As businesses come under increasing pressure to reduce their environmental impact, many are discarding plastic in favour of paper-based packaging solutions. But could plastics actually hold the key to reducing our carbon footprint? Antalis’s packaging experts certainly think so.

Recent work with large manufacturing companies has seen the team at the company’s Smart Packaging Centre develop a number of ‘returnable/reusable’ packaging solutions using a combination of foam and plastic that not only provide better protection, but also help to tackle packaging waste and improve efficiency in ways that can contribute to a reduction in carbon footprint.

John Garner, Head of Business Development – Packaging Antalis, explains: “Businesses are currently in an interesting transition period as they look to become more efficient and cut their environmental impact. We’re receiving lots of enquiries about switching to paper-based packaging, which is great, but it’s not always the answer. Plastics, used well, actually have an important role to play in tackling climate change.

“An example of this is the work we have been doing with some of our manufacturing clients – who routinely distribute engineering components to and from sites of manufacture – to develop packaging that can be used over and over again.”

How returnable/reusable packaging can help to reduce carbon footprint

While we’re all familiar with returnable packaging in an online retail context, returnable/reusable packaging for use within manufacturing has the potential to significantly reduce carbon footprint.

Common drawbacks of standard packaging

Transporting components, such as car parts, from one manufacturer to another using standard packaging materials can be a costly process that often involves labour-intensive packing of individual items into separate cartons. Once the items arrive at their destination, they then have to be unpacked, which is, again, time-consuming and requires disposal of waste. If paper-based packaging products are being used in volume, this can also add to the bulk and weight of the load with a knock-on effect on transport costs and carbon emissions.

A new approach to plastic

With an understanding of the nature of a manufacturing client’s components and distribution processes, Antalis took a whole new approach to solve their packaging challenges. Because the client was regularly shipping sets of components that are used together on an assembly line, Antalis’s packaging technologists devised a robust plastic outer within which machine-cut foam, with allocated spaces for a set of components, could sit. Not only does this design simplify the packing of parts ready for shipping, it also improves efficiency for the recipient thanks to everything being in one place. And, because there’s no loose packaging involved, it also helps to keep things neat and tidy.

Once all the components have been used, the pack can be returned for replenishment; no waste. It’s a process that can be repeated over and over again using the same pack

The advantages of plastic-based materials in returnable packaging

While many businesses are working towards becoming plastic-free, it is important to consider that cutting out plastics is unlikely to equate to a reduction in carbon footprint. In fact, it is quite possible that the opposite could be true. John urges companies to look at the bigger picture: “It’s not all about using materials that are easy to recycle; reducing carbon footprint involves many factors of which the nature of the material being used is just one. In certain circumstances, plastic can be the more environmentally-friendly solution”.

For more information about returnable and reusable packaging and how it can contribute to reducing carbon footprint, contact; antalispackagingsolutions.co.uk/contact or 0370 241 1466.

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