New technology has come about utilizing traditional renewable energy sources such as trees and timber.
It appears that paper might be going through a process of rebirth as modern societies realize the importance of trees and vegetation for human life and recreation.
Part of the gradual transition back to basics is due to the fact that the long-term effects of using petroleum-based technology for packaging prove detrimental.
While the quality and strength of plastics is undoubted, their decomposition and bio-degradation time sometimes ranges in the thousands of years and this is a major concern.
An example are multi-wall bags - one of the veterans of the packaging industry.
Their proliferation has accompanied societies from inception of industrialization to modern times.
They face challenges as related to some quality characteristics such as providing grease and moisture barriers for various products and manufacturing demands.
Meeting these demands, together with the growing opposition of using trees as paper raw material naturally opened widely the door for plastics.
Some of them are manufactured from waste in oil refineries etc.
and they are virtually indestructible.
Plastics, in turn, introduce a number of new problems which appear to be circling back to the realization that while cutting trees is bad, this could be compensated with a tree-planting strategy.
What is more, statistical data shows the forests in the US have increased by almost forty percent over the passed one hundred years and by about 10 million acres in the last twenty years.
Some paper is manufactured following guidelines and certification by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative - it mandates that for every tree used, two new ones are planted.
Alas this data is only good for the US and is not quite representative since much of the packaging supplies and the large shipping boxes are manufactured overseas.
Certain newer packaging provides grease, moisture etc protection without the use of poly liner.
This makes the new product fully recyclable which combined with the fact that it is produced from around ninety percent renewable materials makes it a viable alternative to old-school paper and plastics.
Certain aspects of this manufacturing process employ proprietary, patented nano-technology via which water-based coating is applied to the walls of the paper.
This coating bonds with the material and insulates it from water and gases.
Furthermore, protection levels against moisture and oil can be adjusted according to product or legal requirements.
Another great benefit is that this water-based coated paper recycles better since the bonded coating remains in the fiber throughout the recycling and results in stronger more durable paper.
This stronger product can then be utilized as containerboard for production of durable large shipping boxes.