Problem

If you want to take a step in the right direction and go green you should start with paying attention to eco-friendly packaging every time you shop. Our current environmental crisis can be much attributed to the main contributors such as plastic and non-recycled paper.

Thankfully modern day technology is capable of producing eco-friendly packaging products for just about anything. But unless we all take a powerful step in the right direction and demand that traditional (old style) packaging is being removed from the products we buy, the market has a lot of room to improve for a greener tomorrow.

Solution

What exactly is eco-friendly packaging:

It is hard to imagine eco-friendly packaging materials if we don't know what they look like. Perhaps your picture boxes made of grass or bamboo, or leaf-wrapped foods in the supermarket. While your vision could theoretically include all of the above, currently when we speak of eco-friendly packaging products we mean:

• Stretch wrap
• Bioplastic containers
• Natural cellulose foam 

Many packaging manufacturers are making their packaging biodegradable these days. This means that the products can be broken down into simpler forms by living organisms. This reduces the strain put on our environment by petrochemical plastics and non-recycled paper.

Effectiveness / Result

How to help remove the bad and replace it with the good:

A great way to go green and help contribute to a more sustained environment you can avoid buying any products that are not presented with eco-friendly packaging. Another option is to remove the nasty boxes and materials in the supermarket and dump them in their bins.

Doing this will force the owners to dispose of the rubbish themselves and if we all did that they'll soon find ways to remove the packing altogether.

You could also do the following to help create your own eco-friendly packing solutions:

• Make your own cards vs buying them (use non-bleached recycled card stock).
• Refuse plastic shopping bags at the shops. Take your own green bags instead.
• Recycle packages you already have at home and use them for arts and crafts projects.
• Use non-bleached and recycled paper sources vs using white paper from plantations that are no eco-friendly.
• Avoid driving into town to buy one single household item or food to reduce your carbon footprint.

A word about food and eco-friendly packaging:

Are you a busy person? Perhaps you work a full time job, run a family with several kids and find it hard to cook your own meals at home. I do understand that is becomes harder to find time to cook meals and run a household for many Australians as many of us increase their working hours because we are forced to do so thanks to the economy.

But did you know that buying fast foods places a huge toll at our environment? Buy buying pre-washed salads, microwave meals, shrink-wrapped vegetables and other similar fast foot items you don't contribute to a greener tomorrow. In fact, you damage our planet even more.

By implementing a few small changes you can still save time:

• Wash your own salad (seriously, it takes a couple of minutes at the most plus you'll save money).
• Buy your bread at the bakery and not in plastic bags.
• If buying microwave meals are a must consider using eco-friendly packaging suppliers only. Or else reuse the boxes for other things at home.
• Avoid tinned foods if possible.
• Choose fresh vegetables rather than pre-washed, shrink-wrapped.
  
• Think before you buy!

Eco-friendly packaging solutions start with recycling:

It is a known fact that a recycling plant reduces our environmental impact. Even better is to recycle at home and reuse items by re-purposing them. Unless we change the way we live, buy and recycle the environment will continue to suffer.

Eco solutions are found everywhere we look for those of us who care enough. You can start by implementing strategies for everyday use to remove waste and the best way to do this is by using eco-friendly packaging materials when you shop.

The Facts

Production of eco-friendly packing materials:

Most eco-friendly biodegradable plastics are produced from plant sources. These can include:

• Corn
• Wheat
• Potatoes

In the extraction process the starch is taken from the plant material, and then exposed to micro-organisms that cause lactic acid to form long-chain polymers. The result isPLA, also known as poly lactyl acid.