Paper or plastic? Sustainable packaging that adds value to your products

Sensitivity to the environment pushes more and more consumers to favour products marketed with eco-friendly packaging, which reduces their post-use impact and the carbon footprint of the production process.

Paper or plastic?

Accurate studies on the production, disposal and recycling processes of paper and plastic show that both materials have a very similar impact on the environment, much less than in the past thanks to the new technologies for recyclability.

SMI offers a wide range of machinery capable of processing green materials such as recycled shrink film, rPET, corrugated cardboard or light kraft cardboard, allowing companies to choose the most suitable packaging solution for their production, storage/transport and marketing needs.

Respecting the environment by choosing PAPER

Among the different types of paper and cardboard used in food packaging, lightweight kraft cardboard is growing strongly and stands out for:

• resistance: it protects delicate products while on the move.
• aesthetics: it offers the possibility of using impactful graphics and printing QR codes and personalized information
• rapid biodegradability and a fairly simple manufacturing process
• savings: reduction in the amount of material used in packaging and possibility of making minimal packages (such as the top pad).

By contrast, paper and cardboard packages require a significant amount of energy to produce with the exception of recycled material, which requires up to 60% less energy and up to 70% less water than virgin material. However, paper and cardboard can be recycled for a maximum of 5-7 times, as their fibers lose in length and quality with each process, making it necessary to add new wood fibers .

SMI solutions for eco-sustainable PAPER packaging

Kraft cardboard can be used to obtain a completely closed box, thanks to the WP series wrap-around case packer and CM series combined machines, or to produce packs in overlapping cardboard sleeves or packs with a cardboard top pad, thanks to the multipack packaging machines of the MP and TPP series.

Arcwise® paperboard developed by the company SCA Forest Products uses a raw material entirely derived from renewable sources and, thanks to the special bevelled design, can reduce the amount of material used by about 30% compared to a traditional box and guarantees greater strength thanks to the perfect adherence of the package to the packaged product. This type of cardboard can be used on the wrap-around case packers of the WP series and the combined machines of the CM series.

Respecting the environment by choosing PLASTIC

Plastic packaging has excellent protective properties, can be recycled, in theory an unlimited number of times and, compared to paper, requires less energy in both production and recycling processes. The features that distinguish this type of packaging are:

• impermeability: a fundamental factor in preserving food and avoiding waste
• resistance during the transport and storage phases of the packages
• aesthetics: the neutral film allows you to easily identify the products inside while the printed one enhances them
• savings: with the same technical characteristics, it is common to use film reels with a lower thickness, to reduce the energy consumption of shrink wrapping

On the other hand, the raw material is obtained from oil, a limited and non-renewable resource, and is not biodegradable; for these reasons, it is important to choose packaging made of 100% post-consumer recycled PET (so-called rPET).

SMI solutions for eco-sustainable PLASTIC packaging

The recycled film reduces the production and dispersion of virgin plastic material. It can be used with the automatic shrink wrapping machines of the LSK, CSK, SK, ASW series and with the combined shrink film + carton box packaging machines of the LCM, CM and AFCW series.

The stretch film allows to reduce energy consumption during the packaging process thanks to the elimination of the shrink tunnel. It is used to make packs in film only on SFP series packaging machines.

For further information, do not hesitate to contact our sales department or visit our website. 

Marketing Department
SMI S.p.A.
www.smigroup.it