In January 2018, Theresa May announced that the UK government intended to end the production of avoidable plastic waste. Until recent times, there was little emphasis put on the environmental impacts caused by the use of plastic – however, a growing awareness and recent government initiatives attempting to combat wasted plastic, have changed this. According to a 2017 Science Advances study “of the 8.3bn tonnes of virgin plastic produced worldwide, only 9% has been recycled. Although a lot of plastic packaging displays a recyclable label – the problem is that the process is expensive and complicated. Plastic on the other hand, is often technically recyclable, however, the facilities needed to recycle it are not always available. ![]() This helps to minimise waste sent to landfills or for incineration, providing a more environmentally friendly option of packaging. Paper and cardboard collected for recycling are often sent to mills where they are broken down into pulp and reprocessed to make new cardboard, both in the UK and abroad. Advantages of Cardboard Over Plastic Recycling CardboardĪrguably one of the greatest advantages offered by cardboard, is that it is easily recyclable and enjoys a high recycle rate here in the UK. In a simplified summary, it involves the chemical bonding of oil and gas molecules, which are then heated and moulded into various forms such as bottles, packaging and bags amongst a whole host of other materials for use in packaging and other industries. Plastic has a very different manufacturing process – it is essentially made from fossil fuels – a non-renewable source. A high proportion of the fibres used to make this paper in the UK (approximately 70%), derive from paper collected for recycling, with the remaining 30% from virgin wood fibre often from birch or pine pulp, this often includes residues left over from other processes such as forest thinnings and sawmill residues. Corrugated cardboard is constructed from three layers of paper, an outer and inner layer with the third sheet ruffled into waves – known as fluting, sitting in between the two. CardboardĬardboard is composed of paper which comes from timber – a renewable source. To understand the difference between these two forms of packaging it is worth considering the journey of their raw materials. The latter advantage has of course also turned out to be plastic’s greatest disadvantage – a non-biodegradable material destined to remain on the planet for as long as thousands of years. It is inexpensive, easily mass-produced, readily accessible, can be moulded into just about any shape and boasts astonishingly durable qualities – apparently lasting forever. Over the past couple of decades, plastic has been a highly popular choice of packaging for numerous brands. The Belgian born American created the first polymer made from phenol and formaldehyde – this invention paved the way for the creation of numerous other types of synthetic plastics, but it wasn’t until the 1960s and 1970s that the use of plastic really took off. Plastic, however, has a relatively more recent history, the birth of the modern-day synthetic plastics era is usually attributed to Leo Baekeland. ![]() The use of paper and the subsequent development of cardboard for storage has a long-standing history with corrugated cardboard remaining a universally popular form of packaging. Why Choose Cardboard Packaging Over Plastic Packaging?īoth cardboard and plastic are highly popular materials used in the packing industry.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |