The American Chemical Society has just introduced new paper-aluminum packaging that might transform how materials can become more sustainable, driving investment towards a more sustainable waste reduction future.
So much of our consumer waste is made from foil-lined plastics– think everyday items like tubes of toothpaste or snack packaging, like the inside of chip bags. Foil-lined plastics also dominate restaurant and take-out food delivery sectors, meaning more waste is produced from our consumer-based habits. Though foil-lined plastics are durable and recyclable, their lack of biodegradability is concerning, as Climate of Our Future reports, “Recycling laminated packaging is difficult in many cases. When plastic is laminated, some type of polymer or adhesive is combined with the two materials, which is usually very difficult to recycle.”
Though these materials might be effective and cost-saving, consumers desire alternative ways to produce less harmful waste with an eye towards environmentally-friendly products and packaging. This means finding ways to replace and even replicate the durability and effectiveness of foil-lined plastics, called polyethylene-aluminum in its scientific form.
Research published in ACS Omega suggests that replacing the plastic layer with paper could create a more sustainable packaging material, leading to more optimism as new design power sustainable measures.
Science Daily reports that researchers associated with the American Chemical Society sought to produce a paper-aluminum substance that would replace foil-lined plastics without compromising effectiveness. “Researchers created a digital model, verified with their tensile strength data, that could replicate these laminate stretching tests and reliably predict the material's response under different scenarios”, leading to mechanical properties nearly identical to polyethylene-aluminum with the same stretchability and durability, bu with a better recyclability leading to better biodegradable qualities.
Feats like these show consumers that scientific and engineering possibilities have the ability to change consumer patterns and habits for th better, leading ot more sustainable options that lead to a less direct impact on the environment. “Information [is available] to create sustainable materials that [can] perform like conventional options,” Science Daily reports, and these types of findings should give us hope for scientific research that has the potential to guide new designs, implicating consumer behavior so much so that sustainable measures can be actionable, effective, and convenient for everyone.
Learn more about how scientific research can lead to more sustainable packaging designs, directly affecting consumer behaviors and tendencies.
About the Author:
Madeline Medensky
Madeline Medensky is a content writer and editor based in Canada. She was recently the Public Relations Specialist for the University of Waterloo's Hub for Sustainability Integration where she reported on sustainability implementation for business development and economic change. Madeline's content expertise extends to other positions and opportunities in the tech sector. In her spare time, she exercises her storytelling abilities by writing and consuming creative fiction. You can read more of her content here: https://medium.com/@maddiemedensky
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