Packaging MaterialsThe Good, The Bad & The Ugly

As designers, before we even consider the materials we might use for our packaging

innovations we need to look at the bigger picture and consider the following

key words;

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Waste minimisation is the process and the policy of reducing the amount of waste produced by

a person or a society.Waste minimisation involves efforts to minimise

resource and energy use during manufacture.

Is our idea overpackaging the product?

Reduce

Reuse is to use an item more than once. This includes conventional reuse where the item is

used again for the same function, and new-life reuse where it is used for a new function.

Does the design allow for the reuse of the packaging or of the materials?

Reuse

Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the third component of the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” waste hierarchy.

Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, metal, plastic, textiles, and electronics.

But which ones are truly ‘recyclable’?

Recycle

Plastics

Hundreds of years from now, empty plastic bottles—not to mention discarded electronic devices, toys, and everything else—will still be

pretty much intact deep in landfills all over the world.

Plastics

And although recycling helps considerably, it’s simply not practical or reasonable to expect that no recyclable goods will ever end up in the trash.

So the next-best thing—and, in many instances, the very best thing—is plastic that will decompose.

Plastics

Words like “decompose,” “disintegrate,” “degrade,” and “biodegrade” do not all mean the same thing. Suppose you put a piece of plastic in a compost heap and found no visible trace of it six months

later—does that mean it has biodegraded?

Plastics

And if so, can we safely say we’re talking about an environmentally safe product?

The answer to both questions is “not necessarily.”

Plastics

Plastics

Some so-called “biodegradable” plastics, for instance, are made of a blend of starch derivatives

and conventional petroleum-based polymers.

Plastics

The action of bacteria in warm, moist soil breaks down the starches in these materials, but leaves

countless tiny particles of plastic that have a mass only slightly less than that of the original product.

Plastics

So what we’re looking for in a truly “green” plastic is one that can either decompose completely via microbial digestion (into such products as water

and carbon dioxide), or at the very least, leave only inert substances behind.

Plastics

Plastic recycling is the process of recovering scrap or waste plastics and reprocessing the material

into useful products. Compared to glass or metallic materials, plastic poses

unique challenges.

Plastics

Because of the massive number of types of plastic, they each carry a resin identification code, and

must be sorted before they can be recycled.

Coding for plastic recyclability PET

The SPI resin identification coding system is a set of symbols placed on plastics to identify the

polymer type. It was developed by the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) in 1988, and used

internationally. The primary purpose of the codes is to allow efficient separation of different polymer

types for recycling.

Plastics

This can be costly; while metals can be sorted using electromagnets, no such ‘easy sorting’

capability exists for plastics.

biopolymers

The interesting solutions, therefore, are largely to be found in biopolymers, a class of materials that look, feel, and act like the plastics we all know and

love, but which, owing to their natural sources, can also serve as food for bacteria.

biopolymers

Products made directly from cornstarch, other starches, or cellulose certainly fit that description.

But we should also consider where the raw materials are coming from and how this is going to

affect those communities ...

synthetic polymers

Surprisingly enough, a few petroleum-based synthetic polymers, such as polycaprolactone, can

also decompose by way of microbial action.

But the appeal of using plant derivatives as the source of plastics is that they’re renewable: you

can “grow” your plastics in a field or “brew” them in a vat—and make more whenever you want.

At the moment, biopolymers such as PHB and PLA are relatively expensive to produce, and

less flexible than many synthetic plastics. And, of course, conventional plastics are heavily

entrenched in many industries.

But perhaps in the future, we’ll toss all our bio plastic bottles and used packing materials into the

same bin as our trash—without guilt.

Wouldn’t that be amazing?

Aluminium Cans

The 375ml aluminium can was introduced to the Australian consumer market in 1969 replacing the heavier steel can for single-serve beverage packs. Progressively the aluminium can has been further

light weighted, shedding more than 30% of its weight since the 1970s.

All beer and soft drink cans filled and sold in Australia are made from 100% recyclable

aluminium. It has become the world’s and Australia’s most recycled container, and make up

only 0.2% by weight of the domestic waste stream.

Aluminium is a very convenient, safe and practical material to use for packaging liquids. It does not

break, is lightweight, chills quickly, has longer shelf life for contents, is easy to open and compact, which makes it cheap to transport and handle.

Its smooth bright surface is suitable for labeling and it works well for high speed filling. It is easily

recyclable without losing its properties.

Aluminium beverage cans can be recycled over and over again as there are no technical and

economic barriers, resulting in a well-established secondary scrap market for the metal in Australia.

For over a decade Australia has recycled aluminium cans at a recycling rate of

60% or higher.

