What Packaging Is The Most Environmentally Friendly

When we talk about sustainable packaging materials, we are talking about products that are either recyclable, biodegradable, or both. This is important because all the non-recyclable waste that comes out of the estimated billions of packages delivered each year can add up to quite a lot of trash.

Plastic may degrade into smaller and smaller pieces (which are then in the soil and waterways) but - as far as we have seen - do not actually ever biodegrade. Even if it does fully degrade, our plastic use is wildly outpacing its ability to do so, leaving us with mountains of trash with no hope of disappearing. The takeaway: if you have any other option for eco friendly food packaging, just no. If you do purchase plastic, use it as much as possible before recycling.

If the packaging is made from natural materials, this means it will be biodegradable. Plastic is not easily biodegraded, taking hundreds if not thousands of years to break down, releasing harmful chemicals on its way. Some eco-friendly packaging, such as sustainable paper products, will even be compostable.