Why do we use plastic bags inside our cardboard boxes?

Our customers certainly have. Obviously, they are there to protect the content of the cardboard box during transport but the question is "Why plastic bags? Are they really the best solution a sustainable company could come up with?". Taking into account many factors, the answer to that is yes, at the moment, this is the most sustainable solution. 

We compared the use of plastic bags with the use of paper (PadPak compacted cushioning paper). The impact of using paper instead of plastic on CO₂ emission is much higher. Not only does the process of producing and recycling paper entails a higher CO₂ emission than that of plastic, it also makes the total package much heavier which again creates CO₂ during transport than the plastic alternative.

These findings are supported by several independent studies.

In order to make this decision, the Flemish government agency specialized in waste and environment called OVAM was consulted.

Biodegradable plastic doesn't really disappear from the environment once it is degraded: it falls apart into tiny particles (microplastics) that are still harmful for the environment. Biodegradable plastics are not very well regulated so it's difficult to know how they were produced and what exactly you’re buying.

Then there seems to be another alternative: bio-compostable plastics. This is a possible solution but one our customers are not ready for. Bio-compostable plastic does solve the microplastic problem but this kind of plastic causes problems in the plastics recycling process if not separated from normal plastic. Having bio-compostable plastics in the recycling process of normal plastics should be avoided at all costs as this makes normal plastic un(re)usable. Our customers usually don’t have a compostable waste stream so the chances are very slim that they will be separated from other waste.

The advise given by OVAM was to stick to the plastic bags that we were already using if we want to minimize our CO₂ emission and none recyclable waste. The plastic bags we currently use are made out of recycled plastic.