What does sustainable mean? How does the dictionary define the term "sustainable"? If you have a look at the dictionary, you will find the following definition...
“Sustainable: Causing little or no damage to the environment and therefore able to continue for a long time”
But what is “sustainable packaging”?
If we randomly ask consumers and end users or manufacturers and product packers and even the packaging manufacturers themselves, we will get different answers that, in a more or less subjective way, will try to define everything about sustainability by emphasizing one aspect or the other. But they will all maintain a common element in their definition:
"Greater respect for the environment and, consequently, a reduction in its environmental impact"
The consumerist philosophy of the 20th century that promoted "producing, using and throwing" is far from sustainable. Luckily, much of 21st-century society has already adopted the 3R’s that stands for: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, although when it comes to communicating in the sense of "agreeing on ideas or feelings with another person" it does not mean "putting into practice" but rather "intending to". I intend that on numerous occasions it does not materialize, but let us be optimistic, because this new philosophy has come to stay and to prevent us from devastating environmental effect.
The 21st century has brought us a new philosophy of life and new terms for a new era in every single aspect of our society. In the plastics processing industry, we talk about eco-packaging, sustainable packaging, eco-friendly packaging, reusable packaging... We are also talking about eco-design, recycling and countless new terms whose basis and purpose is just to identify that everything that is thought, done and transformed is done under the perspective that the packaging obtained "can be maintained for a long time without depleting resources or causing serious damage to the environment"
ECO packaging for all types of industry
What is the Cosmetics industry looking for in an ECO packaging?
- Use of 100% recyclable or biodegradable materials
- Eliminate raw materials with polluting additives
- Lighter weights
- Eco-certified packaging
What is the detergent and cleaning products manufacturing industry looking for in an ECO package?
- 100% biodegradable and compostable packaging
- To use recycled and plastics from natural resources
- Encouraging the implementation of packaging return systems and supporting circular economy-based measures that advocate the reuse of raw materials
- 100% recycled and 100% recyclable packaging
- Recycled materials
- Reuse and lengthening of the life of materials in the production process.
What are Agrochemical manufacturers looking for in an ECO package?
- Use recycled materials in a high percentage for packaging manufacturing
- Decrease the weight of your packaging
- Use 100% recyclable containers
- Recover 100% of the packaging used through a management system for recycling by avoiding water pollution
Innovation and development for sustainable packaging
At ALCION PACKAGING SOLUTIONS we have done our homework. We are ISO 14001 certified since 2018, our R+D+I department together with the Quality-Environmental one remain working to get our plastic packaging able to share the 3R’s:
- To minimize the materials used
- To be recyclable
- To use materials that can be reused
Our design teams work using eco-design guidelines, analysing packaging for optimisation, pursuing cost reduction by reducing the amount of materials used and increasing efficiency of the transformation process.
We are able to incorporate up to 75% recycled material into our HDPE packaging and work on different projects to achieve biodegradable packaging. In an attempt to improve recyclability, we work on both, materials by testing the recycling of our EVOH or PA multilayer packaging, and on production processes.
Our new production area of Plasma Fluorination, we manage to provide barrier properties to HDPE containers, obtaining thus 100% recyclable packaging with hi-tech properties to preserve demanding products, using an environmental respectful technology throughout the process.
At Alcion, we have solutions for packaging all types of products, especially phytosanitary products, with resistant, approved, and sustainable packaging.
