Single Material Recyclable Packaging

A mono material refers to a product composed of a single material or fibre, as opposed to packaging made from different materials. This makes the recycling process much easier, as it reduces the amount of energy required to split or separate various materials. Packaging with only one type of plastic does not require the separation of material, facilitating and speeding up recycling, aside from resulting in a better quality resin, suitable for more applications. Out of all the materials usually used for packaging, plastic is arguably the most difficult to recycle. Take a bottle, for example, it could be made out of polyethene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethene (HDPE) or, in some cases, general-purpose polystyrene (PS).

It is obvious that there are many benefits of sustainable packaging for your business. If you want eco-friendly packaging that’ll lessen your carbon footprint, it has to possess important characteristics first. It would be best to meet all these to ensure that your packaging will make a difference. Otherwise, your efforts to be sustainable may be in vain. You’ll just be wasting the recyclable or recycled materials that you got. Your packaging will still end up damaging the environment.

Meets Product Needs
While we all strive for environmentally-friendly packaging, your product will always come first. That means if the best packaging for your product is plastic bags, then that’s what you need to use. Of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t alternatives to plastic packaging. There is compostable packaging made of plant-based materials that you can use. Or you can opt for recycled materials made out of old plastic. The bottom line is, don’t sacrifice the needs of your product just because you want to be eco-friendly. Identify what your product will need. Then see which of these needs can be converted into more environmentally-friendly materials.

Responsibly Sourced Packaging Materials
Be careful where you search for sustainable packaging solutions for your product. Make sure you search for responsibly-sourced materials only. With all the hype around recycling and sustainability, many companies use “eco-friendly” recklessly without understanding what it means. If you’re serious about your efforts, conduct proper due diligence. Look for green businesses and ask for certifications before you partner with suppliers and manufacturers. For instance, if you use paper packaging, check if your supplier is FSC-certified. That means they’re sourcing their paper products from responsibly managed forests. This ensures that the supply chain is practicing environment-friendly ways. Stick to these suppliers and manufacturers so you can be sure about the integrity of your packaging materials.

Aligns with the Brand’s Story
With all the eco-packaging options available, how will you know which one you should choose? The answer to that lies in your brand. While the packaging is for your product, you should still make it aligned with your brand. Why is this important? Because your packaging will represent your brand, even if you’re trying to take your brand identity in a new and more sustainable direction, you still have to use existing details identified with your brand.
These include the logo, color, font, etc. You should still incorporate these design elements in your sustainable packaging so your customers will recognize your brand even from afar. Whatever your message is, please don’t change it entirely. Just incorporate the new eco-friendly message, so people will know you’re improving your brand message and not wholly changing it.

Conforms with the Recycling Process
Your environmentally-friendly packaging will be compromised if you don’t understand the recycling process. Just because you’re using paper packaging, it doesn’t mean it’ll be accepted in recycling facilities. They have strict guidelines that you should be familiar with to design your packaging solution properly. For instance, paper-based packaging is recyclable but becomes compromised once you attach a toxic adhesive label. The facility won’t recycle it unless that adhesive can be removed entirely. This is just one example. Many scenarios will turn your packaging into non-recyclable materials. Avoid this by getting to know the recycling process and what happens along the supply chain of your packaging. That’s how you can protect your packaging from being wasted.

Educates the End User
Here’s another thing that companies fail to address. They don’t educate their customers about recyclability. Returning to the paper packaging example, let’s say you used labels with starch-based adhesive. Do you think that’s already good enough for the recycling plant? If your customer doesn’t remove it properly, it may also not be accepted. Even if you only use materials that can be recycled, if the customer doesn’t put them in the right bin, then your packaging will go to the landfills.
So if you want to ensure that your sustainable packaging will be recycled, educate your customers. Use the packaging surface and give the end user clear instructions on what they have to do. Design it to be like a warning sign, so it’s sure that they’ll notice it.

Stays within the Budget
Finally, your eco-friendly materials should stay within your budget. While your advocacy is admirable and should be pursued, you’re still in business. Using recycled material is still an investment that should help you grow your business. That means you must set a specific budget to ensure you’re not overspending on your packaging.
While many eco-friendly packaging options exist, they don’t cost the same thing. You might end up paying more unnecessarily because you didn’t do your research when it comes to the materials that you’ll use. So before you start creating your sustainable packaging, set a budget first.