The Myth of Plastic

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Being sustainable is much more complicated than buying an electric car and stopping consuming plastic. Sometimes it’s so much complex that what would seem more sustainable to us becomes the most polluting option. And this is the myth of Plastic.

Goal: Zero Carbon Footprint

First of all, we want to emphasize that for Grifoll being sustainable is one of our main objectives. Since the sustainability plan implemented in 2020, it has been a priority for us to change as quickly as possible to have a zero carbon footprint in everything we do. With impressive results already visible, such as a 10% reduction in the use of plastic, the doubling of the rate of waste valuation compared to last year, 100% of the energy used is renewable, etc. If you want to know more read this article!

The Age of Misinformation

In 2016 the “Oxford Dictionaries” selected the term “post-truth” as the word of the year.⁽¹⁾ This term explains very well what causes cases such as the plastic myth:

POST-TRUTH: "relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief".

Oxford Languages

The “post-truth”, closely related to disinformation, affects the majority of the aspects of our reality, when it is of interest. This makes that, false ideas are created, such as the myth of plastic, or that nuclear power plants are an unsustainable option in a short and medium term: Ideas that are much simpler than reality and much easier to sell.(2)

The Myth: Plastic or Paper

We must not let ourselves be fooled by the easy environmentalist discourse, not everything is black or white, it’s not that simple. To exemplify how deluded we can be, and how easy it is to fall into easy associations, which really have no basis behind them, we will compare two products: IML vs. PLASTIC reusable cups. CARDBOARD cups. Which you think will be more sustainable?

– Durability

As Dr. Goodship explains in one of his articles, the durability of a product is a crucial variable when assessing how sustainable a product is. Due to their intrinsic characteristics, paper cups should be thrown away after the first use, as they deteriorate easily. IML, on the other hand, is a very durable product that is not affected by wear and tear in the same way as other forms of labeling or material. In addition, it can withstand the high temperatures of industrial washing or transformation processes. This feature brings us to the next point.

– Re-use

One of the 7 Rs⁽³⁾, one of the pillars of sustainability and an inherent characteristic of IML technology. Since Reusability is what differentiates IML cups from other options. On the other hand, as we have already seen, the existing options with more sustainable materials such as paper or cardboard are disposable, a very polluting practice.

What is this IML?

IML or In Mold Labeling is a decoration technique for plastic parts. It consists of putting a printed label in a mold and injecting plastic, melting the decoration with the piece. The IML label becomes part of the product, being the most durable and visually impactful decoration method.

Because plastic is always postulated as the enemy number one, without paying attention to the fact that not everything is reduced to raw materials, but also to how we interact with the product. Here lies much of the myth of plastic. And the fact is that with paper we have very harmful practices as a society, such as using and throwing away, since society has never given so much importance to paper, since it was less polluting as a raw material. In addition, within plastics there are abysmal differences in terms of the carbon footprint they generate. For example, the plastic used to make our IML labels and cups (PP) is within the family of the least polluting (Polyolefin).⁽⁴⁾

Not Everything is What it Seems

– Recycling and Re-use

Another of the Rs and surely the most heard word when talking about sustainability. Thanks to the importance of Recycling, there are already many regulations and companies specialized in it. In fact, a new regulation on post-consumer, the use of recycled raw materials for the manufacture of products, will soon arrive. Practice that in the plastics sector is already widespread and advanced (we send all the excess plastic to companies like this). In fact, it is already said that in the coming decades, most plastic waste will be diverted from landfills for recycling.⁽⁵⁾ On the contrary, the paper sector is still developing and has a long way to go to be effective.

– Health and Safety

Once recycled, the paper loses quality, it is not possible to obtain the same food safety again. All this because the separation of the different types of paper in the recycling plants is usually zero. Also note that the fact that the IML label is part of the glass is a great point in favor of food safety.

– Future

Looking ahead, many innovations are yet to come. One of the most interesting is the use of biodegradable plastic. This is under development, and it still has a long way to go before it can be a perfect substitute for what is currently used. Furthermore, as we have discussed before, it is anticipated that in the coming decades the majority of plastic waste will be diverted from landfills for recycling.⁽⁵⁾

The Reality of the “Myth of Plastic”

In conclusion, we see that, what at first seemed like an easily won war for cardboard against plastic, is actually tighter, and there are even cases where it is much more sustainable to use plastic. To affirm that the best option is to stop using plastic is not the most ecological position, since, as we have seen many times, it is based on the myths that are created around plastic.

On the one hand, IML cups are a durable, resistant, reusable, easy to reuse, safe product with high expectations for improvement in terms of being more sustainable.

On the other hand, cardboard cups, which basically have a smaller footprint due to their raw material, are not reusable, since they are disposable and reuse is quite partial.

As we said at the beginning, not everything is as it seems. In the end, plastic has very good properties for certain functions that we cannot ask of other materials. And, as we have seen in the plastic myth, trying to make that these other materials perform the same function can be even more damaging. How nowadays world function, the fact that sustainability in many countries has become one more weapon of political rhetoric, has caused that cases such as “the myth of plastic” arise. We have to understand that the world is much more complex and that climate change does not have an easy solution. For this reason, we have to try to go a little beyond the myth of plastic, beyond easy but empty solutions, and try to act in a way that does create an effective change. In this case, we can see that the solution lies more in a responsible use, both of plastics and of any other material, and for its reuse and recycling.

Learn more about the IML

What is In Mould Labelling?

In its most basic expression, we can say that labels contain information about the product on which they are applied. However, the main function of IML or In Mold Labeling is to decorate. So, what is the IML tag?

6 Advantages of using IML Labels

Despite existing since the 1970s, new technical improvements have favored in-mold labelling over other decoration systems such as direct screen printing. Here its main advantages.

IML Label Maker

Grifoll manufactures custom IML labels, adapting the material, thickness and finish to the functional needs of the part and its production process. All this with great agility to solve unforeseen events.

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