Sustainable packaging grows in an era of plastic overload

by Laura Bednar

Humans produce almost 300 million tons of plastic waste every year, according to the United Nations Environment Program.

Business recycling specialist for the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District, Doreen Schreiber, said the problem with plastic packaging is the sheer amount of it, and because it is so diverse it can’t be handled properly.

 Schreiber said the pandemic made matters worse, because there was a definite increase in single-use plastic. People ordered more food while under lockdown, increasing take-out food containers and plastic cutlery. An increase in online shopping from companies like Amazon resulted in more packaging. Schreiber said grocery stores did not allow customers to bring in re-usable bags during the height of the pandemic, leading to more plastic bag use.

ReWorks is the solid waste management authority for Summit County, which Executive Director Marcie Kress said is “charged with reducing the amount of material generated in Summit County from going to the landfill.” It also educates people about recycling opportunities.

Kress said speaking to groups that processes packaging material is key to keeping it out of landfills. “Entities need to understand how material is processed after packaging is completed,” she said.

Schreiber said over the past few years, companies have asked her about what sustainable packaging is and how to implement it into their manufacturing.

“People are getting the message,” she said. “Manufacturers are creating packaging in response to consumer demand [for sustainability].”

Eco-friendly packaging

According to Schreiber, eco-friendly packaging is either 100% recyclable or compostable. She said temperatures must be high enough to break down the material if it’s composted, which can be done in a commercial facility but not in a backyard.

Kress said if a product has a Biodegradable Products Institute certification, it breaks down in 90 days within a compost facility. The most sustainable packaging is no packaging at all. Schreiber gave an example of not using plastic bags, crates or styrofoam shells for produce at the grocery store.

There are a variety of products with eco-friendly packaging, such as Aspen Kay Naturals’ solid shampoo bar, which comes in an eco-friendly tin instead of a plastic bottle. A company called Cleancult sells bar soap in paper wrapping, refillable soap bottles and cartons of dish soap refills. Biodegradable and compostable trash bags are also available, according to an article from New York Magazine’s commerce brand.

The Association of Plastic Recyclers has created a design guide for package designers to “measure each aspect of a package design against industry-accepted criteria to ensure that it is truly recycling compatible,” according to plasticsrecycling.org.

Schreiber said companies are using these parameters when designing, especially in the grocery and retail sectors.

Plastic packaging’s future

Congress is working on the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act of 2021. “This represents the most comprehensive policy regarding plastic pollution we’ve ever seen introduced in Congress,” Schreiber said.

Congress.gov stated the act would “reduce the production and use of certain single-use plastic products and packaging, improve the responsibility of producers in the design, collection, reuse, recycling, and disposal of their consumer products and packaging, [and] prevent pollution from consumer products and packaging from entering into animal and human food chains and waterways…”

Schreiber said people can contact state legislative or Congressional representatives about packaging concerns or call a specific retailer or company’s marketing department, which has the most interaction with consumers.  

Kress said ReWorks has started a program called cREateWorks, in which poets and artists can address a theme around the practices of reducing, reusing and recycling to spread awareness.

When asked if these packaging initiatives were enough to keep plastic out of landfills, Schreiber said, “I believe we are headed in the right direction.” ∞