Welt said life cycle assessment helps package designers focus on delivering the essential functions a client needs, with a minimum of waste. For instance, Welt said, corporations such as the McDonald's restaurant chain save millions of dollars each year by eliminating unnecessary material from boxes, bags and other containers. They stopped using foam boxes for sandwiches and substituted polymer-coated paper wrappers. In addition, new technology allows paper to compete with foam and plastic packaging in more sophisticated applications, said Bryon Crump, sales and product development manager with EnviroPAK, a St. Louis-based corporation specializing in molded paper pulp packaging. EnviroPAK recycles newspaper into customized shipping containers for electronics, bottled beverages and light bulbs, Crump said.
Recycling is another popular strategy for reducing packaging waste.
All our raw material is post-consumer newsprint, and our products are 100 percent recyclable and biodegradable. Crump said demand for molded paper pulp packaging is rising, in part because some state legislatures have enacted restrictions on disposal of synthetic packaging materials. In Europe, where packaging is subject to environmental impact fees, molded paper pulp is one of the least-expensive materials. Companies develop new molding techniques all the time, so you can do practically anything with the material. The packaging industry needs people with vision to keep building on these innovations.