Source: Unsplash

Now that we’ve determined what plastic is, we must discuss why it’s bad. Plastic has become so ubiquitous because it’s incredibly useful. It’s lightweight, inexpensive, and in its different forms, it can be used in countless ways. That’s why, since 1950, over 8 billion tons of plastic has been produced. Unfortunately, only about 30% of this plastic is still in use. 12% has been incinerated, 9% has been recycled, and 79% has ended up in landfills and the environment.

The reason for this is that plastic is tough to get rid of. Even if it is recyclable (not all plastic), contamination can render the plastic unrecyclable, sending it straight to a landfill. Once in a landfill, plastic cannot biodegrade, which means that it will just break into smaller and smaller pieces, called microplastics. If a landfill is well managed, it should prevent these microplastics from leaking into the environment. Unfortunately, not all landfills are (especially those in countries with poor waste management regulations). The leakage of microplastics causes all sorts of issues, and they have even been detected in human breast milk. Although we do not yet know the health consequences of this discovery, if there are any, it’s still concerning.

Furthermore, because plastic is lightweight, it can easily catch the wind. Even if things like plastic packaging or plastic bags are thrown away, they might blow away and become litter.

It’s also common practice for some countries to export their plastic waste to other countries to be processed and recycled. Unfortunately, many of these countries already lack formal waste management systems and struggle to manage the plastic waste that they already have.

As a result, these plastics often end up in mismanaged landfills, improperly incinerated, or littering vulnerable communities and waterways, eventually becoming marine plastic. As a result, even if you do your best to sort and dispose of your plastic correctly, it may still end up as litter thousands of miles away.

Plastic's main issues are its universal use and its inability to biodegrade. Because of these two things, vulnerable communities are drowning in plastic waste, ocean plastic is killing marine life and ecosystems, and microplastics are now finding their way into the human body. To solve this problem, we must limit our plastic use as much as possible.

Now that we know what plastic is and the different types of plastic, it becomes easier to answer the question, “Is this packaging plastic-free?” When we talk to those asking if something is “plastic-free,” they’re usually asking some combination of the following:

• Is it a material that will not biodegrade?
• Will it cause lasting harm to the oceans and lands if left as litter?
• Is it a synthetically or artificially made polymer (even if derived from renewable resources) with chemicals or toxins that could leach and cause harm to people or the environment?
• Is it made with petroleum?

With this in mind, we realize that rather than giving a “yes” or “no” answer to the question, the most helpful way we can respond is by being specific about what materials are included and whether or not (and why) we see them as plastic or non-plastic.

This approach may not always give companies the answer they want to hear. But we hope this level of transparency helps everyone make the right decisions for their packaging strategy and supports their customers to dispose of their mailers and boxes properly.

So, for example, we may get the question: Are your 100% Recycled Kraft Mailers plastic-free?

Our answer: The 100% Recycled Kraft Mailer is a paper mailer and, as such, is largely free of any plastic. Most people would consider this to be a plastic-free product.

It is important to note that this product's glue, adhesive, and release liners contain synthetic polymers. On the Kraft Mailer, the release is a small strip of silicone-lined paper, which we consider plastic, even though many others do not. The silicone-release liners should be landfilled and are neither recyclable nor compostable.

Glue is also required to form and seal the Kraft Mailer. This glue is a thermoplastic hot melt adhesive and, therefore, does contain plastic. Additionally, the seal of the mailer is an acrylic emulsion adhesive. Because there are such trace amounts of these polymer adhesives in the overall package, the mailer can still be composted at home or in facilities that accept paper, envelopes, pizza boxes, and other corrugated materials. However, we strongly recommend that these mailers be recycled.

Virtually all mailers on the market utilize hot melt glues, resin adhesives, and silicone-lined release liners. While finding “plastic-free” adhesives and release liners is nearly impossible today, we are actively working on R&D to develop non-plastic alternatives.

If you ask a question like this, we know you care deeply about your company’s environmental impact. It is our responsibility to answer you clearly and as accurately as we can with the knowledge and framework we have.