More Rough Idea's For Packaging & Transport

CAT Trip 2013 : Centre for Alternate Technology

The trip to the Centre of Alternate Technology proved a very valuable experience as it opened my eyes up to many new and existing ways materials could be used in an innovative way as part of a buildings structure, as a replacement for non-sustainable materials and as a use for packaging too!

Innovative use of materials - Architecture and more!

Innovative sustainable insulation was a big thing at CAT and they had many solutions in terms of materials!

 Pertile!

 Cellulose!

 Cork!

 Clay piping was also an alternative for plastic piping used in ducts & drains.

 I found this wall, where they had used many recycled materials - what a great secondary use!

Wales was  definatley not short on sheep's wool! They used it as insulation in some of the walls.

The Information Centre/shop and the new circular lecture hall both used compressed earth as the structure for the walls. The earth had been compressed by more then x7 to maintain strength and durability! In the shop they unfortunately used timber as supports without drying it first ( as it takes to much energy ) causing it to shrink and break!

 A lot of glass was used as lighting and an energy source! although it did effect keeping the warmth in so it had to be used wisely.

CAT sits on an old slate quarry and you can see many of the buildings around using this natural resource in the roofing and even the stones in the walls.

Inside the lecture hall it was furnished with wood, the earth walls seemed to do a great job of keeping the warmth in however it did get quite dark in there, there were wooden pannels you could slide back for extra light in exchange for some of the heat.They even used the wood for sound proofing at the back.

Jo Gwillim - Sustainable Design Talk

Jo presented us with some striking facts and figures about waste in energy and materials. He also showed us a few materials we could use sustainably in the workshop task he ran. Here are a few notes I made on the talk he gave...

99% of the materials in the US are thrown away in 6 months, and in britains its 98%.

'It is sustainable if you can carry on doing it forever' -  Jonathon porritt

'Sustainability is not cheating on yourself, not cheating on your children, not cheating on the planet.'  - Jo Gwillim

In Britain we use 195 kWhrs per person a day!
60 kWhrs are used transporting and making the things we buy.As well as thinking about the recycling of materials we also need to be concerned about how much energy it takes to create the goods/packaging out of material, this is know as the embodied energy ( calculated in ms/kg)

Here are a few examples of some materials embodied energy, this relates heavily to( and will impact the choice of ) the material we will use for packaging design for the paint tins!

Using recycled materials as a massive benefit in terms of the bodied energy as you can see from the image below it is reduced drastically.

 The Task we were set by Jo was to see which of these insulators were the best! there wasnt much in it in the end, to our surprise the hemp lime featured pretty high up the scale! It was that good they had experimented with using it as a building material there at CAT.

A few interesting signs with some great advice and some shocking figures! e.g the average household releases 8.2 tonnes of CO2 a year! Energy generated by the solar panel roof -61563kwh since October 2006, 35090 kg green house gas emissions saved by the solar panel roof!

Sustainable Packaging - Material Alternatives

There are several sustainable packaging materials that can replace plastic in a number of applications, these would be ideal for liquid packaging ( paint containers ).

Some of these are..

• Polylactide Acid (PLA) Plastics
• Bagasse (Sugar Cane Pulp)
• Palm Fiber
• Biomass Fiber Composite - AgroResin
• Reed Fiber - a Japanese Innovation
• PlasTerra - Biodegradable Plastic 

Polylactide Acid (PLA) Plastics

PLA is a transparent plastic made from natural resources (such as cornstarch). It can be processed as easily as petroleum-based plastics,and can run on the same equipment.

Use in Packaging - Thermoformed trays

Drawbacks - It looks like ordinary plastic and if mixed with recyclables, it can cause contamination, rendering the recyclable plastic unusable. It can also be brittle at low temperatures

Bagasse (Sugar Cane Pulp)

Bagasse is a fibrous material. When sugar cane is crushed to extract its juice, what remains is bagasse. It can be used to replace materials such as Styrofoam.

Use in Packaging - insulated disposable food containers

Drawbacks - Bagasse is only produced for six months of the year, so while it has many advantages it cannot produced all year round.

Palm Fiber

Palm fiber is the leftover material after the palm fruit is harvested for oil. This material is similar to bagasse. 

  
Use in Packaging - packaging such as molded tray

Drawbacks - not very durable

Biomass Fiber Composite - AgroResin

AgroResin is a renewable and compostable material made from agricultural biomass. It has a natural appearance, similar to palm fiber packaging. AgroResin is 100 percent biodegradable, water-resistant, compostable and made from non-GM agricultural biomass.

Use in Packaging - packaging such as molded tray

Drawbacks -

Reed Fiber - a Japanese Innovation

This material is from Japan and is made from 100% reed fiber, it can be composted and return to a  crop-soil-cycle.It's grown on the shore or riverbanks so it doesn't compete for acreage with food
crops.

PlasTerra - Biodegradable Plastic

PlasTerra™ is a biodegradable and compostable plastic made using a blend of various commercially available bioresins. Includes starch, PLA, and other fillers.

