Why Is Paper Packaging Better Than Plastic?

Globally, finished products are being sealed either in plastic or paper, the question of which of these is healthier to use now comes to mind.

Consumers are sometimes attracted to a particular product mainly because of how is being packaged. Hence, these make manufacturers to package their product neatly and in a beautiful way using either paper or plastic.

Also, goods are being packaged for proper transit of goods from one place to another and also for storage purposes. Not only that, if a good is not well packaged then the chain of production is incomplete.

Looking at it from this angle, the reason why paper packaging is most preferable to plastic packaging. This may be due to its environmental effect.

The Environmental Effect Of Paper And Plastic Packaging

Every material used in packaging has a major effect on the environment. After taking you through this, you should abstain from whatever is toxic to the environment considering human health.

Paper Bags

Considering sustainability, paper bags are better off than plastic bags. The reason is that:

They can be easily recycled

They can be used for composting and are biodegradable.

Although, with all the above-listed merits paper bags also as their disadvantages. One of its basic disadvantages is that it takes a lot of time to produce paper bags and they are not durable.

But notwithstanding, paper bags can be easily recycled to produce products such as tissue paper.

paper bags

Plastic Bags

Plastic bags are mostly made from polyethylene with high-density, its effects are not very high on the environment. Resources gotten from petroleum are most used in producing plastic bags.

Plastic bags also are re-useable and one doesn't need many resources to produce them. Also, plastic bags can as well be recycled, even though it can be a very difficult task.

This is why most cities restricted themselves from going through the recycled process. Un-recycled bags end up serving as an externality in the environment which might have a huge effect on the animal and human being at large.

Plastic Bags

What is the most long-term solution?

Is there, then, a perfect material that can be use for packaging? No, is the short answer. The environmental implication will determine whether paper or plastic is the best sustainable flexible packaging material.

However, your real focus should be on how to reduce the high rate of externality in the environment. Better recycling methods, more recycling-friendly and a stronger focus on establishing a circular economy are the ways forward for the flexible packaging sector.

Overall, the problem relies not so much on either paper or plastic packaging but on how much we use and how we process it back into the production cycle.

Collaboration between brands, resin producers, recycling companies, and converters is key to accelerating progress towards more sustainable flexible packaging solutions.

It's difficult to say which form of bag is genuinely the most sustainable because reusable and paper bags have a significant upfront environmental cost, while plastic bags have higher negative consequences after usage.

Reusing a paper for the packaging of products as many times as possible decreases its environmental effect.