Tetra Pak

Tetra Pak is a multinational food processing and packaging company of Swedish origin. Tetra Pak’s

innovation is in the area of aseptic processing liquid food packaging which, when combined with ultra-high-temperature processing (UHT), allows

liquid food to be packaged and stored under room temperature conditions for up to a year.

This allows for perishable goods to be saved and distributed over greater distances without the

need for a cool chain.

Tetra Brik provides the dairy industry with a high-quality packaging solution for chilled beverages.

Used also for live-culture products like yoghurt and probiotics

Since about 2007 some wineries have started selling wines in 500 ml and one-litre Tetra Prisma

Aseptic packages with reclosable screw caps.

Although unsuited for long-term storage or aging of wines, they save weight and space and eliminate

the concerns of glass bottle disposal, saving consumers money.

The bane of recyclers, Tetra Paks contain cardboard, metal foil and plastic.

Many councils don’t collect them (though they can be taken to recycling banks).

Once at the recycling bank, the most common way to recycle used beverage cartons is through recovery of the fibre. Recycling mills take paper

and cartons and put them into a large vat of water, where they are swirled around.

The swirling action rubs the fibres apart, helping the paper “dissolve” faster.

The fibres absorb water and become part of a great slurry of watery fibre.

Any non-paper elements (such as plastic) will either float or sink and can be picked, scraped or

sieved off. This process usually requires about 15-30 minutes and will recover most of the fibre.

The recovered fibres can now be used to make printing paper, paper bags, tissue paper, liner

board for corrugated boxes, etc.

Papers & Card

Almost all paper can be recycled today, but some types are harder to recycle than others. Papers

coated with plastic or aluminium foil, and papers that are waxed, pasted, or gummed are usually not

recycled because the process is too expensive.

Gift-wrap paper also cannot be recycled due to its already poor quality.Sometimes recyclers ask for the removal of the glossy printed objects and inserts from newspapers because they are a

different type of paper.

Glossy printing has a heavy clay coating that some paper mills cannot accept. Most of the clay is

removed from the recycled pulp as sludge which must be disposed of.

If the coated paper is 20% by weight clay, then each ton of glossy paper produces more than 200 kg of sludge and less than 800 kg of fibre.

Glass

Today, glass making is a modern, hi-tech industry operating in a fiercely competitive global market

where quality, design and service levels are critical to maintaining market share.

Modern glass plants are capable of making millions of glass containers a day in many different colours,

but green, brown and clear remain the most popular.

Glass packaging is used for many products, wines, spirits and beers all come in glass as do medicines

and cosmetics not to mention numerous foodstuffs.

With increasing consumer concern for the environment, glass has again come into its own

proving to be an ideal material for recycling. Glass recycling is good news for the environment.

It saves used glass containers being sent to landfill and less energy is needed to melt recycled glass

than to melt down raw materials, thus saving energy.

Recycling also reduces the need for raw materials to be quarried thus saving precious resources.

However, the materials used for sealing glass bottles and jars need to be considered carefully in

terms of their recyclability.

Most caps for bottles and jars have a ring of plastic material (sometimes waxed card or cork) which

forms a tight seal against the glass.

The main types of seals for glass bottles are:

• crown caps (metal)• roll-on-pilfer-proof (ROPP) caps

• snap-on caps (plastics)• corks (plastic or natural cork)

For jars the main types of seals are:

• twist-on-twist-off (TOTO) lids (usually metals)• push on lids Plastics and metals)

But are these recycable or biodegradable?

So, faced with the plethero of packaging materials available to us, we as designers have some major

factors to consider before making a choice...

How easy is it to produce the material?

How easy is it to produce the material?Does it come from natural (replenishable)

resources?

How easy is it to produce the materials?Does it come from natural (replenishable)

resources?Does it serve the purpose for packaging the

product or object?

How easy is it to produce the materials?

Does it come from natural (replenishable) resources?

Does it serve the purpose for packaging the product or object

Is all the material recyclable?

Is the finished packaging reusable?

How will production of the raw materials and usability affect local or global communities?

Our need to preserve resources for the future means packaging’s ultimate goal is

achieving sustainability.

Packaging sustainability balances economic prosperity with environmental and social

responsibility.

Packagers must find ways to preserve resources by minimizing environmental impact, energy

consumption and adopt environmentally friendly packaging.

Armed with the necessary information, an informed decision can be made by packaging

designers and manufactures who will weigh up the pros and cons of consumer and marketing

requirements versus the all important carbon footprint...

...and decide what IS best practice?

Thank You...

written & prepared by Lisa MolloyMarch 2010

for CD203 - Design Usability and the Community

images from various sources including Google & istock