Box Sealing Tapes and the Environment
From a production standpoint, paper based tapes have a distinct advantage, since they are manufactured from a renewable resource. When consumers show a preference for paper based packaging materials, it is usually for this reason. However, packaging sustainability involves many other factors as well.
Packaging mass is a sustainability factor which favors plastic carton sealing tape. The polypropylene films used in box sealing tapes are extremely strong in the machine and transverse directions. As a result, shipping boxes can be securely sealed for shipment with a minimal amount of raw packaging material. The relatively small mass of packaging material used per application when using plastic tapes has two important environmental consequences.
- Less packaging waste is introduced into the waste or recycling stream
- Less energy is consumed in the transportation of packaging materials through the distribution chain
These sustainable differences are more significant when plastic tapes are applied through automatic case sealing equipment. Because pressure sensitive tapes are thin and flexible, they tend to be overused when applied to cartons manually. Operators often place multiple strips of tape to the box, even when a single strip is more than adequate. This tendency to over package negates the theoretical sustainable advantage of plastic tape. Water activated tapes can also be over applied, but using a high quality water activated tape dispenser does an excellent job of controlling tape use.
Plastic and paper tapes can be removed from corrugated material during the recycling process, but recycling facilities recommend removal of tape prior to recycling in order to make their work more efficient.
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Packaging Materials, Packaging Equipment, Packaging Solutions
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