, compostable and biodegradable. Also - and this is still so important - cardboard looks great and the options to personalise it and make it unique are limitless.

Metals

One major reason metal has earns its place in the list of top five materials when it comes to the circular economy is the fact that it is infinitely recyclable and, no matter how many times it is recycled, it never loses its quality. If this isn't a major plus point, then the fact that less energy is needed in the recycling than the manufacture in the first place! We call this a win-win-win situation.

No matter the metal, this is a material that's incredibly promising as far as the circular economy is concerned. The BMRA (British Metals Recycling Association) also makes this point, giving, as an example, steel: 70% less energy is used recycling it than is needed to mine its ore. Now, the packaging industry might not be using steel (yet!), but it does use a huge amount of aluminium.

Aluminium foil does away with the need for refrigeration (so less energy used up there too). It also acts as a barrier against lots of things that can turn food bad: oxygen, light, smells, gases, flavours, moisture, micro-organisms and germs. It's this impenetrability which also makes aluminium so vital for the pharmaceutical industry: medication packed in foil is safe, secure and lasts a lot, lot longer.

How fantastic that we are already making use of a material that will be so pivotal for the circular economy and that we have been for some time (since 1957 to be exact). Of course, those of us of a certain age will be familiar with that turn of the century (and by century, I mean the 1900s) musical number "Any Old Iron". Collecting scrap metal for reuse is nothing new. We're not inventing the wheel, which is a bonus when it comes to underpinning the values of the circular economy.

But maybe you weren't aware that today, it’s possible for an aluminium can to be back on a supermarket shelf - as a new can - only 60 days after it was originally bought? Not only that, but recycling said can – that’s right, one single can – saves an amount of energy equivalent to running one set of Christmas tree lights for two hours.

Metal ticks all the circular economy boxes and its use and reuse is already widely accepted.

Single Polymer Plastics

It might seem like plastic has no place in an article about sustainability and a circular economy, but plastics can’t all be lumped into the same category and plastic must not be vilified. In times of crisis, it's human nature to cast around for a scapegoat. Making plastic that scapegoat would be ill-advised and shortsighted.

Plastic has had a hard press and justifiably so in terms of its ability to break down (the issue it creates as litter and chemical leaching) but to dismiss it outright is blinkered. Remember, in a circular economy there should be no heroes or villains and not all plastics are created equally. There can still be a circular economy for plastics and, as the Ellen Macarthur Foundation points out, “We must change how we design, use and reuse plastics. We cannot simply recycle or reduce our way out of the plastic pollution crisis.”

Although plastics are produced using fossil fuels, their production is far less energy intensive than cardboard or paper. They also remain stronger and more durable than bioplastics (see below), although that could be seen as a disadvantage in terms of their ability to break down. But, one of plastic's strengths is that it is long lasting and versatile. It also has a low GHG footprint (GHG = greenhouse gases). Single polymer plastic is made… using a single polymer! This type of plastic, (for example, polypropylene) can be easily collected and recycled into the same product (closed loop recycling) and used for up to 200 plus delivery cycles. That's some lifespan.

Since single polymer thermo plastics are incredibly lightweight and far less energy intensive to produce than cardboard or paper that isn't it only right that they should play their part in a circular economy? Lots of people think so. Already there are organisations that are working on making them a viable part of such an economy (New Plastics Economy Initiative) because of their energy efficiency at point of manufacture and repeated usefulness. Undoubtedly, there's got to be ongoing huge investment in recycling infrastructures to deal with closed loop recycling and a continued drive towards mitigating the risks from chemical leaching and disposal.

Wood

Wood has been employed as a packaging material for hundreds of years and not just as boxes and crates. There's the wooden barrel, for example, used from the Middle Ages to transport fresh water, food and rum across unexplored oceans. Then there's the tea chests with which our grandparents would have been all too familiar, especially when it came to moving house. At some point, all of us will have stored or carried something in an item made from wood.

For years, wood has been widely used in the packaging industry to create pallets, large skids and custom boxes. This is because it’s resilient, hard-wearing and perfect for use in transit. True, it might not be as flexible or as lightweight as cardboard, but it’s more protective and has a longer, usable lifespan. It’s not only durability which is key, but the fact that it’s repairable which makes it a cost-efficient option. Wood is absorbent and porous but it has excellent hygiene properties, being naturally antiseptic. Additionally – and importantly when it comes to the food industry - more effective sanitation protocols are constantly being developed and employed with lots of success.

