The Environmental Upsides to Flexible Packaging
Use Less Material to Reduce your Carbon Footprint
Environmental concerns are a pressing issue. You may have wondered what kinds of packaging cause the least amount of harm to the environment. Glass might appear to be the best option for its reusability. You might also assume flexible packaging, such as trail mix bags, would be the least sustainable option since most cannot be recycled or composted. However, a study by the Flexible Packaging Association proves differently.
When looking at the amount of energy and materials it takes to create packaging, flexible packaging tends to use less in
comparison. According to the Flexible Packaging Association, to hold 60 lbs of juice, you would need to use a container made from 50 lbs of glass (jar), 6 lbs of PET (rigid), 3 lbs of aluminum (can), or 1.5 lbs of plastic flexible packaging.
An increase in material has environmental consequences due to increased energy, water, and waste. Flexible packaging is a great solution to this problem since it uses less material, less water, and produces less carbon dioxide. For example, a single serving of juice in a flexible pouch emits 4,652 kg-CO2 equivalent, whereas a PET bottle emits 7,319 kg-CO2 equivalent, which equates to 57% more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Another shocking fact is that an aluminum can uses 658% more water than a flexible juice pouch, and glass bottles contribute 1,213% more to landfill waste than flexible packaging.
Less Landfill Space
EPA’s 2015 report on Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) states that 13.5% of the total MSW generated was plastic material, 1.5-2.4% of which was flexible packaging. Metal makes up 9.1% and glass makes up 4.4%.
The graph to the left reflects these statistics and demonstrates that flexible packaging takes up the least amount of space when packaging does end up in the landfill.
Want to Go Greener?
With LÜ Sustainable Packaging, you can build a better world with both compostable and recyclable options that consume fewer resources, mitigate end-of-life waste, and allow consumers to live conveniently. With LÜ's innovative technology, you don't have to choose between sustainability and functionality, you can have both.
This is the future of packaging.
