The packaging industry is the fastest-growing industry of the 21st century. This is possible due to the help of an equally fast-growing e-commerce industry. The convenience of shopping from the comfort of your home is one of the biggest highlights of the 2000s.

From pencil to bag, and from bag to clothes, from jewellery to firearms, you can buy anything that you like. And that will reach your doorstep without any issue.

This convenience of e-commerce has given rise to another problem which is waste management. Due to poor waste management of single-use plastic and non-biodegradable material, nature is suffering every second.

Not just that the brands and companies spend over 150 million dollars just to pack products. And many times the packaging ends up in a garbage can. There have been many instances where we can find humongous amounts of packaging done on a single product which is equally bad.

In this article, we will talk about 6 ways to reduce packaging waste which will save you money and time. Before that, we will talk about the harmful effects that packaging has on the environment.

If that is something that you are looking for then stay with us till the end.

How does packaging affect the environment?

You reap what you sow, we have heard and used this saying many times. We agree that this is the way of life, a universal truth that no one can change. This is true about our packaging habits as well.

We all have gotten so comfortable with single-use plastic that it is getting nearly impossible to imagine our life without it. This action has its consequences itself. The huge amount of plastic waste is hammering the environmental balance.

Here, are some of the ways that show how much this attitude is costing us.

1. Nearly 140 million tonnes of single-use plastic is dumped inside the ocean. This is creating havoc for marine life. There have been many cases which have shown how much this single-use plastic is affecting the life of marine animals.
2. When we go on a trip or vacation, we tend to take all kinds of junk food and snacks that we can fit in our bags. Then we litter the place where we sit and enjoy. This affects the Flora and fauna of that particular biodiversity.
3. Many times hungry animals try to eat the empty packs in search of some food and swallow the plastic and then they choke on it and without any external help they ultimately die.
4. We all are familiar with the concept of instant food. Where we heat the eatable in its plastic container. Heating the food in plastic containers and even eating in one can result in several deadly diseases as the Microplastic enters and accumulates in our bodies. This accumulated microplastic is said to be harmful to the human body in both the short and long term.
5. When single-use plastic is not recycled or properly treated, it mostly ends up in landfill. When they are taken for waste management or treatment which sadly, happens most of the time, it weathers the heat and rain.

Slowly and steadily the plastic chemically breakdowns into a harmful chemical which seeps into the ground and ultimately contaminates groundwater.

How to reduce packaging waste?

In the above section, we have talked about the harmful effects of packaging waste that affects the environment. In this section, we will talk about the ways with the help of which you can reduce packaging waste.

1. Flexible packaging

The idea of flexible packaging is that lightweight packaging takes up fewer resources than traditional rigid packaging. The flexible packaging is a great way to make sure you spend less on materials.

Flexible packages are most of the time made of high-quality and high-density plastic material that can be easily recycled.

2. Custom packaging

Custom packaging is one of the best ways to make sure that you are over or under-packaging your products. Many things are categorised under custom packaging. A few examples of this would be custom packaging tape and custom boxes.

Using custom tape is one of the most affordable methods when it comes to the customization of your products. A custom tape with logo is the best way to build brand awareness.

3. Avoid excessive packaging

The most effective way to reduce packaging waste is to avoid excessive packaging. Excessive packaging can be seen in the form of big corrugated boxes that contains a relatively smaller product for the box and then it is packed with a tonne of filler material.

This is a total waste of money, time and resources for both customer and brand. Not just that it will give a bad unboxing experience for the customer.

4. Use minimal packaging

Minimal packaging is the new trend for Generation Z. It consists of using minimal designs and use of corrugated boxes which are used to give a luxury experience for the customer.

When a customer gets a product with minimal packaging they automatically think that the product is made from high-quality material which will be a plus point for your brand.

5. Use sustainable products packaging

Sustainable products have become the hype of town. These products are loved by everyone, especially the people who care about the environment. Sustainable product packaging is the best way to ensure that the environment is getting the balance that it required for peaceful living.

Conclusion

We are at the end of our discussion about the six ways that can help in reducing packaging waste and save money. Not just the ways, we have also talked about the reasons to do so.

Some of the reasons were to save marine life and stop groundwater contamination, then we talked about how about uch single-use packaging waste is damaging the flora and fauna of the place.

Not just ocean, environment and groundwater, plastic is affecting humans, their bodies and the environment at microscopic levels which is concerning.

To tackle this problem we have talked about the 6 ways of reducing packaging waste which you have read in the above paragraph.

We hope that this blog helped you to find the information that you needed.

Thank you for reading til the end.