Gearing up for Sustainable Packaging

Gearing up for Sustainable Packaging

For years, many companies have relied on polystyrene as a means of holding their items securely in place within a shipping carton. Whether a solid block or loose-fill chips, this filler material was placed in boxes to help protect goods in transit.

The issue is that polystyrene breaks up into small balls. These are difficult to collect up and easily blow into hedgerows and waterways. These can break down into a powder form if exposed to light, in a process known as photodegradation. In bins or landfill or anywhere shielded from light, they are non-biodegradable.

Polystyrene pollutes our waterways, seas and countryside. It is mistakably eaten by small mammals and marine life, who are unable to digest the material. It is toxic to them and harmful to the environment. This is one of the reasons that the UK Government is banning the use of polystyrene cartons for takeaway foods.

It isn’t just our local chippy or curry house that is looking to move away from polystyrene. Many other companies are looking for viable solutions that will reduce their environmental impact. Is your organisation in favour of finding sustainable packaging alternatives?

Switching from Polystyrene to Corrugated Cardboard Packaging

Aylesbury Box Company were approached by Molins. This Buckinghamshire-based, global company manufactures and supplies machinery for cigarette production. They also supply spare parts to optimise the longevity of their machines. These parts include heavy gears, which have, until now, been encased in polystyrene within cardboard shipping boxes.

Molins wanted us to design a complete cardboard packaging solution that was sufficiently robust to hold the weighty gear securely in place during global transit. They provided us with an old gear and we produced some samples.

We created a completely corrugated solution. This included a bespoke cardboard insert; the perfect fit for the gear. This was fitted into a die-cut carton. Together, these corrugated elements provide a protective packaging solution.

Molins was delighted with the corrugated cardboard alternative to polystyrene. Not only does it replace polystyrene with a sustainable alternative, it also reduced the per-item cost of packaging. It is equally lightweight and protective and illustrates that manufacturers and retailers can easily make the switch.

Sustainable Shipping Cartons

Whether under pressure from changes in the law, or simply keen to find sustainable options, our cardboard packaging design services could help your business to realise the potential of corrugated shipping cartons.

Bulky or heavy items are not a problem. Aylesbury Box Company have created bespoke packaging solutions for shipping motorbike wheels, bricks and machinery. At the other end of the spectrum, we have created packaging for light fittings, ceramic goods, glass baubles and other fragile items.

Send us the items that you need to send. Our experienced team can design and produce custom boxes, with made-to-measure inserts, that are the perfect fit for your products and parts. All cardboard packaging can be plain or printed with your branding, flood colour, assembly instructions or graphic imagery.

For further information, please get in touch with Aylesbury Box Company on 01296 436888. Alternatively, you can complete this form for an online quote.