Well, we all know the correct answer to the “Paper or plastic?” question at the check-out counter, and that would be “Neither, I brought my own bag.” But what about the question of “Plastic or glass?” – packaging that is.
When advising clients on which choice to make when I am developing and designing a label for a product that demands shelf longevity, I have found that as of yet, there is no faultless answer to the question “Is plastic or glass the better solution for food packaging?”
When thinking of mother earth first, the initial reaction is to use glass and avoid plastic and the problems it has created all together. Glass is 100% recyclable and provides an excellent shelf life due to its impermeable quality. But glass is heavy and comes with it own set of manufacturing and user hazards. As a society we have come to expect the convenience that plastics contribute in our everyday lives, and that convenience is continually insisted upon by the end user. Those advantages that plastic has to offer has created the a tug-of-war between finding the balance of the benefits of glass and the convenience of plastic in food packaging.
There are so many different types of plastics available, code #1 (PET or PETE) and code #2 (HDPE) plastics have become our most frequently used plastics, and therefore relatively commonplace in our recycling programs. So, there is good environmental sense to look towards PET or HDPE plastics for packaging because of the wide acceptance in curbside recycling programs. But lack of shelf life is plastics greatest downfall. Air can travel through the plastic, and this permeation means oxidation of the contents within. As we go up the plastic ladder, the uses expand, but the ability to recycle greatly decreases.
Some products are perfectly acceptable in plastic. Milk for example works great in HDPE containers, because it is consumed within a short duration, evading a long sit on the shelf. But what about a food product that requires a longer shelf life? Unfortunately, we have yet to create a plastic that is a trouble-free recycleable as well as provides a long shelf life, leaving the food industry craved for the newest multi-layer polymer that will keep products as fresh as glass.
Pro-active companies like wine bottle manufacturer Portavin are trying to combat plastic bottle permeability by adding techniques and qualities to the packaging process that “scavenge oxygen from the environment outside the bottle and the environment inside the bottle.” In this case study at Portavin, wine oxidized within 8 to 12 months depending on the packaging and/or the packaging process. The was acceptable in a few instances where the end user was going to consume the product within this time frame., but not acceptable for most purveyors. So, even in this valiant effort at Portacin, plastics have fallen short to the the superiority of glass.
So, weighing a quick list of the pro’s and con’s of glass and plastic leaves us stymied.
Until we develop a better plastic, or ideally a completely new material for food packaging from a renewable source (for example possibly hemp for plastics, but that is a future Design Talk article) that can compete with the structural impermeability of glass, glass is still on the list as a viable option despite its few downfalls. And we still need to currently keep plastic on the list for its convenience, despite the hardship it creates on the environment. When shelf life is the prominate need, we have yet to find the ideal solution that combines convenience and impermeability while not adding to the burden of our landfills.
