Page 49 - Plastics News April 2024

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

and cannot easily be disposed of or
recycled.

2024 will see a much wider adoption
of right-sized, automated packaging
solutions being on boarded, especially
with major retailers and e com-
merce companies. These technolo-
gies create on-demand boxes with
the right dimensions for each order
created on the warehouse line. Right- exterior packaging. An item shipped
sizing lessens waste, improves the without the addition of an external
customer experience, and significant- box is appealing from an environ-
ly reduces cost. 3. Lightweighting. mental perspective, and some pack-
Well-designed and tested lighter- ages can adapt to this process if, for
2. Plastics and the circular economy. weight corrugated packaging can sub- example, they have strong original
Akintevs / iStock via Getty Images Plus stitute for things like plastic mailers packaging or are soft items that can

The Center for International Envi- and also reduce the overall weight be stacked in a box during the ship-
ronmental Law predicts that by 2030, of corrugated boxes. Major Ecom- ping process without damage.
plastic emissions of greenhouse gasses merce companies and big-box stores There will still be logistical issues that
could reach up to 1.34 gigatons per are already starting to investigate light need to be resolved before this meth-
year. We’ve already seen steps being weighting options. od takes off in a big way. It can be diffi-
taken toward reducing the amount of Light weighting is the use of lighter- cult from a practitioner standpoint to
plastic filler in shipped packages and weight packaging materials for box handle multiple items from multiple
the replacement of plastic fillers with construction to create greater savings warehouses in a single order with-
recyclable alternatives in the enter- and minimize the use of heavier, more out using an external package. But
prise. The urgency to remove plastics environmentally impactful corrugate. we’ll see retailers working creatively
will continue, but we will also see op- Like right-sizing, light weighting can to solve this problem throughout the
tions being provided for the plastic fill- reduce overall packaging weight, coming year.
ers that are already in circulation and which results in more packages per
cannot be easily recycled. truck and a meaningful lessening of One possible outcome could be a
move toward different approaches to
Awareness of the circular economy, the number of trucks on the road and actual delivery. Retailers could move
which employs the reuse and recy- the amount of fuel used. toward offering more diverse cus-
cling of products and materials to But light weighting should be man- tomer choices, such as having their
minimize waste, is growing both at aged thoughtfully, considering what private fleet contracted employees
the corporate level and among the is being shipped, how it might be leave items inside a garage, or in-
general public. As a result, we’ll see stacked or packed, and how far it will side the house. This is currently of-
multiple-use packaging options being need to travel. The goal is to find the fered by some major retailers such as
offered to consumers. sweet spot where the items in each Walmart’s “InHome” delivery service
For example, plastic fillers could be package remain intact, and the pack- and Amazon Key in Garage Delivery.
more deliberately designed to be use- age remains secure while the packag- These kinds of offerings could aid in
ful for a consumer to use for their ing itself is substantively reduced. the transition to no-boxing alterna-
own shipping needs, or companies 4. Experimentation. tives and create additional revenue
could offer options for the filler to be streams for purveyors as add-ons
sent back at no cost to the original re- Walmart to customer orders. But secondary
cipient. Then it could be repurposed We’ve already seen some organiza- packaging will always be needed for
on the company’s end. Similar options tions experiment with SIOC (Ship in most orders.
may also become more available for Own Container) to determine what
the packaging itself. packages can be sent safely without

PLASTICS NEWS 51
April 2024