Is Plastic Packaging Actually THE Most Sustainable Choice?

One of the hardest things for me to wrap my head around when I started in sustainable packaging 8 years ago was the idea that plastic packaging could be sustainable.

It just totally went against everything I had heard.

Is it an environmental villain destroying our oceans or a sustainability hero with the lowest carbon footprint? The answer depends entirely on which lens you're looking through.

When it comes to sustainable packaging, this is probably the most heated debate, so let's look at both sides of the argument so you can decide.

The Case Against Plastic

Many environmentalists view plastic as a profound ecological threat for compelling reasons:

Persistent Pollution: Plastic doesn't naturally biodegrade in meaningful timeframes. Instead, it fragments into increasingly smaller pieces, creating microplastics that have now been found everywhere from Arctic snow to human bloodstreams.

Ocean Impact: The images are unforgettable - sea turtles with straws in their nostrils, birds with stomachs full of plastic fragments, and massive garbage patches swirling in our oceans. By some projections, there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050 if current trends continue.

Health Concerns: Growing evidence suggests potential health risks from chemicals in certain plastics. Endocrine disruptors and other compounds may leach from plastic packaging into food and beverages, particularly when heated, raising human health concerns that are increasingly considered part of the sustainability equation.

Visual Pollution: Unlike materials that break down quickly in nature, discarded plastic remains visible in landscapes for decades, creating aesthetic pollution that diminishes natural beauty and degrades quality of life.

The Case For Plastic

Despite these concerns, plastic has powerful defenders who make legitimate points about its environmental advantages:

Low Carbon Footprint: Life cycle assessments often show that plastic packaging has lower carbon emissions than alternatives like glass, metal, or paper. It requires less energy to produce, is lightweight (reducing transportation emissions), and can be highly efficient in material usage.

Resource Efficiency: Plastic packaging typically uses less material by weight than alternatives to achieve the same protective function, potentially conserving resources in manufacturing. In the case of baby food, imagine how much raw material goes into a 4 oz glass jar versus a flexible packaging holding 4 oz.

Recyclability of Certain Types: While plastic recycling has limitations, specific types like PET (#1) and HDPE (#2) have reasonably good recycling infrastructure in many regions. Clear PET bottles in particular have relatively high recycling rates compared to other plastic formats.

Food Preservation: Plastic's barrier properties excel at preventing food spoilage, which prevents food waste—itself a major environmental concern with significant greenhouse gas implications.

Which Side Is Telling The Truth?

The truth, as usually happens in sustainability discussions, lies somewhere in the middle. Plastic isn't inherently evil or inherently virtuous. It's a material with specific properties that make it ideal for certain applications and problematic for others.

The key questions to consider when evaluating plastic packaging aren't whether it's "good" or "bad" but rather:

1. What environmental problem are you most concerned about addressing? Climate change? Ocean pollution? Resource depletion?
2. For your specific product, what packaging material offers the best overall environmental profile considering all impacts?
3. What happens to your packaging in the real world after use? Not in an ideal scenario, but in actual practice with existing infrastructure?
4. Are there ways to capture plastic's benefits while mitigating its downsides? (Closed-loop recycling systems, improved collection, etc.)

Ultimately, this is a judgement call you will need to make.

Making Your Decision

When evaluating plastic versus alternatives for your packaging, consider both quantitative metrics (carbon footprint, water usage) and qualitative factors (ocean impact, visual pollution). Don't let either side's strong language sway you into an all-or-nothing position.

The most thoughtful approach is to:

1. Understand your product's specific needs and constraints
2. Evaluate multiple environmental impacts, not just carbon
3. Consider the realistic end-of-life scenario for your packaging in your market
4. Align your choice with your brand's environmental priorities

Sometimes plastic will be the right answer, sometimes not. The key is making a fully informed decision rather than an ideologically driven one.

If you like video content, I did a podcast episode talking about whether Coca-Cola's recycled PET bottle is sustainable. You may enjoy it if you want to learn more about the sustainability of plastic.

What environmental impact matters most to you and your customers? That's the crucial question that should guide your sustainable packaging choices.