Paper Foam
PaperFoam is one of the most environmental friendly packaging materials available. It is made via a patented injection molding process. PaperFoam is made completely from natural resources and is a compostable product. It can be used in a wide variety of industries where a high quality packaging is needed. 

How its made

 

The material advantages are:

• Possibility of friction fit of clamping features.
• Embossing of logos/ text on the PaperFoam tray.
• No need for poly-bags for dust and/or scratch protections.
• Perfect fitting due to injection molding process.
• Unlimited Colour possibilities.

Benefits of paper foam:

• compostable/bio-degradable
• paper-recyclable
• Feather light
• Protecting
• Produced with renewable ingredients
• One of the most carbon friendly packaging

 

Sources:
http://earthcycle.com/home.html
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/07/prweb1079674.htm
http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2008/3/12/sustainable-packaging-material-alternatives.html
https://www.ergon.com.au/ergonia/energysources/renewable-energy/sugar-cane
http://www.traypak.com/capabilities/design/materials/sustainable-materials-for-packaging.html
http://www.paperfoam.com/Material.html

Innovative Eco Packaging

 

The Paper water bottle by brandimage
The paper container is made from 100% renewable resources. It can hold all liquid categories and is 100% recyclable & degradeable.
http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2008/11/24/360-paper-bottle.html

Paperboy is about as green as it's possible to make a wine bottle. It's made out of a compressed recycled paper, printed with natural inks and the inside contains a recyclable sleeve like you find in a box of wine.  The bottles are rigid and strong - they're even ice bucket safe for three hours - and take only 15% of the energy that regular glass bottles take to produce. They weigh only an ounce when empty so save a huge amount of energy on shipping

Designed by stranger and stranger

Life is a recyled paper-made water container designed for Milano Expo 2015.
Made by recycled paper, it doesn’t use any chemical ink or adhesive difficult to be recycled. A double stitch ensures the insulation from outside and give rigidity to the object. The green cord, that allows the users to bring it as a shoulder bag, is made by natural cotton and is wrapped around the paper body.

Achieving an environmentally responsible package starts with materials. Tetra Pak is made entirely from recycled and/or renewable resources that are also 100% recyclable. We applied an uncoated, untreated paper to the outside of the container, adding a distinguished, earthy aesthetic that not only captures the attention of the environmentally conscious consumer but stands out on the shelf amid other cartons as well.

Ecolean uses less raw material from the start. Our packaging material is made from a thin plastic film, part plastic (PE and PP) and part chalk (40% by weight), one of nature’s own material. That adds up to a truly lightweight package that takes less energy to produce

Research: Eco Paints

AURO Film 

The scent & colour tones are not as fake and plasticy as the paint you can buy in big DIY chains, since 1983 |Auro has developed products using plant & mineral raw materials which are bio degradeable and can be integrated into the natural cycle of materials.

Auro paint is eco certificated. - Retailers can demonstrate due diligence to the authorities within the target market through the certification of suppliers, therefore, allowing companies to gain consumers’ trust through product safety reliance.

The vegetable sourced water based Auro paints range are emission free, free from unpleasant smells, irritants and toxins.

 

Behind the Scenes of Farrow & Ball New Colours 2013 

Farrow & Ball associate their paint as every in-trend, it looks like they are trying to appeal to a younger target market with very quirky photo shoot scenes

I think they are trying to communicate the message that it is of an art to apply this wonderful paint, professionals are seen using it in the video and it rather glamorizes its use.
 

Everything that is used in the video is very authentic and natural ( Even the food they eat! ) they are trying to send a message about their paint and the clientele that could be you!

Research: Incpen

Incpen
Are an influential group of international and British companies who have a common interest in packaging and sustainability.  They share a vision of the future where all production,
distribution, and consumption are sustainable.
They aim to:

• Help ensure policy on packaging makes a positive
  contribution to sustainability
• Encourage industry to minimise the environmental impact of packaging and packaged products and continuously improve packaging
• Explain the role of packaging

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB09rDeRxJo

Packaging In Supermarkets is definatley something that should be avoided where possible. I agree packaging in some situations is needed to preserve the shelf-life of a product and its nutrients however many products use packaging where it simply isn't needed.

A prime example of this would be crisps, yes it needs packaging but the size of the bag compared to the product is ridiculous, almost twice as much packaging is used.

Ways that can improve the current situation would be natural packaging solutions, biodegradable solutions and using your own bags as packaging.

On some packaging they offer instructions on how to re-use/ recycle which is brilliant, educating the community is the first step to solving the ecological problems. With the introduction of the bottle bins and the green lid bins its easier to break down our recycling and my family and I know what should go where. The council does offer a few ways to improve recycling such as 'clothes banks' etc to offer more options with what to do with goods/packaging after you've done with them however I feel incentive schemes would work a lot better.

Research: WRAP

WRAP
http://www.wrap.org.uk/


Wrap were set up in 2000 to help recycling take off in the UK and to create a market for recycled materials. Over the last decade, Wrap have helped and continue to help governments devise strategies to deal with these issues through our expertise, research and practical advice.