Wood does well on the packaging aesthetic front too, especially when it’s used to box up luxury items like alcoholic drinks or perfume because the grain, texture and colour of the wood will always be unique and this coupled with the solidity of wood lends an elegant, high-end feel to any product it houses. Unlike plastic or metal, with wood you don’t need a mould for product packaging and often, the feel and smell of wood is just much more satisfactory on a sensory level when it comes to unboxing.

As far as the circular economy is concerned, wood makes it into the top five materials because it can be replenished. Much like solar and wind energy, wood is renewable. Once harvested, wood can be replanted and regrown and, of course, trees are also one of the best ways of capturing carbon on the planet. Although completely biodegradable, wood can and should also be recycled, for example, Kraft paper bag production and void fill like wood wool which is made from shredded timber and used as void fill. From wood we can also produce cellulose materials (see paragraph on increasing cardboard's durability) which are derived from wood products and wood waste. These cellulose materials are now in fact classified as a type of bio-plastic and this leads us nicely onto the fifth and final material on our list: Bio Plastics.

Bioplastics

Conventional plastics remain vital, their use ubiquitous in all walks of life. However, being petroleum based, they're manufactured from fossil fuels and they also take around 500 years to decompose. Then, during their lengthy decomposition, they release toxins into the environment. Unfortunately these plastics are notoriously difficult and expensive to recycle. 

Step forward bioplastics. The bio in bioplastics stands for biodegradable and though still in its infancy, the bioplastics industry is attempting to provide a viable alternative to other plastics – most especially the single use variety which ends up as waste – developing options made from natural materials. These include cellulose-based plastics, protein-based plastics, bio-derived polyethylene and aliphatic polyesters. If that sounds complicated then think of bioplastics as being created from plants and biological materials (like starchy vegetables, soft woods, corn, micro-organisms and even algae!).

One example of a bioplastic garnering a lot of attention and enthusiasm is NotPla, a bioplastic material particularly suitable for holding liquids (in the form of a bubble) or as a biodegradable coating for food containers. What’s particularly ironic is that the founders of NotPla have found a solution in the very place where traditional plastics have wreaked so much havoc: the ocean. NotPla is made from seaweed. Seaweed is proving popular. An alternative to NotPla is FlexSea, “a sustainable seaweed derived biomaterial that replaces plastic film packaging and degrades in a matter of weeks.”

The advantages of bioplastics over traditionally used plastics is that not only are they biodegradable but they are natural as well, i.e., not chemically engineered. This means there is less plastic pollution, fewer associated carbon emissions (it's been proved they produce less over their lifetime) and far less toxicity. However, although bioplastics are designed with end user compostability and eco-friendly disposal in mind, there are still some obstacles to overcome, which include, for example, cost of production, infrastructures to deal with recycling and land management (who is going to grow all that corn and where's it going to be grown?). This means that though far less polluting and toxin-filled than their forebears, they might not be ideal for circular use. Yet. Research and experimentation continue to gather pace. So watch this space.

To conclude:

So, now we know what the five essential materials for the circular economy are, what should the packaging industry’s next steps be?

Firstly, it must take a good long look at its products, understand its material flows (from raw to recycled product), their properties, their advantages and also, importantly their disadvantages. Secondly, companies must work collaboratively, not only with each other but also with suppliers, manufacturers and consumers to enable and encourage widespread change in mindset and behaviour, their own included. Third is design. The technology which will ensure the success of the circular economy already exists: the packaging industry must continue to come up with creative and innovative solutions contained within the design of its products. Finally, the sustainable credentials of packaging must be labelled coherently and meaningfully: words like ‘biodegradable’ and ‘compostable’ must have specificity. After all, technically speaking, anything is biodegradable if it breaks down. But does a customer really want their product to come in a box that takes 300 years to do so?

Collaborative enterprises have already sprung up and doing great work.  The Sustainable Packaging Coalition, for example, aims “to catalyze actionable improvements to packaging systems and lend an authoritative voice on issues related to packaging sustainability” whilst The UK Plastics Pact is committed to tackling “the scourge of plastic waste…creating a circular economy for plastics, capturing their value by keeping them in the economy and out of the natural environment.”

One thing’s for sure: within the packaging industry, the materials already exist that will contribute to the success of a global circular economy. Innovation is continuing at pace. Packaging is now being developed from mushrooms (is there anything fungi can’t do?) as well as seaweed and plants. Before too long, undoubtedly, more options will be added to that essential list.

It’s up to us to make sure we use these materials properly and responsibly and support the creation of infrastructures that will make them viable.

Take a look at our reusable, returnable cardboard packaging options. Contact RepeatPack today and speak to one of our packaging experts and see how your business can become circular.