From plastic to a new era of paper │ Changing direction of waste removal

The plastic waste problem grows bigger every year

You may have noticed that the materials used for candy packaging and iced drink straws on product shelves have recently been changed to paper. The increasing number of companies adopting paper products is, needless to say, to reduce the environmental impact of plastics.

Currently, environmental destruction caused by plastic waste is regarded as a problem all over the world, and various measures are being taken to solve the problem.

Why isn’t it straightforward? │ Plastic and recycling

“Is it okay if I separate and throw away plastics for recycling and don’t have to switch to paper?” “If you use a paper straw, it won’t taste as good! Isn’t there any benefit to consumers?” That is the image on the topic.
Plastics used as consumables are actually difficult to recycle. When manufacturing new plastic products from plastic waste, different types of resin should not be mixed. Do you know which trash can you should put the plastic products right next to you?

For example, when you throw away a PET bottle, it says that you should separate the label, cap, and bottle body and throw it away. Since each part is made of different resin, it must be collected separately. In other words, it’s tedious.

At the extreme, some may decide, “If PET bottle waste isn’t good for the environment, you can’t drink cola or Fanta anymore!”, But “I want to reduce plastic waste, but drink soft drinks.” I think that there are many readers who say, “It’s hard to stop!”

However, efforts by companies focused on sustainability have led to the development of paper bottles to replace plastic bottles.

Expected paper bottle

In 2020, Coca-Cola unveiled a first-generation prototype paper bottle developed at Paboco ¹, which began testing in Europe the following year. The prototype is 100% recyclable, but not yet complete. It consists of a paper shell made from sustainable wood and a rPET lining and bio-based material barrier suitable for liquid contents.

By 2025, Unilever² has promised to halve the amount of unused plastic used in its packaging and reduce plastic usage by more than 100,000 tons.

We changed the entire series of ice cream from plastic to paper containers and lids, and removed the non-recyclable plastic seals so that they could be treated like household paper recycling.

Will such developments make it common for even carbonated drinks to use paper packaging instead of plastic? This paper bottle is likely to make a big difference in achieving sustainability.

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