Twenty per cent of this waste is plastic, with the vast majority sent to landfills because only 9% of the world’s plastic is recycled for a variety of reasons, including the lack of ability to fully recycle plastic.  Part of this is because plastics cannot degrade quickly; every piece ever made still exists. This makes creating an alternative to traditional plastic packaging one of the industry’s biggest challenges.

While using paper and cardboard packaging has proven more sustainable, since it is more recyclable and biodegradable, it still faces challenges. However, this doesn’t mean that paper and packaging don’t still face recyclability challenges’, especially where plastic coating has been applied to provide durability and safety protocols, particularly for food products.