|
by Jonathan S. Cage
April/May 2008
 |
| Gift cards made
from Spartech’s
new REJUVEN8™
family of sheet
materials made
with NatureWorks®
polylactic acid (PLA)
polymer. The new
family of environmentally responsible
plastics can signifi
cantly reduce energy
usage and greenhouse gas emissions
compared to conventional materials. |
With the global focus on the use of sustainable and environmentally friendly materials, plastics manufacturers are constantly challenged to identify alternate material solutions. These solutions must provide an effective replacement to existing fossil fuel-based products within the plastics industry. Add in a dose of reality regarding the lack of sustainable materials available today and the challenge becomes immediately apparent.
It is a common misconception that sustainable materials will perform at the same level as an existing plastic material with minimal compromise to the target application. This perception is quickly dismissed with further understanding of what materials are available, their associated performance characteristics and their cost. The key driver for material replacement is in the development of higher performance sustainable materials and the limited supply of commercially viable sustainable material solutions available today.
Material alternatives
With a tremendous level of energy focused on the development of environmentally friendly plastics today, application solutions include material alternatives such as polylactic acid (PLA) polymer, polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), cellulosics and foamed materials.
Key characteristics must be considered when replacing an existing product or application with alternative materials. Any potential compromise to the end-use product and performance must first be identified. In effect, this drastically narrows the field of viable material replacement alternatives available today. It also increases the need to improve the general understanding of specific material performance attributes to ensure the success of the target product transformation.
The many opportunities for sustainable materials are driving a high level of excitement and multi-faceted challenges within the plastics industry. Considerable investment is being made, not only by the sustainable raw material producers, but also by converters, manufacturers, distributors and industry experts aiming to capitalize on sustainable material solutions. As performance characteristics are further refined and viable end-use applications are identified, companies are investing significant energy and resources in the development of their sustainable programs. They are also broadening their product portfolio with alternative fossil fuel-based material options.
 |
| Spartech berry containers made with recycled polyester (RPET). |
Benefits and challenges
The benefits and challenges of alternative materials are driving awareness for overall eco-acceptance and environmental impact, from the source to processing. This also includes consideration for the impact of transportation, application performance, energy consumption and the recycle stream. Raw material producers are challenged with producing and developing products to meet performance as well as cost criteria. These attributes are transferred to the converters that process the raw materials under specific conditions to produce a finished product or part.
As customers continue to face ongoing pressure to convert their products or extend their product lines with sustainable and alternate renewable resources, it becomes a critical responsibility of the supplier to provide accurate and up-to-date information and identify realistic material solutions.
Education is a critical component of understanding sustainable material solutions and the “life cycle of plastics.” The challenge is separating the meaningful information in the large volume of published and available literature in order to draw reasonable conclusions on sustainable materials, renewable and recycled products and environmentally friendly plastics. The plastics industry has stepped up in order to more fully understand current industry initiatives, performance and associated impact. They have developed a strong leadership role by providing seminars, industry conferences, the expansion of tradeshows to include dedicated venues and significant Internet resources in order to improve and educate professionals within the industry.
The replacement of fossil fuel plastics with more environmentally friendly materials is not new to the plastics industry. However, with the increased industry focus, activity and pressure has dramatically increased over the past few years. Today’s green programs not only place emphasis on a company’s environmental responsibility and carbon footprint, but on their products, capabilities and commitment to green initiatives.
Expectations within the industry continue to evolve with improved performance of alternative material solutions. However, a critical factor continues to raise eyebrows which is regarding cost. Questions such as “Will the consumer pay more for a green material,” “What is the cost of using fossil fuel-based alternative materials,” and “Is it possible for green products to be sold as value-added” ripple through the industry. These questions continue to be key component contributors to the equation in determining the current viable answers for alternative enviro-plastics and sustainable material solutions. (See "The evolving definition of green," an article relating to this topic.)
Summary
As the industry moves forward, solutions to sustainability, renewable resources and environmentally friendly materials will continue to focus on improving performance, process and cost. Our ability to produce and offer these alternate materials will inevitably continue to drive program success and meet the evolving needs of supplying an environmentally viable plastic solution.
Jonathan S. Cage is the packaging market manager for Spartech Corporation in St. Louis, MO, USA. He can be contacted at jonathan.cage@spartech.com. For further information, contact Spartech Corporation, 120 S. Central, Suite 1700, Clayton, MO 63105 USA; (314) 889-8300, (888) 721-4242, fax (314) 721-1543, www.spartech.com.
|
