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6 Technologies Used in Sustainable Packaging Industry

Last Updated on September 2, 2024 by Steve Harsh

Now, sustainability is a significant thing the new generation is more concerned about. There are some reasons behind this urge for sustainable packaging products that every brand needs to keep in mind. So, are you a brand owner looking to understand its importance? Well, you need to!

Principles Of Sustainability In The Packaging Industry

Following certain principles can help improve any industry, and the same goes for the sustainability industry in the packaging world. Here are some principles this industry must follow to be effective:

• One of the main features of this industry is the reduction of resource consumption during production.
• At the same time, the materials used in this production should be recyclable, biodegradable, renewable, or any of these.
• Also, you should ensure that the consumption of energy during production is minimal.
• It would be best if you also considered using renewable and low-impact resources to preserve them.

What is Circular Economy In The Sustainable Packaging Industry?

The circular economy has some set principles to follow in the industry. For instance, it offers:

• In this industry, products must be created for reuse.
• Also, you should design the products for recyclability in terms of material use and design.
• In this program, the producer of the products has more for the product’s lifecycle. This means that if the product is not recycled, they are responsible for it. With this method, you ensure the manufacturer pays attention to making products recyclable.
• At the same time, the infrastructure in such an economy is supposed to be efficient for recycling.
• You should also ensure that the materials are returned to the manufacturers for recycling.

You can read about what the future will look like. So, read to learn how a sustainable world will be the future. It does not matter if you want sustainable packaging for small or big businesses; these technologies will change everything.

The Production of Sustainable Polymers

There are criteria that you need to have when judging something as sustainable. So, when it comes to a complete cycle that you can consider sustainable, you can have the following in your packaging:

• Your product packaging should be completely disposed of to ensure it does not cause sustainability issues.
• Also, they should not have any negative impact on your environment.
• It can also be entirely recyclable to ensure it does not go wasted.
• Ensure your packaging or product, like food products and their packaging, does not go to waste.

So, these criteria would apply if you want to have sustainable packaging. These are some of the things excellent sustainable packaging should carry. So, this is sustainable packaging.

Biodegradable Polymers

Now, biodegradable polymer is a great solution that will make the future of sustainable packaging. So, here is some stuff that has changed the world and will change the future:

• Nanocomposite fabrication is one method that will transform how we think about plastic today.
• Multi-layer coextrusion is another term that is going to play an important role. Finally, layer-by-layer assembling is a new technology that will make new marks in the biodegradable polymers sector.
• There is a need to learn more about the biodegradable system’s compatibility. For instance, anaerobic biodegradation causes too much methane gas, which is not a preferred method.

These terms must be jargon for an ordinary person who knows nothing about biodegradable polymers, so we have an explanation.

So, there are other types of sustainable packaging materials you can read about, like:

What is Nanocomposite Fabrication

Now, there are several applications of this process in food packaging, and it offers many benefits, such as:

• Adding silver, magnesium, and zinc oxide can help improve food packaging’s resistance against food wastage. It allows you to stop the growth of pathogens that cause food wastage.
• This benefit can help improve a product’s shelf life. They have natural anti-microbial qualities.
• At the same time, they help probiotics, minerals, and vitamins to be in the food packed with them.

This material can help you with melt strength, degradation rate, and thermal stability. There are also materials like corn, peanut protein, and wheat protein that can help with their biodegradability.

Soybean protein is another candidate that carries more than 90 % protein. Another type of polyester, aliphatic polyester, is considered one of the best choices for biodegradability.

New compositions like silver carbon nanotubes, maghemite nanoparticles, fluorine mica, and many others are also possibilities. Now, if not all of these, some will be the future of biodegradable packaging. So, they are valuable findings that will change the packaging world with better sustainability solutions.

Multi-layer Coextrusion

Now, multi-layer packaging is a new technology that can help food boxes packaging to be more secure. You can use it to ensure your food products stay fresh for longer. This type of packaging is also sustainable, and it is also a lightweight solution.

So, this material is helping with its ability to make things lighter and thinner with better environmental protection. What more? Well, it also reduces CO2.

Nanosensors and Food Packaging

Nanosensors are a great technology that works as a biosignal to help keep your food fresh. They also improve your packaging strength, which makes things more sustainable in this department. Also, it can protect your food from oxygen, carbon dioxide, anti-microbes, and moisture.

This way, they improve your food’s shelf life and your products’ eco-friendliness. In addition, these materials can help with reasonable safety, and you can find out if the food has contaminations, pathogens, and bad aromas. Further, scientists will be interested in more edible, biodegradable solutions.

Edible Packaging: The Potential Future

Now, packaging needs to be a solution that helps you against moisture and oxygen. So, what is unique about them? They are edible, and hydrocolloid composites and lipids are some of their types. They can be made from proteins and lipids. Also, they improve a product’s shelf life and improve sensory properties.

Edible films are material that helps improve your food’s shelf life. But, simultaneously, it allows a barrier against flavor loss and loss of color. So, they are an excellent choice for food manufacturers that also improve the eco-friendliness of packaging.

Mono Materials

One of the top benefits of mono materials is that you can recycle them more quickly than those made from multiple materials. This process is speedy and saves energy, too. Also, you can replace other materials with these as they are easier to recycle. So, they will solve problems like packaging products not being recycled fully or not at all.

Technologies are advancing to provide the most sustainable packaging solutions. Things like 100 percent corrugated cardboard material are an existing solution now. In addition, such packaging can be produced from wood fiber, making things easy for the packaging industry.

Such material would be up to 65 percent recycled wood pulp, making products more sustainable. So, using these materials is one of the top sustainable packaging ideas you can find in the industry.

Sustainable is What We Care About

So, we gave you some examples of sustainable packaging, like mono materials, Nanocomposite Fabrication, Multi-layer Coextrusion, and Nanosensors.

Packaging Hub cares about these new technologies that promise to make packaging sustainable. So, we ensure you get the best solutions for sustainability in every big industry that needs packaging.