5 Benefits of Biodegradable Packaging Materials for Businesses
Shifting to biodegradable materials is an increasingly important trend as people are becoming more concerned with recycling efforts and making better environmentally friendly decisions.
By adapting eco-friendly packaging, or “green packaging,” it shows consumers that your company strives to reduce harmful impacts on the environment.
Options like loose fill and Kraft paper rolls have created a better alternative for business owners and consumers alike.
What are Biodegradable Packaging Supplies Made From?
Before we can understand how eco-friendly packaging is beneficial, we must first understand what it is.
Biodegradable packaging materials are typically composed of biopolymers (organic compounds) found in living organisms such as cellulose and proteins. These proteins help the material to decompose easier and with less impact to the surrounding environment.
Biopolymers have been used to produce copious amounts of biodegradable and recyclable packaging materials such as shipping containers and materials used to protect products during shipping.
5 Benefits of Biodegradable Packaging
1. Reduced Carbon Footprint
Since biodegradable packaging materials are made from recycled materials instead of chemicals and plastics, they are better for the environment.
Since the packaging is eco-friendly, it reduces the amount of wasted materials and consumption of resources. Both efforts help to minimize the carbon footprint of humans while meeting the high standards of environmental compliance.
2. No Harmful Plastics
Traditional packaging and shipping materials have typically contained harmful plastic materials, and often petroleum-based, that have contributed to environmental issues.
The use of non-sustainable petrochemical resources, or plastic substances made from petroleum, requires a substantial amount of energy and resources to create.
These products are then, typically, found littering landfills, roadways, parks, and even waterways.
The use of eco-friendly packaging allows companies to reduce the amount of plastic being used, which can help reduce littering issues.
3. Convenient Disposal
No matter what type of packaging and shipping materials businesses decide to use, they should be either recyclable or biodegradable.
Eco-friendly packaging simplifies the disposal of shipping materials because of the biodegradable composition. The composition doesn’t require as many resources to breakdown the packaging after its intended use.
Consumers who prefer to compost their refuse can easily include biodegradable packaging and shipping materials with other compost-friendly materials. This process can also have a positive impact on the surrounding environment.
4. Versatility
Another great benefit of biodegradable shipping supplies is the versatility of the packaging.
Packaging and shipping materials can typically be re-used and re-purposed in most major industries.
Anything from storing office supplies to packaging electronic devices, there is most certainly an eco-friendly material available to fulfill the need of the business.
5. Sustainability
Since we’ve been talking about it, this point seems obvious. But, one of the major benefits of biodegradable packaging is its sustainability.
Most of the materials used can be categorized under the three Rs of sustainability: reduce, reuse, recycle.
Reduce focuses on using tougher, yet thinner, materials that can do the same job as traditional materials, but with less.
Reuse focuses efforts on creating items that can be reused after the first use is completed. Making shipping materials that are stronger and safer helps encourage businesses and individuals to reuse each item.
Recycle, of course focuses, on producing products that are largely comprised of previously recycled materials. It can then be recycled by the business or the consumer receiving the packaged product.
Using Biodegradable Packing Materials
These are only a few of the benefits of biodegradable packaging and shipping materials, but it’s no question they are the better choice when deciding what to use for a business’ packing and shipping needs.
The Box Guy is dedicated to helping find the right packaging and shipping products to fulfill the needs of the business — especially in a sustainable manner.
To learn more about our products and ways to help protect the environment with biodegradable materials, contact us today.
