Thermoforming: The Eco-Friendly Side of the Process

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Thermoforming The Eco-Friendly Side of the
Process
By Jim Boley VP of Business Development
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Thermoforming Manufacturing

• In todays environmentally conscious world, the
  thermoforming manufacturing process provides a
  popular and effective solution for product
  packaging. Businesses around the globe
  continually look for new ways to preserve natural
  resources and minimize environmental impacts.
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• Many retailers choose thermoform
  packaging, an effective commercial and ecological
  choice for their retail products. Recycling is
  abundant throughout the process the raw plastic
  can contain recycled material scrap from the
  manufacturing is recycled and many end products
  are recyclable or biodegradable.
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• Thermoforming refers to the manufacturing
  process of heating and molding plastic materials
  into packaging solutions. Sample end products
  include containers, lids, trays, clamshells and
  blister packaging. These packages are used in
  such a wide range of industries as medical, food,
  electronics and consumer products. Thermoformed
  plastics have replaced many parts previously
  manufactured from wood, paper, glass and metal.

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How Can Plastic Packaging Be Eco-Friendly?

• Todays thermoforming manufacturing process
  offers the following Eco-Friendly improvements
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• Reduced Energy Consumption. The total energy used
  in manufacturing plastic packaging is
  considerably less than the energy used to produce
  non-plastic alternatives -- even when the
  inherent energy value of plastics' raw materials
  is factored in. This means that without plastics,
  the equivalent of an additional 58 million
  barrels of oil or 325 billion cubic feet of
  natural gas would have been required to meet
  America's packaging needs in 1990. That's enough
  to meet the energy needs of 100,000 homes for 35
  years.

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How Can Plastic Packaging Be Eco-Friendly?

• Recycled Scrap. After the production process,
  excess plastic is trimmed and recycled instead of
  headed to a landfill. The reclaimed material is
  converted back to a flat sheet and used again in
  the production process.
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• Reduced Packaging. With thermoforming
  techniques, retailers can choose from many
  different package sizes. This customization
  allows retailers to use only as much packaging as
  they need for their product thus reducing raw
  material consumption.
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• Preserved Natural Resources. The use of plastics
  in thermoforming replaces such natural resources
  as wood and paper. Eliminating forest products
  from packaging production helps reduce
  deforestation.

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Going Green

• The Going Green philosophy permeates all
  functional areas of an organization. For
  example, research and development departments
  consider environmental impacts when designing new
  products and processes. In thermoforming,
  engineers continually seek recycled and
  biodegradable raw plastic materials for each
  application. They also look for ways to minimize
  the total plastic content in end products.
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• Continuous improvements and advancements in
  materials and recovery technologies means
  packaging will become even more eco-friendly in
  the years in the future, resulting in more
  resource-efficient products and less waste. As a
  resource-efficient manufacturing process,
  thermoforming will continue to do its part to
  protect the environment.

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About the Author

• Jim Boley is VP of Business Development at
  Flexpak Corporation, a world-class supplier of
  custom thermoforming and packaging solutions
  since 1974. For more information about
  thermoforming, please visit http//www.flexpakcorp
  .com/packaging-solutions.php today.