15 Sustainable Secondary Packaging Ideas

1. Replace polystyrene “peanuts” with paper or recycled plastic loose fill.
2. Replace polystyrene packaging with a paper or polyethylene alternative.
3. Use inflatable air pillow packaging for simple void fill applications. Although the material is plastic, very little is needed; the packaging is really done by ambient air.
4. Use corrugated material with as high a recycled content as possible.
5. Reduce the size of your corrugated shipping containers.
6. Redesign your corrugated shipping containers to reduce the amount of material they contain.
7. Switch from a small corrugated shipping container to a paper-based mailing bag.
8. Upgrade your stretch wrap machine and/or stretch film for greater stretch and less packaging per load.
9. Down gauge to a thinner stretch film to reduce packaging per load. Most people overwrap.
10. Use a wide web stretch film to reduce the number of wraps per load.
11. Switch from polypropylene carton sealing tape to a paper alternative.
12. To eliminate carton sealing tape altogether, employ a self-locking box or tuck design. This is a great option for intra-plant shipments.
13. Conserve energy: Change from shrink bundling to stretch bundling.
14. Reconfigure pallet loads to minimize empty space on trucks or railcars during shipment. This conserves energy and fuel costs (among other benefits).
15. Start a contest to see which employee or customer can come up with the best sustainable packaging idea for your products.

Heritage Paper is committed to helping businesses and consumers make more sustainable packaging choices. Our packaging solutions include corrugated cardboard materials, automated packaging services and customized packaging designs. Contact us today to learn more.