Our work helps people recycle more and waste less, both at home and at work, and offers economic as well as environmental benefits
We work with a wide range of partners, from major UK businesses, trade bodies and local authorities through to individuals looking for practical advice. We always aim to work together with others to achieve the best results.

Designing For Re-Use   -   Key Considerations

• Ensure that the packaging is designed for and is robust enough for re-use.

• Check that your business partners will also treat the packaging as re-usable and will return it as appropriate, or that collection arrangements are in place to enable private end-users to return it.

•  Ensure that facilities for cleaning, repair or reconditioning are available if this is necessary before the packaging can be re-used.

Designing For Recycle   -   Key Considerations

• Try to avoid materials, combinations of materials or designs of packaging that might create problems in collecting, sorting or recycling.
• Minimise the use of substances or materials that might create technical, environmental or health problems in the recycling process or in the disposal of recycling residues. 
• Minimise the use of substances or materials that might have a negative influence on the quality of the recycled material. For example, do you need a colour tint on your plastic bottle or could you achieve the same effect with an eye-catching label?
  Materials & their Recyclability
  
  

  Recycled materials have been used in most types of packaging for many years. For some materials, there are trade-offs that need to be considered.

  Metal

  packaging, both steel and aluminum, has a high recycled content, and this has no effect on functional performance. 

  Glass

  packaging also has a high recycled content and this has no effect on functional performance. In recent years there has been an issue about what colour of glass to specify because, owing mainly to our wine consumption, the UK imports a lot of green glass, but we need relatively little for our own production. The surplus tends to be recycled into low-value applications, such as aggregate, that may not be as environmentally beneficial as bottle-to-bottle recycling.

  Paper and board

  packaging for non-food contact use contains high levels of recycled content. However, paper packaging with a high recycled content may have to be heavier than packaging made from virgin fibres. This is because each time fibres are recycled, they lose strength so more fibres are needed to achieve the same level of protection.

  Plastics

  packaging has seldom contained recycled content mainly for safety reasons, especially for food contact applications. However, technology has moved on and it is now possible to use some recycled plastics for food packaging. 
   

Research: London Bio Packaging

http://www.londonbiopackaging.com/

LBP were responsible for some sustainable packaging 1sts at the 2012 Olympics.

14 Million take away meals were consumed over the course of the Olympic games in London.

Organisers were expecting a waste to landfill size of 8 1/2 thousand tons!

LBP supplied all 120 million pieces of packaging for the olympic games to help the games achieve a a zero waste to landfill policy

The closed loop system they operate means you can use their packaging without generating any waste.There are 5 stages to the closed loop policy these are

1. Supply - 'We will arrange an initial audit of your food/ catering to understand your packaging requirements, waste, infrastructure, volume/ types of waste, access & collection points. A bespoke ‘closed loop’ recycling and/or composting proposal will then be recommended outlining the savings and benefits to you.'
2. Dispose - 'We can assist you in “closing the loop” on all of your packaging and food waste to ensure it is either composted or recycled. There are 3 possible waste streams: Recycling, Composting, General Waste
   The appropriate streams will be selected for your site and clearly labelled as to what can go in them to ensure clarity for users.'
3. Collect - 'LBP arranges your waste collection using either your existing waste contractor or our waste contractor. Collections can be made as often as you require.'
4. Process - 'The contractor ensures that all of the waste is taken to the correct facility where it is either composted or recycled.'
5. Reuse - 'The compost created is used for agriculture to help grow new crops and the recycled material is reprocessed and made into new products.'

Bio Plastics

These are plastics made from plants. The starch contained within the plant is processed to produce a polymer. The bio plastics London Bio Packaging uses most commonly are Ingeo™ PLA (Poly-Lactic Acid) and Mater-Bi®.
Bio-plastics behave in a similar way to conventional plastics and are suitable for most packaging applications. However, unlike finite oil based plastics which take millions of years to form and hundreds of years to degrade, they are annually renewable and suitable for commercial compost

The carbon footprint of Bio-plastic is therefore much lower than traditional petroleum based plastics. Manufacturing Ingeo produces 60 percent less greenhouse gases and uses 50 percent less non-renewable energy than traditional plastics like PET 

Plant Starch

Plant Starch Material (PSM) is a flexible bio based packaging material which has not been refined into a bio-plastic. It is made from renewable crops like corn or potatoes.

Sugar Bagasse

The waste material produced once sugar cane has been harvested for the sugar syrup is called bagasse. This fibrous material is a renewable resource.

Sugar bagasse is turned into packaging products from its raw form using a process of heating, pulping and then pressurised moulding. These are heat resistant, microwaveable and naturally compostible.

Palm Leaf

These products are natural, compostable and biodegradable. They are very stylish, tough and heat resistant.
Wholeleaf products have no pulp, no starch, just a washed and pressed leaf.

Initial design concepts for the Packaging & Travel Packaging

Initial Packaging Concepts

Initial Travel Packaging Ideas