How should the most eco-friendly zongzi packaging be designed, and what eco-friendly packaging materials are there?

Having said all this, I simply hope everyone will try to avoid buying food packaged in non-recyclable materials, and if eating out, bring your own eco-friendly tableware as much as possible. If there is really no other way, then go to 7-Eleven and eat a banana and ice cream! Haha!

If you are a designer too, then when developing products, please think more about the possibilities of using natural materials. Imagination is our superpower.

1. Degradable plastics:

Plastics are generally very hard to degrade, and much plastic waste buried underground can remain uncorrupted for years. Degradable plastics refer to plastics whose chemical structure changes under specific conditions within a specific period of time, causing a loss of performance. Developing degradable plastic packaging materials and gradually phasing out non-degradable plastic packaging materials is a major trend in global technological development and one of the hot topics in materials research and development. Because degradable plastics are easy to process and mold and their prices are gradually falling, the amount of degradable plastics used to make packaging has increased sharply. They are currently the most common eco-friendly food packaging material;

2. Metal packaging materials:

Because metal packaging materials are easy to recycle and easy to handle, their waste causes relatively less environmental pollution than plastics and paper. Commonly used metal packaging materials include tinplate and aluminum, which are widely used to make packaging cans for food and beverages;

3. Glass packaging materials:

Milk, soft carbonated drinks, alcoholic beverages and jams are commonly packaged in glass containers, and some cooking utensils and tableware also use glass packaging. The main features of glass packaging materials are that they are attractive, hygienic, corrosion-resistant and low in cost, and they are inert materials that cause little environmental pollution; their disadvantages are that they are fragile and bulky, and the price is somewhat higher.

4. Recycling and reusing paper bags:

Because paper packaging can be recycled and reused after use, and a small amount of waste can decompose naturally in the natural environment, it has no adverse impact on the natural environment. Therefore, paper, paperboard and paper products are recognized worldwide as green products that meet environmental protection requirements and can play a positive substitute role in tackling white pollution caused by plastics.

(Originally published in Good Day Sustainable Home Supplies)