What is a carbon footprint? What is the global warming potential of plastic?
A carbon footprint is ”the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent. Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carbon dioxide and methane, can be emitted through the burning of fossil fuels, land clearance and the production and consumption of food, manufactured goods, materials, wood, roads, buildings, transportation and other services. Typical fossil plastics have a global warming potential of between 1.7 and 3.5 kg of CO2, depending on the type of plastic. This means that for every kilogram of fossil-based plastic produced, there is between 1.7 and 3.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide released.”
What is Sustainable Packaging?
Sustainable packaging is that which has a lower environmental impact compared to conventional options. This sounds deceptively simple. After all, sustainability can encompass impacts across the lifecycle of packaging, from resource extraction to creation, to use (and reuse) and recycling or disposal. Sustainability also includes economic and social factors. This is because even when packaging is environmentally safe, it may not be financially viable for companies, meaning its use cannot be sustained. For example using plastic packaging rather than paper can significantly reduce food waste which in turn has a positive impact on the environment and on climate change.
3 rules for sustainable packaging
In general, when talking about eco-friendly packaging, this means:
- Materials: 100% recycled or natural materials
- Production: Smaller packaging, cleaner and well managed supply chain, zero-waste and closed loop manufacturing
- Circularity: Packaging that can be easily reused, upcycled, or recycled
As with many environmental questions, the ‘best’ eco-friendly packaging may come down to personal priorities. You may, for example, be more concerned about the negative impacts of resource extraction than you are on the ability of the final product to biodegrade. Or, you might worry most about chemicals leaching into groundwater rather than whether trees are being cleared to create farmland.
Is plastic packaging sustainable?
Let’s start with a look at the most common type of packaging used for cosmetics: plastic.
Some kinds of plastic are a decent choice for cosmetics packaging because they can be recycled and take less energy to produce than some alternatives. These types of containers tend to be stable enough to keep cosmetics hygienic and protected. They’re also robust enough to survive shipping and freezing or high temperatures. High density polyethylene (HDPE) is one good option for plastic packaging. It is:
- Always made without the hormone disruptor Bisphenol A (BPA)
- Universally accepted at municipal recycling facilities
- Lightweight (meaning lower carbon emissions during transport)
- Reusable several times over
The downsides of plastic packaging include:
- Not being endlessly recyclable
- Originating from fossil fuels (petroleum and natural gas)
- Having a huge environmental impact during extraction, processing, and disposal
- Not being fully biodegradable
- Often containing phthalates or other chemicals that can harm health and etc.
However, even when plastics are taken to recycling facilities, they may not be properly recycled. This can be because they haven’t been properly cleaned, are mixed with the wrong materials, or are just not sorted correctly. An awful lot of recyclable plastic still ends up in landfill or is incinerated, creating toxic smog, often overseas. Only 9.5% of plastic brought into the waste stream was recycled in 2014, according to an EPA report. In contrast, 15% was incinerated for energy, and the rest (75.5%) went into landfill.
Are bioplastics sustainable?
Bioplastics hold a lot of promise as eco-friendly packaging materials. But, so far, a lot of this is just promise. Some plant-based bioplastics don’t hold up for long-term use and are better suited for single-use items such as takeout containers. The more durable types of bioplastic may not be as biodegradable as manufacturers would like us to think. Some break down into smaller pieces (degrade) but don’t get fully broken down into soil (biodegrade). Some do biodegrade, but only in the exact right conditions, such as in industrial composting sites that aren’t widely available. When these types of bioplastics end up in landfill they definitely don’t have the right conditions to biodegrade as they’re usually buried under a mountain of trash, depriving them of light, microbes, moisture, and heat.
Compostable bioplastics can also contaminate the plastic recycling stream, causing a headache for municipalities trying to increase recycling. Bioplastics made with ethanol have their own problems. These are often created using what could be food crops, which is hardly sustainable. They also don’t decompose in many cases and are instead intended to be recycled. However, as with conventional plastics, these bioplastics are often not recycled anywhere near as often as we’d like.
Is glass sustainable?
At first glance, it’s tempting to think that glass is the most eco-friendly packaging for cosmetics as it is recyclable, safe and non-reactive, endlessly reusable, and makes it easy to see what’s in the jar. Glass typically accounts for at least a third of the weight of a final sealed product, compared to 5% for plastic. Some companies choose primary packaging but there are other costs to glass: shipping the products costs more in dollars and carbon emissions than a lighter plastic alternative.
Glass is made from sand, soda ash, and limestone. These aren’t renewable materials, but they are abundant, and glass can be easily recycled. The challenge with glass is that its manufacture from sand causes massive emissions. That said, these materials are mined, which takes a toll on the environment, and it takes a lot of energy to produce and recycle glass (heating to 2500 Celsius), meaning it makes sense to reuse glass containers as many times as possible before recycling them. Refillable glass milk bottles, for instance, use about half as much energy as plastic milk jugs, according to many studies.
For many manufacturers of cosmetics and other products, glass may be eco-friendly but it sure isn’t sustainable. This is because glass can shatter easily during transport, wasting both the glass and the product inside. In areas prone to freezing temperatures, this is a problem that makes glass untenable for months on end. That’s because as water (an ingredient in many cosmetics) freezes, it expands, which presses against the glass container and causes cracks or shattering.
Is paper packaging sustainable?
Alright, so if plastic, bioplastics, and glass have their problems, what’s left? In short, metal and paper.
Paper is a great choice for many types of packaging as it can be sourced from sustainable forests, recycled, and can be made without chemicals. However, paper-making is resource intensive and uses up lots of water, fossil fuels for transport and processing, and usually involves chlorine bleaching and other chemical processes that can create carcinogenic chemicals such as dioxins. When done right, paper is easily recyclable and compostable. It is also relatively lightweight, making it a better choice than glass. However, for cosmetics and toiletries, paper has to be treated with some kind of water-repellent chemical (natural or otherwise) to ensure the stability of the product. This can mean the container is no longer recyclable, making it decidedly less eco-friendly. All in all, paper packaging is hard to use for cosmetics, unless these are dry and are intended to be mixed with water at home.
Is metal packaging sustainable?
So, that leaves us with metal.
Light, durable, attractive to recycle, safe for use, and viable in cold and hot temperatures. Аluminum is a clear winner for cosmetics packaging. It also resists corrosion and has a lower melting point than glass, making it less energy intensive to recycle. Because this material is more robust than glass too, it means companies can use less of other packaging materials, reducing overall packaging weight and bulk. Recycled aluminum also requires considerably less energy during manufacture (around 4-8% of that needed to make new aluminum from bauxite ore).
What about the downsides of aluminum packaging?
- It’s opaque – unlike with glass and some plastic, you can’t easily see if you’re nearly out of your favorite product
- Not squeezable – you’re going to want a wide mouth aluminum jar and a clean spoon or a dispensing pump to get at your lotions
- More expensive – aluminum is initially more costly for manufacturers, but factor in breakages, shipping costs, and customer concerns over plastic and this metal become less expensive overall.
Stainless steel and tin are also options for eco-friendly cosmetics packaging. These metals (used to make soup cans and other food packaging) are recycled at a rate of about 70-90%, making them some of the most commonly recycled materials. The trouble with these, though, is that they may have been lined with BPA, which makes them less attractive as a container for products you likely use every day. All in all, metal packaging made with aluminum or stainless steel are a great choice for a closed loop packaging system but BPA-free aluminum is best.