In our daily endeavor to minimize the amount of plastic packaging we consume, let me introduce you to a more earth-friendly material: PaperLite. Created by Flextrus, PaperLite is a paper-based material sourced from sustainable forests. What makes it so unique is that it’s thermoformable — can be molded and sealed just like plastic, and it’s ideal for food packaging that requires refrigeration.
Why we like it:
- made from renewable trees rather than oil
- biodegradable
- lightweight (cuts down on the environmental impact to truck goods around) so it has a lighter carbon footprint
Recognized as one of the top new materials at the 2010 Material of the Year awards, presented by Material ConneZion.
via fastcodesign.com
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I embrace all attempts of reducing oil consumption. However, in the case of packaging material from renewable sources, it’s always a double-edged sword: The energy consumed to grow, harvest, process, and transport the product is often a lot higher than if it was made from oil (because the material is more complex to manufacture and usually heavier than plastic – not the case here, which is good, but it frequently is). Also,’biodegradable’ is nice, but in many composting facilities, they don’t want biodegradable packaging material because it degrades too slowly. And if you don’t separate your waste, but instead let the biodegradable material go with the general waste to the incinerator (as is the case here in the Netherlands for household trash), the eco balance is actually negative.
A better way is not to buy packaged foods at all, but instead bring your own containers and buy bulk. Avoid supermarkets, and instead buy on the market – it’s much easier to convince market sellers to use your reusable containers to pack your produce or cheese instead of plastic bags or plastic wrappers (which, after all, cost them money too). And don’t eat in restaurants which use disposable plates/ cutlery/ cups. Most of all, shop frequently, but not too much each turn. That will help you avoid to throw away spoiled food.