Hello readers. Today I?d like you to pause for a moment and consider this question: when was the last time you went a whole day without using any plastic packaging products? If you?re like me, this was a difficult question to answer.

Plastics and plastic packaging products are a marvel of modern life. Without plastic packaging products, many of today?s conveniences would be impossible. Let?s take a look at some facts that show just how amazing these plastic packaging products are:

Fantastic Plastic

Plastic food packaging like heat-sealed plastic zipper pouches and plastic wraps can help keep food fresh and protect it from bacteria. In fact, just one pound of plastic food packaging products can reduce food waste by up to 1.7 pounds! With millions of pounds of food wasted every year, plastic packaging is a clear eco-friendly choice.

Furthermore, plastic packaging products such as milk cartons or plastic pouches are fully recyclable. A 2011 study conducted by plastic packaging companies discovered that 94% of Americans use recyclable plastic packing products or other sustainable packaging daily. These products have improved significantly over the years: the one-gallon plastic milk jugs we all use daily use 30% less plastic today than they did 20 years ago.

What does this mean for you? It means that plastic packaging products are the clear sustainable choice. Not only are they fully recyclable, but their low weight also means that less energy is used in transporting goods that use plastic packaging instead of other types of packaging.

For example: two pounds of plastic packaging can contain almost 10 gallons of liquid. Aluminum packaging requires three pounds of aluminum to contain the same amount of liquid. It would take 26 truckloads to transport the same amount of glass-packaged products that only one truckload of plastic-packaged products can transport. These savings in weight equal other savings, such as energy costs.

What are the other benefits of plastic packaging products?

Aside from environmental benefits, plastic packaging products provide a huge boost to the economy. U.S.-based plastic packing products manufactures employ nearly one million people and contribute $375 billion to the U.S economy. The global market for flexible packaging grew at an average rate of 3.4% yearly from 2010 to 2015, and totaled $248 billion in sales a year. The flexible packaging market is projected to grow from around $74 million in 2012 to over $100 million by the year 2018.

So the next time you shop or need to store foods, reach for plastic packaging products. They are lightweight, eco-friendly, and are a huge boon to the U.S. economy. Sustainable packaging is the way of the future ? don?t get left behind!

What do you think about plastic packaging solutions? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks for reading!