You pull the tape, hear the crinkle of packing materials, hands reach in, pushing aside the protective materials, fingers brushing against the smooth surface of the items inside. One by one, the box slowly empties, leaving only scattered packing remnants behind. Whether it’s meal deliveries, supermarket essentials, beauty products, or the seemingly endless range from Amazon, many of the items that conveniently land on our doorsteps come packaged in single-use plastics.
Those very qualities that make plastic so appealing—its affordability, flexibility, and durability—are also what make it problematic. Joining an endless accumulation of plastic packaging, the bottles, wrappers, and containers we rely on so heavily are major contributors to pollution and resource depletion.
Over the past years, we’ve observed a growing interest among our clients in environmentally friendly packaging solutions. While we believe redesigning and rethinking sustainable packaging is essential for environmental progress, it is also important to address the lingering question: can we effectively replace common packaging materials like plastic with alternatives that are scalable and cost-effective?
Read on for our practical guide to plastic alternatives where we attempt to tackle key questions and separate the signals from the noise.
What are some of the more popular plastic alternatives out there?
Mycelium packaging created by Ecovative Design for Hudson Hemp’s Treaty CBD. Photography Courtesy of Daniel Dorsa
Below is a list of current solutions suitable for different types of so-called biodegradable packaging:
- Polylactic Acid (PLA): PLA is a biobased biodegradable material derived from lactic acid, typically sourced from plants like corn or sugarcane. Right now, it’s the most widely adopted alternative for food packaging, including items like cups, straws, and food containers. Think of it as plastic-like material sourced from natural materials with a nearly identical chemical structure to conventional plastics. As with other naturally-occurring polymers, this alternative to plastics has a few limitations: it is time-consuming to produce, relatively expensive and lacks the global composting infrastructure needed for effective disposal. On the brighter side: PLAs have a smaller carbon footprint and can decompose more quickly in the right environmental conditions.
- Mycelium (Mushroom Packaging): This innovative material uses the root structure of mushrooms, known as mycelium, to create sturdy, biodegradable packaging. Mycelium packaging is increasingly used for protective packaging, replacing materials like styrofoam. It is compostable and non-toxic to meet various packaging needs.
- Cellulose: Cellulose is derived from plant fibers like wood pulp and agricultural waste. It’s already used in packaging films and as a coating to replace plastic in applications like paper cups and food wrappers.
- Seaweed: Seaweed is an emerging area of innovation for biodegradable packaging and is primarily used for carton coatings and cosmetic and personal care packaging. This natural material grows quickly, requires little to no land, and no freshwater, and can help enhance the biodiversity of the ocean. Once discarded, it can decompose without leaving harmful residues. The only major drawback owing to the production of seaweed is its cost. Seaweed packaging requires manual processing to some extent and the process of scaling- up is still in pilot-scale.
What are the main hurdles to transitioning away from plastic packaging?
In a recent report, Google pledged to eliminate 100% of plastic in the packaging for its new consumer electronics products by next year. The company’s over-encompassing strategy for minimizing the environmental impact of packaging focused not only on using alternative fiber-based materials but also on optimizing packaging through thoughtful design that minimizes the volume of materials used without compromising product protection or the desired aesthetic. Although alternative materials may seem like a promising option on paper, rethinking the packaging design seems just as crucial. Especially since the report reveals the practical limitations of this transition, noting that “transitioning away from plastic packaging is challenging because plastic-free alternatives are often not available for specific packaging needs.” After all, accelerating the transition away from plastic and toward more durable and reusable options “requires innovation in both materials and the systems that enable movement of goods through the economy.”
According to environmental specialists, a more thoughtful, whole-system view on replacing plastics needs to be taken into account. Paula Luu, project director for the Center for the Circular Economy warns that “before we do a full switchover, we really need to focus on addressing a number of different challenges, including customer education, waste-recovery infrastructure, and the economic incentives to a full transition.”
And although plant-based plastics are marketed as a safer option for human and planetary health, on a molecular level they are identical to their fossil-fuel-sourced siblings. This means that if you tossed your biodegradable plastic bag into your backyard, it could last almost as long as your typical plastic cutlery. To meet a baseline standard of compostability, biodegradable utensils, compostable wrappers, plant-based bottles, and compressed-fiber plates and bowls must break down into carbon matter within six to 24 months under carefully regulated heat and moisture conditions.
Breaking down terminology
If a material is biodegradable, it can be consumed by microbes. But the degree to which a material can biodegrade is vitally important to its end of life. Therefore, scientists don’t consider biodegradable to be a useful term with regard to packaging. Compostable, however, means that a material can completely biodegrade in a composting environment. And “bioplastics” is an umbrella term that includes both compostable, plant-based plastics like PLA but also conventional, non-compostable plastics sourced from biobased material.
The Final Takeaway
Today, polylactic acid (PLA) is the most popular form of biodegradable packaging on the market. The debate around its environmental credentials is a very hot topic right now as some types of PLA are easier to break down than others. There are plenty of companies trying to make better compostable products made from different fruit and algae sources. If you want to be sure, look for items that are certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI). While the future of compostable plastics and the necessary composting infrastructure is still evolving, there is reason to remain hopeful that both will improve, making these alternatives more viable on a larger scale.