Emerald packaging knows the meaning of green.
Our company introduced, with New Star Fresh Foods, the
first compostable package in the produce industry. We’ve
helped our customers slash their carbon footprints by
shrinking their packages. Over the last five years we’ve
worked with California legislators and regulators to develop
programs to mitigate the impact of plastics on our
environment. We are also members of the Sustainable
Packaging Coalition and the ASTM International committee
on biodegradable plastics.
We offer several solutions for those looking to green their
products. One of the most effective, if not the most glamorous,
involves simply reducing the amount of plastic used in your
package. This can include making the package thinner, commonly
called downgauging, or smaller. This method is the easiest
way to raise your company’s score on the Wal-Mart packaging
scorecard, a system the retailer is using to rate the
sustainability of various packaging alternatives. We’ve also
helped customers develop recycling messages they can print
on their packages. This is an excellent, low-cost, alternative
for companies using polyethylene (recycle logo “4”).
Biodegradable – meaning compostable – packaging has appeal in
certain cases. Given that retail packaging requires good
clarity, NatureWorks PLA offers the most likely alternative.
This material, made by extracting poly-lactic acid from corn,
produces film that has excellent clarity and crispness.
We've made spinach, green onion, and spring mix
packages using PLA-based material. We overcome PLA’s low
oxygen transmission rate by laser microperforating the film.
Emerald Packaging works with Novamont's Mater-bi resin,
which produces a film that's soft and pliable but lacks
clarity.
However all biodegradable materials have their drawbacks.
PLA, for instance, tears easily. Cellulose based films absorb
moisture, which causes the film to sag. Every biodegradable
alternative adds at least 50% to the price of a package.
Complicating matters further, availability, thanks to high
demand, remains restricted.
These issues have prompted some companies to turn to
what’s called “degradable” packaging. These films use an
additive to help packages break down more quickly once they
are landfilled. The cost increase is negligible – perhaps as
little as 3%. It’s a way to be green for little or no price.
Unfortunately, going green like this has problems, too.
Environmentalists dislike degradable films because they do
nothing to reduce the carbon footprint of a package. All things
held constant, the package still uses the same amount of energy
to produce and ends up as waste in the end. Worse yet, if the
package ends up as litter, it can be mistaken for food by
animals and marine life as it disintegrates. And California
law prohibits calling any package “degradable”,“biodegradable”,
or “compostable” unless it meets the ASTM requirements for
compostable packaging, which degradable bags do not.
We have one final alternative. By laminating a biodegradable
film like PLA to a traditional plastic like polypropylene a
company can gain some environmental advantage by building part
of the package using a renewable resource, in this instance
corn. By incorporating traditional plastics some of the
negatives of PLA can be ameliorated. Polypropylene, for
instance, eliminates the tendency of PLA to tear easily. As
you might guess, however, this is a very expensive path forward.
So what’s a company to do? For now, reengineering your package
remains the easiest path forward. Using biodegradable or
degradable films can make sense but requires careful study.
Our salespeople and technical manager can help you assess
your options and figure out the best path forward.