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What’s the least biodegradable form of packaging?

Press release March 13, 2012 Energy & Environment

Are you doing enough to reduce your carbon footprint?

As the world becomes more eco conscious, it is becoming more and more important to think about making packaging recyclable or biodegradable to help with our carbon foot print. Landfill sites are a major cause of pollution and many items on the landfill sites are not biodegradable which means they will take forever to disappear into the earth.

Today manufacturers and businesses are being more eco-conscious to make sure their packaging is eco-friendly and recyclable. However, there are still forms of packing that are not as eco-friendly, such as plastic. Even with advances in technology, plastic and other products are not as biodegradable as others and you should be aware of them so that you can reduce your carbon footprint successfully.

Even with recyclable materials and improvements in eco-friendly packaging, plastic still remains the least biodegradable product that you can buy. There are plastics that are recyclable and biodegradable, of course, but they have to be disposed of properly.

Although plastic isn’t biodegradable, in some parts of the UK, recycling plastic is encouraged. Separating your plastic waste from normal household rubbish is the norm. The plastic which is recycled can be melted down and made into plastic chairs, carrier bags or buckets. Plastic takes more effort to break down than glass or metal, this is due to it’s composition and it needs to be heated at a much higher heat. Once melted down, it is perfect to be transformed and recycled into household goods such as tables and chairs. The Pine Barrens in New Jersey have a bridge made from 100% recycled materials.

 In the event that plastic products are simply sent to the landfill, they will still take years and years to completely degrade and become a part of the earth. This is why it is much better to recycle and ensure the plastic is being put to good use, rather than dumped in a landfill for years. Paper and cardboard packaging supplies are much more biodegradable and eco-friendly regardless of how they are handled. If you are truly in need of plastic or other chemical-based packing materials for your shipments, you should ensure that you use them sparingly and recycle them accordingly to get the most out of your packing and shipping.

With so many different packaging materials out there to choose from, it isn’t difficult for you to find materials that will suit your needs. Whether you need a lot of materials to protect your items or just something unique that allows your items to stand out, you can find plenty of solutions that are eco-friendly and biodegradable. If you are going to use plastic, make sure that it can be discarded accordingly or that it has a high biodegradability so that you aren’t using materials that are harmful to the environment.

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Energy & Environment