Americans will use 32.8 million more rigid plastic and flexible packs in 2017 than in 2012, according to a recent article by Canadean. This trend can be attributed to savings on both raw material and transportation costs due to the packs’ “low intrinsic weight,” said Dominic Cakebread, director of packaging services at Canadean. However, consumers demand that the lightweight packages must be as tough as their heavier counterparts, causing research to focus on changing the shape and rigidity of packages and their components while not compromising durability.
Schneider Packaging developed the Robox Vi/Spider series in this vein. Designed to perform multiple tasks such as “case packing, specialty cartoning, and high-speed picking,” the Robox Vi/spider can deal with conventional complex product handling, and improved overall equipment efficiency through low maintenance costs, quick changeovers and ease of operation.
Another company that has taken this philosophy to heart is Heinz. While they have offered large-scale pouches to retailers for a number of years, they’ve recently started offering pouches that are of roughly the same size as their standard PET bottles. This innovation allows Heinz to operate at a lower cost to both themselves and their customers, thus giving them more market power.
Additionally, progress in the field of plastics from agricultural by-products has made “natural plastic” an environmental buzzword. By lowering dependence on foreign petroleum and domestic mineral-rich substances, use of natural plastic is seen as protecting the environment by many. Corporations such as Pantene and Coca-Cola have noticed and capitalized on this trend.
Pantene’s particular contribution has been the use of sugarcane-based plastics for some of their lines. Right now the choice of bottle is still fairly optional, but Coca-Cola has big plans for the future. By 2020, Coca-Cola plans to replace their entire line of PET bottles with plant-based plastics, lowering their carbon footprint by up to 70%.
Even with these alleged benefits, there are those opposed to plant-based plastics. Dissenters mainly focus their argument around the fact that plants require vast amounts of agricultural land that could better be used for food farming. According to them, if the cash crops get out of control then food prices could rise exorbitantly.
Source: http://goo.gl/Ruqc4l
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