In a world of consumers, one thing that most businesses and firms have invested in the most is the packaging. Whether wraps or seals or containers everyone wants their businesses to appeal beautifully to their customers, so packaging becomes a necessity. In your observation, the most common good or gift wraps include plastic, papers, cardboards, bubble wraps, and so on. All of them usually belong to two categories namely, biodegradable packaging, and non-biodegradable packaging. The former refers to those containers or wraps made from organic substances and can disintegrate by activities of nature. The latter cannot deteriorate by the processes of nature.
Non-biodegradable packaging is toxic to our environment because they serve as pollutants in landfills, and when burnt, they also emit harmful gases into the environment. For many years now, many have been fighting to have more options to brand some products in a more environmentally friendly way.
Here are some tips to mark out the difference.
- Green packaging will break down into compost by activities of nature such as oxygenation, hydration, or consumption of microorganisms. Toxic packaging cannot decompose by any known activities of nature.
- Biodegradable packaging begins to decompose almost as soon as it hit the earth, and some things that can break their tissues happen to them. Toxic packaging, however, does not break down some, only after several years, and many never do. For instance, packages made from seaweed can get moisturized and disintegrate, or some organisms can even feed on them. Plastics, as an opposite example, are known to be the same for many years, not breaking down and taking up spaces in habitats.
- Most green package materials are recyclable. That is, they can be processed and reprocessed for further usage. However, toxic packaging is almost impossible to recycle; they remain a nuisance that is difficult to rid of in the environment.
- Examples of green packaging include cornstarch, cardboard and paper bags, corrugated bubble wraps, molded pulp, seaweed packaging, and so on. Examples of toxic packaging include plastic, polystyrene, Styrofoam, and glass, among others.
Why is this distinction important?
It is essential to distinguish these things so we can create a pathway for our future toward sustainable packaging. We have to be proactive about protecting the earth through its ecosystems and policies that would favor them. Non-biodegradable packaging contributes the most to global waste statistics; there is no better time to go for an alternative than now.
