With the world’s population at 7.3 billion, you can see that demand is exceeding supply. And it’s not just about the food that we eat, but also how it is packaged. For example, plastics are one of the most common materials used to package our food and drinks. But if you haven’t already heard, there is a growing amount of research damning plastic packaging as being unsustainable. Sustainable packaging solutions are important to the environment and also affect your bottom line. You have probably bought things that you could not use because of the package. Also, you might throw away boxes for retail without using it when it is bulky or inconvenient to carry around. But there are many sustainable options available for you to choose from that can help reduce waste too – which is good for the environment.
Sustainability isn’t just an environmental issue anymore – it has become a business concern as well. If sustainability is important to your company, then finding ways to incorporate green practices into every aspect of your operations should be high on your list of priorities. It may seem small businesses are faced with a lot of challenges, one of them being packaging.
Sustainable packaging solutions for small businesses
Many small business owners don’t think about the environmental impact of their packaging until they’re asked for it. They realize that the packaging they use isn’t good enough for retail stores when they are inspected. For example, if you have a water bottle in one hand and a plastic bag in the other, chances are that the plastic bag has a higher carbon footprint than the water bottle even though it might be less harmful to people.
Plastic bags are bad for the environment, even if they were biodegradable. They break down and eat up all the oxygen in the ocean. When it gets closer to land, landfills and incinerators take care of it because you do not need to go to the ocean to get a plastic bottle. But using plastic is good for our planet too. Recycling, making glass from garbage, and even using paper instead of plastic are all becoming more popular ways of protecting the planet.
Recycling Option
Plastic is a huge problem. Around 100 million metric tonnes of plastic are produced every year. In Chile, where there is hardly any plastic waste on land, they have made it a priority to stop plastic from getting into the ocean. They do this by diverting it to places like concrete or bricklaying or by reducing the amount of plastic that reaches America each year.
Recycling or reusing plastic is not a good idea. You can’t know if you are doing it right, and even when you do it will still end up in the landfill. The truth is that most plastic bottles go to the landfill, so it isn’t worth doing even if you do it right. You can pretty much track almost everything that you buy in one place online.
Reusable plastic containers are better than plastic bags
Stasher bags are a new type of container with a built-in space for things like nail polish.
You can compost trash every day. The trash in bags that is easy to carry and resealable is sold at second-hand stores. You can also use refillable water bottles instead of plastic bottles.
Lithium-ion batteries are good for things like phones and USB sticks. They last a long time and is with other materials. These batteries also come in a storage case to help people store their items. Some companies are making products that help you when you recycle. For example, they make small bags so when you go shopping, you can put your things in the bag and then take them home. It helps to have these bags because they are small and easy to carry. They come in different colors too! Silver straws are another product that helps with recycling. You can take it places with you if you want to drink something while there, or at work for lunch. They come in many colors too!
Invest in paper packaging to save on shipping costs
Your business might have a lot of products. It can be hard to save money. Grocery stores are cheaper, and there are some places that have taxes on things like plastic bags or bottles. You should also get a water bottle so you don’t need to buy drinks all the time.
It is important to know how much CO2 production for every ton of plastic creates pollution. For example, if you recycle your plastic bottles and reusable bags, then you can cut your carbon footprint in half. You will not be using up as much oil to clean the bottles or produce new ones because they are reusable. If you rinse them out between uses, then it takes 500 cars off the road!
Larger companies have a hard time getting their soap and spices in grocery stores. This is because they no longer make these things themselves. Now, they just get them from big suppliers who use vegetable oil to make soap and spices. So if you buy these products, you are also green!
Instead of using oil in the process, many people are now using coconut oil. Coconut oil is very healthy and even though it is an oil-based product, it does not cause inflammation. People also like that its temperature and taste preference is different than other oils. To cut down completely on the use of plastic water bottles, there is a growing number of towns that ban them.
Use glass bottles instead of plastic ones for your juices and drinks
Plastic bottles are bad for your health because they contain chemicals that can leach into what you drink. If you want to avoid plastic bottles, use glass or reusable ones instead. Glass bottles are better for the environment than plastic ones because they don’t use oil. They also look cooler.
Conclusions
Small businesses may be in a bind at times because they can’t offer certain types of meals in a way that they want or they get a ton of phone calls and face-to-face meetings asking for custom meals. When you have to choose between offering different meals to meet different needs, size the menu themselves to account for both time and food resources. Some Custom Packaging solution say that something is cruelty-free. But this does not always mean that the food is treated well.
You can use natural materials to make biodegradable packaging that has a good impact on the environment. This is better for the environment because these are renewable resources. And it is more sustainable than regular plastic because the plastic in this packaging comes from natural products that are already being grown.
