The latest sustainable packaging innovations

Published on Tuesday, Sep 08 2015

Just about every single item you buy is most likely in some sort of packaging when you first purchase it. Even plastic bags are put in boxes to be transported to supermarkets and that cardboard box was probably wrapped in cellophane with hundreds of other boxes at some point. With so much packaging being used, a lot of waste is being built up as people either dispose of it irresponsibly or over package their items. This is a problem that hasn’t gone unnoticed, so many people have put their heads together and come up with some fascinating sustainable packaging innovations. Here are just a few of them. 

Laser tattooing

No we’re not talking about getting a tattoo of ‘Mum’ on your arm with a love heart around it; laser tattooing is a remarkable innovation in the food packaging industry which looks to replace the use of sticky labels. The laser machine uses iron oxides and hydroxides to label fruit and vegetables by removing a thin layer of the pigment from the fruits surface without damaging it at all, leaving the sell by date or any other information in its place. This has the potential to dramatically decrease the sticky label carbon footprint as Marks and Spencer alone produce 7 tonnes of sticky labels just for their oranges every year! 

Edible packaging

With so many small food items, such as chocolates and yoghurts, using packaging which is instantly thrown away, an ingenious solution has been created – edible packaging. The idea is that edible packaging works the same way a coconut shell protects the coconut inside. There are several variations of this, including a cup which can be either eaten or composted after finishing your drink! 

Bio-reactive expiration labels

Have you ever found a packet of bacon in the fridge which had just gone past its best before date and wondered whether it would still be good to eat? Well bio-reactive packaging can reassure you that the bacon is still edible! The label, known as a ‘Bump Mark’, is made from a specially engineered type of gelatine. The idea is that the gelatine will spoil and decay at the same rate as the food and will cause the label to become bumpy. If your label is bumpy, your food is not good to eat. This idea could help to decrease food waste dramatically! 

Banana fibre paper

Banana fibre paper is a highly sustainable and ecologically friendly material. It makes use of the fibres which are found when pulling apart bunches of bananas which are usually discarded. The type of paper and packaging that is made from banana fibre is 100% compostable. An Australian company is using banana fibre to make fruit and vegetable trays to transport their produce with 5 million trays per year being produced.
 
With so many amazing innovations on the market, the future of the packaging industry is very exciting. At Wessex Packaging, we are always looking at ways to be more environmentally friendly and to produce our products with higher efficiency. You can learn more about our production methods here.

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