Plastic-free，are you ready？
Aug 10,2022 | Shunho Creative
In packaging industry, plastic has many advantages, such as the light weight, great stability and high flexibility with regard to colors and shapes. Moreover, metallized paperboard normally depends on plastic film to carry its shinning sliver or laser effect.
However, the production of plastic costs massive nature resources and damages lives on earth. More importantly, the amount of plastic used globally has significantly exceeded the limit of how much our planet can bear in recent years.
According to the research done by OECD, there are 353 million tons of plastic waste produced globally in 2019, and only 9% of them are recycled. If this trend of usage continues, in 2060, there will be 1.2 billion tons of plastic waste appearing around the world.
The situation made people consider seriously to expand the application of recyclable and biodegradable materials to more businesses to achieve plastic-free as soon as possible.
Many countries are taking actions to make laws, regulations and plans to limit or even eliminate the usage of plastic material.
Let‘s see some examples:
Europe Union
As maybe the most dedicated force to “Plastic-free Movement”, issued its Directive on single-use Plastics in 2019, the legislation is effective since July-2021. This act largely limits the usage of plastic material in food holder, straw, plastic bags and packaging businesses. This act was said to be the most rigid plastic eliminating act the history of EU.
State of Washington of USA
State government prohibits the use of plastic bags in supermarkets and requests all plastic bags be switched to paper bags made by recycled paper from 2020.
United Kingdom
Started to impose extra tax on plastic packages since April, 2022.
New Zealand
In 2021, prohibits single usage of plastic bag in supermarkets, department stores, dairy shops, pharmacies etc.
South Korea
Since the beginning of 2019, prohibits the usage of single-use plastic bags in its 2,000 shopping malls and more than 11,000 supermarkets.
Chile
As the first country in the South American to act on plastic pollution, forbids all the shopping malls and supermarkets to provide plastic bags, either free or charged in 2019.
China
Starting from 2020, gradually implies regulations to eliminate the usage of plastic material in Hainan province. The goal is to ban all the non-biodegradable plastic usage before the end of 2025 in Hainan.
Other than world’s governments, major global conglomerates are also investing time and resources vastly into “plastic free” movement. They are optimizing their products’ production and packaging according to the four sustainability principles of “avoid, reduce, reuse, and recycle”.
Apple
75% less single-use plastic packaging compared with 2015.
GSK
Reduce the use of virgin petroleum-based plastic by 1/3rd by 2030, with a 10% reduction by 2025 (versus our 2020 baseline).
Develop solutions for all product packaging to be recycle-ready by 2025. Zero operational waste, including eliminating single use plastics, by 2030.
Beiersdorf
By 2025,100% of the packaging will be refillable, reusable or recyclable, and 30% recycled material content in our plastic packaging.
In the meantime, t aiming to largely reduce the usage of plastic material in packaging in recent years.
BAT
75% of their plastic packaging capable of being reusable, recyclable or compostable in 2021.
100% of their plastic packaging capable of being reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.
In this March and at the Fifth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, representatives from more than 200 countries and regions sit together strengthening actions for nature to achieve the sustainable development.
One of the most important agendas was the plastic pollution. All the participating counties and regions agreed to enact a legally forcible agreement no later than 2024, to prevent and remedy plastic pollution.
In the meantime, UN encourages global enterprises to participate the discussion of making this agreement, their insight and investment will be necessary to achieve sustainable development.
Aluminum metallized paperboard is commonly used for packaging boxes in skincare, cosmetics, tobacco, food, small digital device products etc. Its shinning silver or holographic surface makes the package outstanding in appearance.
However, in order to achieve metallic shinning effect, traditional metalized board must have a layer of plastic film attached to its surface, which is not detachable. We call it the “laminated board”. This feature makes the laminated board non-recyclable and non-biodegradable. Furthermore, the plastic film makes laminated board in contradictory with the plastic free trend.
Shunho Creative’s “TransMet®” as a neo-generation of metallized paperboard, could provide the same visual effect as the laminated board without plastic film attached. Therefore, packages made by TransMet® board will be plastic free, which makes it recyclable and biodegradable. It is without question, TransMet® board is an ideal choice to be both nice looking and environmental friendly.
In fact, Tobacco industry is the pioneer in global plastic free movement. Many companies such as BAT, JTI, KTNG and others have already applied TransMet® board to their packages for many years.
In recent years, giants from FMCG industries are keeping up, such as GSK, Estee Lauder, Johnson & Johnson, Colgate are gradually substituting their box material from laminated board to non-plastic board.
Nowadays, the tide of Plastic Free trend is unstoppable, and its impacts are spreading fast. Shunho Creative are working with more customers from a wider range of industries, developing plastic-free packaging solutions. We believe that one-day TransMet® board in the market will entirely replace laminated board.
Let’s work together to make one more step closer to a plastic-free world.
