Recent innovations in sustainable packaging

The amount of packaging used to contain food goods and products is sometimes staggering. It can be hard to understand what all of the material used to house goods is even there for. Just check out some of the worst examples as featured on The Guardian, here.By 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean by weight than fish. This is according to the Australian plastics recycling survey and could spell disaster for marine ecologies around the world.The UN has already warned that humanity only has 12 years to save the planet before global catastrophe, however, that warning is only in reference to Global Warming, it doesn’t even get started on the decaying health of the oceans and destructive nature of plastics being dumped into environments teeming with life.So what is being done to tackle the crisis? What will stop us from drowning in our self-created plastic ocean?Fortunately, some are tackling the issue head-on and making changes that could influence how packaging is used across the planet in the future.Here are some of the most recent innovations in sustainable packaging.

Just Water

Just Water was nominated in the Beazley Design of the Year award in 2018 thanks to the efforts of the company to create sustainable packaging for water, arguably the most important resource on the planet.Plastic bottles are amongst the most damaging types of plastic. They are strong, extremely durable, and impossible for biodegradation.The Just Water bottle is mostly made from plants as it consists of a paper casing and 28% plant-based plastic. This is much easier to break down for bacteria.“The paper in the bottle comes from sustainably managed forests. The sugar cane that becomes our cap needs only rainwater to grow. The bottle is 100% recyclable.”

Kao

Kao is a global business that develops packaging for beauty and cleansing brands, with the average household in Japan holding an average of 40 products inside Kao packaging.The business has recently taken huge strides in developing innovative solutions to its packaging by creating refillable products, which means that significantly less ‘hard plastic’ is used to package liquids such as hand wash, creams or shampoo.Even though the business has been working on creating similar products since 1991, it has moved up a gear in recent years and is now using significantly less petroleum-based plastics in its products on top of using easier products to recycle.Take a look at some of their new products here.

Corona

Plastic rings that keep cans of beer together are one of the biggest scourges for seabirds and sea turtles as they often become tangled and strangled. This has been a known fact for years, yet nobody seems to have done anything about it, let alone cared in the first place.Until now.Corona has recently launched its brand new sustainable packaging for its canned alcohol, which you can see here. The packaging is made from; “plant-based biodegradable fibres, with a mix of by-product waste and compostable materials.” It means that the material will degrade naturally and not pose a threat to life.For more information on how the world is reacting towards the need to be more sustainable, click on the links below to read our dedicated articles which focus on specific industries and projects:2018’s Largest Green Energy ProjectsRecent Developments in Sustainable ConstructionSustainable Projects That Are Shaping The Real Estate SectorHow To Grow A Business Through Sustainability