Types of Eco Friendly Packaging Materials for Food Products

Posted December 21, 2022 Eco Friendly Packaging For Food

Eco-friendly packaging is the need of the time and there are several reasons behind that. So, we have some facts to let you know about the top types of eco friendly packaging for food that you must try today. These types have a significant role in our environment’s safety. Some stats that show their importance

  • Cardboard packaging is one of the most eco-friendly types of packaging in the world.
  • Paper-based packaging is one of the most preferred types of packaging due to its eco-friendliness.
  • Did you know that around 8 million plastic pollution pieces are wasted in the oceans every day?

So, are you looking for some eco friendly food packaging? If yes, this article can help you know about them in detail.

Some amazing facts to know and ponder

Preferable Food Packaging Materials

  • Organic cotton
  • Eco-friendly linen
  • Organic hemp

List of Worst Food Packaging Materials

  • Polyester
  • Nylon
  • Acrylic
  • Rayon
  • Conventional cotton

Futuristic Eco-Friendly Packaging Materials for Food

  • Seaweed packaging materials
  • Biodegradable plastics and recycled plastics
  • Recycled cardboard and paper
  • Cornstarch

Food Containers that Cause Plastic Pollution

  • Plastic bottles made from conventional plastic
  • Conventional plastic food bottle caps
  • Food wrappers
  • Plastic grocery bags
  • Conventional straws

Why Eco Friendly Packaging For Food?

Now a question arises: why do we need eco-friendly solutions? Well, the answer is simple: several polluting materials are hurting our environment. This is why we need alternatives that can help us with degradability. So, we must use them to make sure we do not accumulate too much plastic or other materials that are harmful to us and other organisms on the planet.

Plastics are one of the most widely used products that have been harming the environment with toxic chemicals and accumulation. So, what are the best alternatives for plastic?

Paper and polylactic acid are two of the most famous alternatives you can find.

Eco Friendly Packaging Materials For Food

Now some alternatives work super well and are completely eco-friendly. Like

  • Glass Containers
  • Rice husk
  • Gelatin films
  • Stainless steel
  • Bamboo
  • Biodegradable plastics

So, if you are looking to use eco-friendly solutions, these are the ones you can try for your products. We will analyze all of these to let you know about the most preferable options.

Glass Containers Made of Glass

It is one of the most commonly found materials that are also easy to produce and has nothing to do with pollution. There are several reasons why it is one of the best alternatives to plastic and other harmful materials. For instance:

  • Glass is completely stable and does not release harmful chemicals when wasted.
  • At the same time, it is recyclable, which means it won’t stay as waste material in the soil.
  • We know it as one of the best recyclable materials that can be recycled 100%, so no waste remains.
  • Glass is also known for having a lower carbon footprint, which means it would not cause as many greenhouse gasses as plastic products.
  • At the same time, you can use glass with better protection for your products against environmental
  • conditions. This means you are safe against toxins that can cause health issues in living beings.

These facts make glass one of the most eco-friendly solutions in the food industry, so you can try using this material for your production.

Rice Husk Food Packaging

Rice husk is another great type of eco-friendly packaging for food that can help save the environment from toxins and waste. A physical sciences review shows how rice husk is one of the best environment-friendly products you can use for food packaging.

Scientists have worked on creating a more green solution with the use of rice husk. They have successfully executed creating silicon-based materials that are derived from rice husk. Also, the end product has very low negative impacts on the environment.

This is why scientists are trying to use them for food containers that will help avoid toxins that may harm our food. That is why they are one of the best solutions for food packaging that exist today. So, the next time you look for great eco-friendly cake boxes material options, you can try out containers made with this material.

Gelatin Films Packaging

Gelatin films are one of the best types of food packaging materials you can find in the market. Several benefits of this material make it a perfect choice for food packaging with sustainability.

  • It is a low-cost material that is a great choice for food packaging and has great sustainability.
  • Also, it is one of the products you can use due to its biodegradability.
  • Gelatin films also have some incredible features like antioxidative effects and antibacterial
  • properties. This means they have the power to fight germs as well as inflammation in the human body.

Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is one of the better-known materials that you can rely on for its eco-friendly properties. One of its properties is that it does not rust easily, which means you can store food products in stainless steel packages without any rust. At the same time, it is one of the materials that have great heat and fire resistance.

Also, it is great for hygiene needs and the way you can clean it without any remnants on the package. So, you can use it for an environment where something hygienic is highly required. Not only does it work great for food products in prosperity it also has a great aesthetic appeal for users.

Also, it is a great product if you are looking to find something sustainable for your food packaging needs. So, you can use it as eco-friendly vegetable packaging that perfectly meets the needs of sustainability.

