Comparing alternative materials in replacing polyethylene use in plastic bags

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Packaging objects (e.g. food) is important for our everyday lives. Packaging is used by

companies to increase the appeal of a product, for easy transport or handling, and to preserve or protect

objects from contamination (Alamri et al., 2021). The importance of packaging has only increased in

recent times, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, the amount of non-biodegradable

food wastes grew by 15%, and delivery services using packaging, specifically for food, increased by 12%

- 36% (Oliveira et al., 2021).

Currently, the most used packaging material today is plastic, with different plastics being used for

different products. Plastics are synthetic materials that can be moulded into different shapes to make

different materials. For example: polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is used in making single-use plastic

bottles, and polyethylene (PE) is used in making plastic bags. (Mechanisms, n.d.). Plastic is usually made

from petroleum, with around 12 million oil barrels being used every year in the United States to produce

plastic packaging bags (Alppm, 2021). These plastics are used because of their durability, low cost, light

weight, versatility, and lifespan.

While plastics are very useful, they also have some disadvantages, especially to the environment.

They pollute the environment, are toxic to animals, take a while to degrade, and their production emits a

lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, polluting the environment (Young, 2021). While these

materials can be recycled to reduce some of these negative effects, 91% of current plastics are not

recycled (National Geographic Society, 2019). Due to these negatives, some people are turning to other

packaging materials as alternatives to plastic. A thorough study to compare plastic bags to other

alternative materials would be beneficial to determine if these alternatives can replace plastic as a

packaging material.
 One alternative packaging material that has gained attention is paper and products, such as

cardboard. Paper packaging is made from trees or wood pulp. Newspapers, textbooks, and other products

also use paper (Alppm, 2021). Paper is recyclable, eco-friendly, and reusable. While paper may be

considered better for the environment compared to plastics, it also has negatives. Paper packaging is less

durable than plastic, and is susceptible to being damaged by water and other liquids. Paper also uses

energy during production and transportation, and it can contribute to deforestation since paper is made

from trees (Young, 2021). Cardboard is also recyclable and eco-friendly, but it uses a lot of water for

production, makes a lot of solid waste, and is bulky and heavy (devittmatthew, 2021).

Bioplastics, such as polylactic acid (PLA), are another sustainable alternative to petroleum-based

plastics. Bioplastics are made of biomass, such as corn starch, instead of petroleum like traditional

plastics, and they are more environmentally friendly since they are biodegradable (able to degrade or

break down in a short amount of time. They also have their own problems, however, including needing to

be recycled in specific facilities (Creative Mechanisms Staff, 2016).

While PLA plastic is considered sustainable, it also has some problems, including low heat

resistance and low toughness/durability. Research is currently being done to solve these problems, but

with limited success. (Nagarajan et al., 2016). PLA plastic is biodegradable, and is commonly used for

biodegradable medical devices (e.g. surgical screws), shrink wrap, and plastic films. One unique

characteristic of PLA plastic is its ability to be moulded when heated, instead of burning or degrading like

other plastics, making it a good material for 3D printing. (Rogers, 2015).

Objectives of the Study

The project aims to compare different alternative packaging materials to PE plastic bags to obtain

more sustainable and eco-friendly alternative packaging material that is just as effective as currently used

plastics in carrying items. The study will check whether these alternative packaging materials can

function similarly to PE plastic bags by checking their: carrying capacity, durability, resistance to water,

cost, and sustainability to the environment (Admin, 2019).. These alternative packaging materials will be:

a paper bag, a cardboard box, and PLA plastic. These materials will be obtained by being bought online.

The project also aims to determine the most functional and sustainable packaging material as a feasible

alternative to PE plastic bags by testing their capability to carry items and by comparing them with the

different parameters.

Significance of the Study

With the prevalent use of plastic around the world and its increased presence in food packaging

during the COVID-19 pandemic (Oliveira et al., 2021), a new sustainable packaging material is needed

now more than ever due to plastic’s pollution on the environment (Young, 2021). To find suitable

alternative materials, we need to test them to ensure that they can still be used similarly to plastic, with

the same function, and without any detriments to the user, all while ensuring that the material is

sustainable to the environment.

Materials including paper or PLA are made from biomass, a renewable resource, and they can be tested

and compared to PE plastic (Creative Mechanisms Staff, 2016). These alternative materials may have

their own problems, so they will be tested to find out their strengths and effectiveness as an alternative

packaging material, but also to find their weaknesses for future research to obtain solutions.
Scope and Limitations

The results of this study will be limited to qualitative descriptions, instead of quantitative values.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, accesses to appropriate facilities are currently prohibited (Oliveira et al.,

2021). The laboratory equipment necessary to measure objects and obtain quantitative values are lacking,

so results from the study will be descriptions instead. The parameters used to compare the different

materials will have results that will be qualitative, so other parameters may not have been able to be

included in the study (Alamri et al., 2021). Only three materials will be studied as alternatives, to limit the

scope of the study. The experiment would use a paper bag, a cardboard box, PLA plastic, and a plastic

bag as a control. These materials were selected because they are currently the most prevalent packaging

materials being used today.

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