While talking about sustainability, people often ask: how sustainable are sustainable products? Or are eco-friendly products safe to use? As a pioneer in supplying eco-friendly and sustainable packaging products in the UAE, we get similar questions from our customers. One of the most commonly asked questions regarding our kraft tapes is: is paper tape better than plastic tape?
To answer this question, we have done a thorough study that will dispel the old myth of cutting trees to make paper tapes and paper products.
The First Paper Tape Production
The invention of paper and its derived products was an inevitable one due to its spectrum of uses. In AD 105, inventors used a series of processes to make paper. That process involved mixing up cloth, nets, and bark with water and converting them into a paste. Later, the inventors flattened the mixture into sheets and dried in the sun to form paper. In 1816, inventors then applied some natural adhesives on the back of paper to make paper tapes..
The whole process of making paper tapes out of paper was laborious and time-consuming. Apart from this, it consumed a greater volume of water and tree logs. Hence, it created a dire need to replace this environmentally hazardous method with a more eco-friendly one.
Current Trend of Recycled Paper Products
Though an increase in paper demand has been observed since 1960, the trend to cut trees for paper production is now declining. In fact, in the state of play, consumers prefer recycled paper and its products instead of virgin ones.
Altogether, virgin paper production is now falling in North America and Northern Europe. A significant trend change was observed in 2005 when 50% of the demand for paper-based products came from recycled paper. Later on, the figure increased to 72% in 2018. Due to this, paper tapes are now made up of recycled paper instead of virgin paper.
Sustainable Paper Tapes Production
The earlier production of paper and paper products at the cost of nature made consumers cognizant of the fact of natural stakes being involved. The whole process not only motivated manufacturers to make paper tapes and products with recycled paper, but they also started to identify all the production points that cost nature.
During the process, a major shift in energy consumption trend is now being observed. For example, only 5% of energy usage increased from 2000 to 2017, though the world produced 25% more paper products than it made in 2000. This crucial step was made possible by advanced technologies and the increasing demand for recycling and reusing resources.
Another prime example of holistic and sustainable paper production is in Europe, wherepaper products manufacturers burn the solid waste of cellulose and lignin to make paper and paper products. Hence, they have 50% reduced the use of energy during the production process. Apart from this, there are national-level policies that bind such manufacturers to plant a pre-defined number of trees against the number of trees they are using. As a result of such policies, paper manufacturers in the US planted nearly 1.7 million trees per day.
Is Recycling Paper and Recycled Paper Tapes Making Any Impact?
All this hassle is for saving natural resources and leaving minimal environmental footprints. To assess whether all these collective efforts are making any change, here are some quick numbers if you use roughly one ton of recycled paper and paper products:
Let 17 trees live
Save 380 gallons of oil
Spare around 3m3 of landfill space
Save 4000 kW of electricity
And save 7000 gallons of water
Conclusion
With increased awareness towards sustainability and environmental stewardship, consumers are driving the demand for recycled paper and paper tapes made from recycled paper. Therefore, manufacturers and suppliers of plastic-based products are preferring paper over plastic.
AAB Industries LLC, being the leading kraft tapes supplier in the Middle East, is actively playing its role in decreasing environmental footprints. We use state-of-the-art technology to produce paper-based packaging material and kraft tapes that pose the least or minimal threat to the environment.
