From the Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
12/2/2024
In a world increasingly defined by convenience, single-use plastics have become so deeply embedded in our daily lives that we rarely stop to question their impact. From the disposable plastic water bottle to the plastic grocery bag, these everyday items have shaped the way we live. Yet, this convenience comes with a steep environmental price.
First introduced after World War II, single-use plastics have rapidly permeated every aspect of modern life, and generations from Baby Boomers to Gen Alpha have never known a world that hasn’t revolved around them.
But the consequences of our plastic dependency are undeniable— overwhelming landfills, releasing microplastics into the environment, and water that we consume showing up with the even-smaller nanoplastics. With environmental awareness on the rise, a growing movement of consumers demands more sustainable alternatives. As younger generations, who have never known life without plastic, begin to lead the charge, businesses are being forced to reconsider their packaging choices. The shift is happening—and it’s happening fast.
The question is no longer if sustainable packaging will take over, but when—and whether companies are ready to keep up.
Single-use plastics are designed to be used once, then thrown away. Their useful life can be as short as a few moments, and then they head to the landfill. Water bottles, shopping bags, clamshell grocery containers to hold grapes, trail mix, or potato salad, laundry detergent bottles, plastic wrap to cover the leftovers—all have a short useful life and long implications on the environment. It can take up to 450 years for a plastic bottle to degrade in a landfill or a range of 10 to 1,000 years for plastic grocery bags (and Styrofoam never degrades).
Though single-use plastics have been serving us for up to 80 years, consumers are dreaming of a world that limits waste. In recent years, consumers’ interest in environmentally sound packaging has grown. In the 44-and-younger crowd, up to 77 percent of consumers were interested in choosing sustainable packaging options.
Sustainable packaging minimizes the environmental footprint of a product. Considering more than just the package itself, the impact of sustainable packaging addresses production of the packaging, shipping, disposal or recycling. The product’s entire environmental footprint is evaluated for its carbon cost.
The U.S. should prepare for robust growth in the sustainable packaging products market through 2030, due to single-use plastics ban in California and greater awareness in consumers at large. Companies can prepare now to avoid falling behind when the trend is more fully realized in the central states.
More businesses are turning to or exploring paper packaging in place of single-use plastics. Paper packaging is renewable. Cellulose fibers are inherently biodegradable and paper grades made from them can be measured for full compostability.
Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology has been working with innovators in the paper industry to help them develop formulations central to sustainable packaging. WIST can help explore and test components that create sustainable solutions. We work with companies to test paper coatings and recyclability and repulpability of products. We can also test for compostability and ecotoxicity—the fertility of the composted material to grow biological material when compared to a control sample.
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