As a company that manufactures plastic mailers we often get questioned on what is actually better for the environment: Poly Bubble Mailers or Corrugated Boxes.

When comparing 10,000 poly bubble mailers to 10,000 comparably sized corrugated boxes…

A Corrugated Box uses
23 times more energy
and produces
6 times more CO2
than a Bubble Mailer.

It takes 91% less energy
to recycle a pound of
plastic than it takes to
recycle a pound of paper.

Here’s a direct comparison of corrugated boxes vs. poly bubble mailers

Box

 

Paper – Corrugated box (13” x 19” x 2”)

1 box = .701 lbs

10,000 boxes = 7,010 lbs of paper

 

 

 

Wood Used
10,000 boxes equals 11 tons of wood, made from 73 trees
Energy Used
(Includes process energy, transportation energy, and
energy of material resource.)
10,000 boxes uses 108,000,000 BTUs
Green House Gas Emissions
(Includes production, transportation, and disposal)
10,000 boxes uses 17,718 lbs CO2
Recycling
Can be reused or recycled

aj book

 

 

Plastic – Poly Bubble Mailer (12.5” x 18.25” x .25”)

1 Mailer = .052 lbs

10,000 mailers = 520 lbs of plastic

 

Oil Used
(Includes oil used for process energy and to create the raw material)
10,000 poly bubble mailers equals 3.48 barrels of oil
Energy Used
(Includes process energy, transportation energy, and energy of
material resource.)
10,000 poly bubble mailers equals 4,550,000 BTUs
Green House Gas Emissions
(Includes production, transportation, and disposal)
10,000 poly bubble mailers equals 3,132 lbs of CO2
Recycling
Can be reused or recycled

SOURCES: Juerg,”Plastic bags and plastic bottles – CO2 emissions during their lifetime”, Time for Change. Retrieved from https://timeforchange.org/plastic-bags-and-plastic-bottles-CO2-emissions
“Lifecycle Environmental Impact”, Environmental Paper Network. Retrieved from https://c.environmentalpaper.org
Nolan-ITU Pty Ltd 2002, Plastic Shopping Bags – Analysis of Levies and Environmental Impacts, prepared for the Department of Environment and Heritage, Canberra.