For designers, making environmentally sustainable decisions often comes down to the choice of material used for a client’s project.  When it comes to packaging design, there are literally thousands of possibilities for source materials. Plastics are one of the most common and prevalent choices available.  They are lightweight, relatively cheap (in terms of upfront cost) and readily available. 

Unfortunately,  from a sustainability stand point they lack pizzazz. The majority of plastics are made from petroleum products and are therefore not renewable.  Additionally, plastics are extremely, perhaps overly, durable. When a typical plastic container is placed into a modern landfill, it is expected to last at least 1000 years. Worst still is that the molecules that comprise most plastics are complex and don’t really break down. So in 1000 years time, the plastic may appear to be gone, but in reality it has probably just dispersed into the eco-system in really small pieces.  

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