Introduction
The whole world of packaging supplies is a mysterious one. If you’re in the business of shipping and transporting goods, there are a ton of considerations you have to make. What type of material should I use? How much should I pay attention to sustainability? And what’s the difference, anyway?
Packaging foam is an all-too common answer to this problem. But we’d like to argue that it’s not as great an idea as you might think. With that in mind, here are some things you should know about how and why people use packaging foam—and why they shouldn’t use it as often as they do.
Packaging Foam Should Be a Last Resort
Packaging foam is not a sustainable material. It’s not recyclable, it’s not biodegradable and there are several reasons why you should avoid using packaging foam for shipping on all occasions.
Packaging Foam Is Not Sustainable
Packaging foam is made from petroleum-based polystyrene beads that are melted together in a process called “expansion blowing”. The polystyrene beads expand and cool into the familiar popcorn-like shape we see in packaging foam today.
Once these polystyrene beads are used to make packaging foam, they are shipped around the world to be used as an insulator inside shipping boxes or storage units like styrofoam coolers for food preservation purposes.
The problem with this is that when this material ends up in landfills it will never break down into anything natural such as soil or compost – it remains plastic forever!
Who Uses Foam and For What Purposes?
Foam is used for shipping items that are fragile and need to be protected from damage during transit.
If you’re shipping a delicate item and want to ensure it arrives safely, packaging foam is a good idea. Foam is also great for protecting heavier items so they won’t break other things inside the box during transport.
Packaging Foam Alternatives
- Bubble wrap.
- Packing peanuts.
- Air pillows.
- Cushioning wraps, pads, and sheets.
Cons of Packaging Foam
Of course, packaging foam is not without its cons. The first and foremost issue is that the product itself is made from petroleum products. This makes it non-renewable and impossible for the Earth to recycle or digest. Foam is also impossible to reuse as there are no recycling centers that take packing materials as part of their normal operations.
The second problem with using packaging foam or any other type of packing material for shipping purposes is that it adds extra weight to your package (the more material you use in a box, the heavier it will be). This increased weight can have a negative impact on the cost effectiveness of your business because it increases shipping costs for both you and your customers.
Packaging foam should be a last resort.
Foam is not a good packaging material. Foam is not environmentally friendly, it’s not recyclable, it’s not biodegradable and it’s also cost effective. So what do you do? You should be looking at alternatives to foam like bubble wrap or polystyrene peanuts instead of just throwing away your money on something that isn’t actually going to protect your product in the first place. While these products may seem similar on paper (they are both molded into shapes), the reality is that they both have their own set of distinct advantages that make them better than the other in certain situations and worse in others.
Conclusion
I hope this blog was informative and helped you understand the cons of using packaging foam. At the very least, I hope it will encourage you to cut back on your use of this material, which can be harmful to our environment.
Anns is a contributor at FoamNights. We are committed to providing well-researched, accurate, and valuable content to our readers.
