Replacing Wood May not be only Relief from Lumber Prices
As lumber prices soar and sustainability becomes more important, you may want to consider the cost and quality of some of your other packaging. Specifically, where you’re using corrugated fiberboard or cardboard, would corrugated plastic be a better fit for you? Would it reduce your overall costs? Here are a few things to consider:
- Higher integrity in its environment
corrugated plastic protects both the aesthetics and structure of the box itself better than cardboard. Packages are exposed to a lot of different conditions; they can get tossed around, touch liquid, fall, absorb humidity, and be victim to numerous other environmental or mechanical forces. This extra amount of protection could make the difference between losing and keeping a customer, even if the only damage a box sustains is cosmetic.
- May reduce costs
while durability itself can help minimize replacement costs and lost business, there are numerous other benefits to the budget. A few advantages of corrugated plastic from an expense perspective include: A) the material is very lightweight, so it can substantially decrease transportation costs B) if you’re able to reuse the containers, you cut a drastic amount of waste from buying one-use cardboard C) they assemble and seal far more quickly than cardboard, so your packaging productivity significantly improves.
- Eco-friendly
aside from the sustainability that comes from its reusability, plastic is actually greener than cardboard in certain respects. It takes more energy to produce and to recycle paper than it does plastic. Paper mills are amongst the largest consumers of water and energy in the world. And one-use cardboard fills the landfills a lot faster than other numerous-use containers.
Overall, corrugated plastic is a practical material with abundant applications. As packaging, it is inexpensive and reliable. What makes it especially versatile are the capabilities to be such highly-functional, environmentally solutions that are also cost-effective.
Companies like Packnet have capabilities like die cutting, water jet cutting, CNC knife cutting, scoring, routing, riveting, sonic welding, adhesive bonding, and the ability to attach a variety of hardware like snaps, handles, latches, straps and buckles. Plastic doesn’t just replace cardboard well. It can stand on its own as great packaging in general.
Even though plastic may not be an alternative to your lumber needs (though for some applications, it is), it could help you reduce your overall spending and ease some of the pain you’re feeling as you buy lumber.
If you want to discuss plastic as a packaging solution, talk to Packnet. We’ll give you a free and honest assessment: 952.944.9124; [email protected]. Check out more about corrugated plastic on our site here.