Bamboo Food Packaging

Bamboo is another material you can use for better packaging products that also has great environmental benefits. It is one of the few products you can use with renewability. So, if you want more bamboo you do not have to worry about its resources as they grow rapidly. Some other benefits include

  • It is one of the products that are biodegradable and also compostable. Its products would degrade without 2 to 6 months maximum depending on the conditions and the product.
  • Using bamboo can help the ecosystem by providing ample oxygen for the environment. It is said that it provides 30 % more oxygen than other plants which makes it a great tree for the atmosphere.
  • Bamboo is one of the food packaging materials that do not contain any toxins naturally. This means that you do not have to worry about any toxins transferring from your food to your body.
  • At the same time, it has great strength that makes it a good container material for food products without any danger of breakage.
  • You can also present your food in it as they have a great feel and a good look.
  • At the same time, there are no bleaches required when creating containers with bamboo. So, you do not have to worry about chemical waste going into your body or directly to the ecosystem.

Now, you should definitely try using bamboo for your food box packaging products and there are others you will love to have. So, we have some other food packaging materials that work quite well and you can rely on them.

Bio Plastics

Bioplastics are another alternative to traditional plastics when it comes to eco-friendliness. So, you can use them for food products as there are several benefits you can get from them. For instance, you can have a smaller carbon footprint with them. At the same time, our ecosystem can decompose them faster with less toxicity produced and transferred to the environment.

Moreover, it does not have any bisphenol that can cause hormone disruption that traditional plastics can cause. Some of the top types of biodegradable plastics are:

  • Starch plastics
  • Cellulose plastics
  • Protein
  • Aliphatic Polyesters

Starch Bioplastic

Starch bioplastic is really great when it comes to reducing carbon footprint or carbon emissions during production. You can also use them along with a compostable polymer, which makes them a great choice for packaging. This type of bioplastics is taken and made from corn content and can be mixed with biodegradable content.

Cellulose-Based Bioplastics

You can get this material from cellulose derivatives and use it in multiple products that we use daily.

Protein-Based Bioplastics

Protein-based bioplastics are also great if you are looking for something that comes from bioprotein substances. This type of plastic comes from the following sources:

  • Milk protein
  • Casein
  • Gluten based content

This is one of the best materials that work super well for food product packaging. So, you can definitely try them for your eco friendly food packaging. Such sources are known well when it comes to getting something that you can use for coatings that you use for food containers.

Aliphatic Polyesters

Aliphatic Polyesters are great for packaging due to many reasons but there are some drawbacks that you may have to bear. For instance, they are not good if you are creating something that will face the water. At the same time, they are used with other materials that are used with it.

This material has great use in medical technologies and pharmaceutical products. For instance, they are used in drug delivery systems, surgical sutures, and tissue engineering.

Bio-derived Polyethylene

Bio-derived Polyethylene can be super beneficial when it comes to getting food containers. Some of the most common containers made with this eco-friendly plastic are:

  • Crates
  • Milk bottles
  • Food packaging caps
  • Containing drums

Worst Food Containers Materials to Avoid

Now we have some of the worst food container materials for our ecosystem and environment.

Polyester

We all know polyester for its use in t-shirts, trousers, and other products, but it is one of the worst materials you can try for food containers. The thing is that it does not degrade at all and it would take them at least 20 years to degrade. This is why it is one of the biggest reasons for pollution in the world. At the same time, they take a lot of water during production processes which makes them furthermore unfavorable for use. That is why they are not an eco-friendly food packaging choice you would like.

Moreover, they release plastic fibers during washing which makes them the worst choice for the environment and the least preferable material that you can try for food or even other products.

Acrylic

Acrylic is another one of the worst materials when it comes to environmental problems it causes. It is one of the materials that emit too much carbon dioxide during the recycling process. At the same time, its production process causes carbon monoxide production. Moreover, it is made of toxic chemicals and is made of materials that are not renewable.

This makes it one of the worst materials you can use for any kind of packaging including food containers.

Nylon Use

You may not know but nylon is another material that companies use for food containers and is one of the worst uses for packaging. It is one of the materials that would stay in a landfill for 20 to 200 years. At the same time, it comes from petroleum sources which makes it even worse for the environment.

Its production would cause multiple unwanted and toxic gasses like nitrous oxide and others. At the same time, it would take a large amount of water for its production and also a lot of energy to produce it.

Final Thoughts

We discussed some of the best eco friendly packaging for food materials and types you can find on the face of the earth. These materials are great when you are looking for something that saves the environment and helps keep your health intact.

So, using starch, recyclable cardboard, and paper, plus biodegradable food containers can really save our ecosystem from harmful chemicals and gasses that are polluting the earth.

At the same time, you can read the lists we prepared for the most futuristic, the worst, the best, and the most preferable materials for food container production. We just have to make sure that we keep our planet safe from toxins and pollutants that are ruining it.

We are on a mission to save the earth against these drastic problems, and you can help us by opting for super eco-friendly food containers for several industries that we offer. Also, you can contact us to learn more about what actions we take to make sure to make our planet more secure for us and the human race.

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