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.
Environmental Impact Comparison: Mailers vs. 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.
Corrugated Boxes: Environmental Footprint
- Material: Corrugated box (13” x 19” x 2”)
- Weight: 1 box = 0.701 lbs; 10,000 boxes = 7,010 lbs of paper
- Wood Used: 10,000 boxes equal 11 tons of wood, made from 73 trees
- Energy Used: 108,000,000 BTUs (includes process energy, transportation energy, and energy of material resource)
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions: 17,718 lbs CO2 (includes production, transportation, and disposal)
- Recycling: Can be reused or recycled
Poly Bubble Mailers: Environmental Footprint
- Material: Poly bubble mailer (12.5” x 18.25” x 0.25”)
- Weight: 1 mailer = 0.052 lbs; 10,000 mailers = 520 lbs of plastic
- Oil Used: 10,000 mailers equal 3.48 barrels of oil (includes oil for process energy and raw material creation)
- Energy Used: 4,550,000 BTUs (includes process energy, transportation energy, and energy of material resource)
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions: 3,132 lbs CO2 (includes production, transportation, and disposal)
- Recycling: Can be reused or recycled
Sustainability Sources
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.
