Think Paper Packaging is Better for the Environment than Plastic? Think Again.

Conventional wisdom tells us paper is more environmentally friendly than plastic. To that end, some municipalities in the U.S. have tried banning the use of plastic bags at grocery stores only to find themselves in lawsuits which claim paper is more environmentally unfriendly than plastic.

Here are facts on paper and the environment:

The production of paper causes more pollution given that the production emits air pollution and it takes approximately 70 percent more energy to produce paper than plastic. Some sources claim paper production emits as much as 80 percent more greenhouse gases than plastic production.

To make matters even worse, the paper production process consumes three times as much water as plastic and results in an astounding 50 times more water pollutants than its counterpart, plastic.

The irony is, although plastic requires petroleum for production, paper requires four times as much energy to produce than plastic.

Then there is the recycling component. Re-cycling paper requires more energy than is consumed in producing a new one, making recycling of paper extremely inefficient. In fact, it takes a whopping 91 percent more energy to recycle a kilo of paper than a kilo of plastic.

It surprises many that the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency has declared that once in landfill sites, paper does not degrade much faster than plastic.

Equally surprising, according to some sources, paper generates 80 percent more solid waste.

The debate of plastic vs paper usually centers around grocery bags. But what about in package production?

Here the story for plastic is equally or perhaps more compelling.

Not all consumers know what you know about the environment and packaging. Food products in paper-based packaging are not recyclable. On the other hand, more and more consumers are running used plastic packages through their dishwasher and then into the recycling bin.

Converting to plastic will most likely save companies on shipping thanks to greater efficiencies in package weight management. Plastic is often lighter. Some argue that paper is more cost-effective for shipping because it is flat. However, this does not take into account the customer’s labour costs for package assembly.

Certainly there are costs associated with converting your production from paper to plastic. But your packaging company should have an expert who can help through the transition process making it a smooth conversion.

Ultimately, plastic is going to save you money while at the same time being better for the environment. It’s a win-win. If you want to know more about converting to plastic contact us to arrange a meeting.