Recycled and Recyclable Products
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Packaging materials like plastic are prominently used in many industries to wrap and protect products for distribution, storage, and shipping. However, these materials make up a significant portion of municipal solid waste, equalling 82.2 million tons of generation in 2018.
Because of consumer pressure to address the danger that packaging materials cause the environment, the demand for eco-friendly materials has boomed. This pursuit of sustainability paved the way for using recycled and recyclable packaging materials.
Cougar Packaging Solutions is your one-stop shop for environmentally-friendly packaging needs. We deliver a broad scope of products, from corrugated boxes to compostable fillers, created from post-consumer and post-industrial recycled materials.
PCR Resins and Its Advantages
A substance from recycled plastic, such as beverage bottles, is called post-consumer recycled (PCR) resin. It offers a more environmentally friendly alternative to the virgin plastic resin typically used to create packaging materials, including sheets, containers, and packaging films.
PCR resins are excellent for almost every packaging purpose since they adhere to standards and regulations for food, pharmaceutical, medical, electronic, and general retail packaging. Its advantages include the following:
- Reduces the quantity of plastic dumped in landfills (4,800 16-ounce plastic bottles equal about a cubic yard of landfill space)
- Decreases carbon footprint (traditional plastics production produces nearly 900 million tons of carbon dioxide each year)
- Decreases the need for non-renewable petroleum products to make new polymers
- Reduces the energy required to create new plastics (recycling a pound of PET plastic instead of creating new can save up to 12,000 BTUs)
- Promotes a company’s sustainability goals and visions
Importance of Using Recycled and Recyclable Products
Plastics are the most common packaging materials used in many industries. Because of their durability and flexibility, they can store food, cover clothes, and carry other products in the market.
Although mostly recyclable, much plastic packaging is put to waste and poses many environmental problems — waste, soil, and air pollution, negative impact on human health, and threats to oceans and wildlife. Because of this, many businesses have been switching to recycled and recyclable materials for their packaging needs to contribute less to the growing packaging waste problem worldwide.
Storopack has devised a system to reclaim post-consumer material from the US consumer and create plastic products, including air pillows and bubble wrap, utilizing a minimum of 50% post-consumer plastic. The other 50% of these products are made from post-industrial waste, making this the first 100% recycled plastic packaging line that includes a minimum of 50% post-consumer material.
Recycled and recyclable materials also benefit business operations, providing several advantages to their users. For instance, eco-friendly packaging helps save the environment, is cost-efficient, and improves brand image.
Benefits of Recycled and Recyclable Products in Businesses
While recycled and recyclable products are mainly favored for their environmental benefits — such as increased sustainability and less carbon footprint, harmful toxins, and landfill waste — they can also positively impact businesses. Below are some benefits of eco-friendly packaging for your business:
Offers Versatility
Recycled and recyclable packaging can be used in various applications. Aside from serving as a wrap, they are also used as fillers to protect products inside their packaging.
Improves Brand Image
When a business presents itself as an environmentally-responsible company, it creates trust within the customer base. Through this, the company achieves an enhanced brand image, which leads to more consumers patronizing its products. Taking consumer waste out of landfills and making it useful again in packaging products is our company’s way of giving back to the environment.
Expands Customer Base
Customers often choose companies who adhere to sustainable practices and goals. Using recycled and recyclable packaging would attract more consumers with the same advocacy.
Recycled and Recyclable Products at Cougar Packaging Solutions
At Cougar Packaging Solutions, we understand how crucial it is to promote sustainability, as environmental degradation is a global problem. Due to this, we developed products made of post-consumer and post-industrial materials to help reduce businesses’ environmental impact.
Our recycled and recyclable products include the following:
Fun Pak Loose Fill
These are compostable, plant-based fillers that are shock-resistant and used to block and brace products inside packaging boxes.
PAPERbubble
This product is an eco-friendly alternative to bubble cushions that provide exceptional, robust, and long-lasting protective features.
STARCHwrap
This plant-based wrap is an alternative to bubble wrapping. It protects products from scratches, shock, and damage during shipment and transport, and it is compostable as well.
PAD LOC RENATURE
This fully compostable cushion delivers optimal blocking and bracing with superior shock and vibration absorption.
Eco-Crates
These corrugated containers incorporate plastic from recycled water bottles. Eco-Crates can meet International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) or American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) shipping standards.
Paper Void Fill
Paper void fills are a more practical choice for shipping sharp and heavy objects. These are additional protective padding placed between the item and the shipping box and comes in different varieties — Storopack’s PAPERplus® Cushioning Systems, PAPERplus® Classic, PAPERplus® Shooter, PAPERplus® Papillon.
Air Pillows
This eco-friendly alternative to paper wrapping and styrofoam peanuts offers excellent protection from shock for fragile and lightweight products. It comes in two variants — AIRplus® and AIRmove². All air pillow equipment can be configured to meet your needs with tabletop and overhead options.
Get Your Recycled and Recyclable Packaging Materials From Cougar!
We at Cougar Packaging Solutions have committed to providing exceptional products and services to our clients. With our 50 years of industrial packaging experience, we acquired deep and broad problem-solving expertise to deliver excellent but cost-effective packaging solutions to our customers.
Contact us today to learn more about our developments!