Ditch or Switch Plastic Packaging
July is Plastic Free Month! The perfect time to make long-term changes, as an individual, a business or a community, to ditch or switch plastic packaging.
Small Changes to Reduce Plastic Packaging Waste
Can small changes have an impact? You may believe that the scale of the issue is too big for your changes to make a difference. However, let us present the big picture. Plastic Free July is a global movement and in 2022, 140 million people, across 195 countries took part. The campaign had 165 registered events around the world and 88% of participants made at least one lasting change.
On this scale, every change adds up. Your commitment to use a refillable bottle or plastic free packaging may seem insignificant. However, if 140 million others are also taking small changes to reduce plastic packaging waste, it makes a big difference.
Why Plastic Recycling Isn’t the Answer
Many plastic packaging items have the recycling symbol on them and we know that recycling is good for the environment. Therefore, the easy answer is just to put waste into the recycling bin, isn’t it?
The reality is that the UK has insufficient resources to recycle all the plastic waste we produce. As a result, around 60% is sent abroad to be processed, usually to developing countries. Unfortunately, they are also ill-equipped to manage the huge quantities of waste. Especially, as they receive it from all around the world. Whilst some are recycled, significant volumes are dumped or burned. Both options have detrimental effects on the environment and health, that impact everyone and everything on earth.
Discarded plastic packaging doesn’t biodegrade, it just breaks up into smaller and smaller pieces. These are digested by animals, including humans and the digestive system isn’t designed to process them. In a recent Ocean Race around the globe, every water sample that was collected by competitors included microplastics**. That included areas far from land.
Aware of the destructive impact of exporting plastic waste, DEFRA has committed to banning this practice by 2027. However, we all need to play our part in achieving this. UK businesses and consumers need to keep taking action to reduce our reliance on single-use plastic. For a start, we must ditch unnecessary use and switch to plant-based biodegradable alternatives.
Changes at Work
Fortunately, the Plastic Free July website suggests easy steps that we can make to cut plastic use. Their suggestions include making informed purchasing decisions, at work and home. For businesses, their tips on workplace procurement*** can move you towards becoming a more sustainable business.
When was the last time your business assessed suppliers on their ethical position? Sometimes, suppliers send deliveries in plastic packaging that is unnecessary. In this instance, speak to them; ask if there are alternative options. If not, could other suppliers provide the same items in sustainable packaging?
Secondly, do you have a sustainability policy that requires environmental or social criteria to be met before you select suppliers? If so, does that policy reference packaging materials?
Alternatives to Plastic Packaging
The good news is, there are a growing number of viable alternative packaging materials. Examples include corrugated cardboard, corn starch and seaweed solutions that are plant-based and fully biodegradable. Therefore, it is often easy to find an alternative to plastic packaging. As a result, your company boosts its reputation for making it easier for customers to purchase plastic-free products. And, you can lower the cost of plastic tax! Surely, that makes it worth looking into.
Aylesbury Box Company has helped many companies to remove or replace plastic packaging including foam inserts and air pocket fillers with paper-based materials. This includes sustainable packaging for global brands and start-ups that prioritise circular thinking from the offset.
Can we encourage you to opt for widely recycled, non-plastic packaging? Or, if the product quality won’t be compromised, no packaging at all?
Get in touch with us on 01296 436888 or enquiries@abcbox.co.uk to discuss ways to ditch or switch plastic packaging.
** https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/65821849
*** https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/get-involved/what-you-can-do/workplace-procurement/
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