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A Glossary of Plastic Packaging

From its onset, the sustainability era has posed a dilemma for users of plastic packaging: how to retain the benefits of plastics and yet be regarded as environmentally responsible.

Plastic Packaging


The former is a technical challenge, the latter is a communication challenge. Both instances invoke classifications; nonetheless, a possible problem is disparate understandings regarding how those classifications are defined.

Petroleum-based plastics
Also known as conventional plastics, this category is least likely to cause confusion as to what’s being referenced; given that, PET, HDPE, PP, and other entrants have long histories of cost-effectiveness and high performance. The principle criticism against this category is that it is sourced from a non-renewable resource. Additional criticisms include the ability to remain for eons in landfills and being a component of land litter and water pollution.
Companies that stay with this category can cite its recyclability, while advocating for an improved infrastructure and for better consumer education against irresponsible disposal behavior. Light weighting (source-reduction), practiced to its practical limits, should be mandatory.

Bioplastics
This category denotes polymers that are derived from existing biological—and therefore renewable—resources. The category has subsets (discussed below), the distinctions among which can be confusing. The term, bioplastics, does not convey the percent of biological content. A hybrid structure comprised partly or even mostly of petroleum-based plastic can still be called a bioplastic.
Such elasticity of definition can lead to consumer confusion. A claim, such as “This package is made from a bioplastic,” might roundly be interpreted as, “This package is 100% bio-sourced.” The same interpretation can result from a trademarked package, especially if the trademarked name incorporates the bio-source, PlantBottle® being an example.

Biodegradable plastics—This category consists of polymers that are subject to the consuming effects of microorganisms, the final products of the process being water, carbon dioxide, and residual biomass. Biodegradable plastics are a subset of bioplastics, meaning the two categories are not synonymous. Given the generalization that all biodegradable plastics are bioplastics, the converse does not hold, because not all bioplastics are biodegradable.
A murkiness surrounding this category is the time over which the degradation occurs: unquestionably shorter than the time required of certain petroleum-based plastics, but otherwise, a claim of biodegradability does not commit the claimant to a hard-and-fast timeline. An associated murkiness is environmental conditions. Degradation happens quicker under favorable conditions of humidity and heat. Here too, there’s the issue of what context should consumers be provided in order to avoid faulty interpretations.

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