Everything Packaging: The Latest in the Rigid Plastic World

Hi guys! Hope you all are doing well. Today, we’re here to update you on the latest happenings in the rigid plastic world.

Actually, Premium Vials has been receiving a lot of questions lately about the present and future of rigid plastics in the packaging industry. Some of you are even concerned that the “No Plastic” movement could mean that the days of rigid plastics are over.

So without any further ado, we’d like to take you straight to the Packaging Headquarters…

Present and Future Consumption

Okay, so first things first:

The rigid plastic world looks to be doing extremely well. The current global rigid plastic consumption totals at 58.6 million tons. Furthermore, it is projected to grow at an annual rate of 3.5% over the next five years. So doing the math, our rigid plastic use could rise to 69.8 million tons by 2024.

The key takeaway: Whatever dark things you’ve been hearing about the future of rigid plastic are certainly not true.

And this makes total sense as well.

Rigid plastic, when used responsibly, is a valuable material. It keeps our food fresh. It protects our medicines. It is cheap to manufacture. It is convenient to transport.

It is indeed the perfect convenient packaging material for our past-paced life.

Yes, rigid plastic can (and does) contribute to environmental waste, but then which material doesn’t when handled irresponsibly?

Take glass for example.

Like rigid plastic, glass is not biodegradable either. If you don’t dispose it off properly, it can cause environmental pollution too.

And here’s an interesting fact:

If rigid plastic takes 1000 years to decompose, glass takes 1 million years to decompose.

Factors Driving the Increased Consumption of Rigid Plastics

There are two main factors driving the increased consumption of rigid plastic packaging:

• Cost and availability of rigid plastic
• Lifestyle of consumers

Not Everything is Rosy Though

The rigid plastic world is certainly facing challenges that can’t be downplayed.

For instance, rigid plastic packaging is seeing increased competition from flexible packaging in many end-use applications. The latter is being preferred for its lower carbon footprint and higher degree of customization.

Then there are legitimate concerns about certain rigid plastics leaching chemicals when exposed to sun/heat.

Manufacturers of rigid plastic packaging solutions must overcome these challenges fast.

And that’s all from the rigid plastic world. We hope you found the read helpful and informative.

Until the next post, goodbye!

A BONUS read:Education Packaging: How Packaging Helps People Make Educated Consumer Decisions