New packaging plastic solutions – new warehouse challenges

Discover the advantages and special logistics needs of biodegradable and bio-based plastics.

Plastic packaging is both a blessing and a curse to the commercial world. It’s supremely convenient, but not all plastics are the same. Growing demand for special applications means that warehouses and materials handling professionals have to be aware of particular demands. Ruari McCallion reports.

(Executive Summary)

Handling plastics is not straightforward. Different types have different sensitivities, and the growth of ‘alternative’ plastics – supposedly environmentally responsible compounds in particular – places additional demands on warehouse managers, materials handling professionals and the logistics industry more widely.

The main packaging of choice in food and beverage is PET (polyethylene terephthalate). Pretty much every non-alcoholic beverage is now packaged in PET. It’s convenient, easy to handle and can take a surprising amount of rough handling. It’s not particularly sensitive to heat or cold, nor to extremes of humidity. If all plastics were the same, this would be a very short article. But they aren’t.

Bioplastic, biodegradable and oil-based plastics

Consumer demand and legislation are pushing the packaging industry towards materials that are less damaging – or, to be more accurate, are perceived to be less damaging – than established, oil-based plastics. That means biodegradable and the new kid on the block: bioplastics. There are now several compounds made of wood or other cellulose material, such as corn starch, sugarcane and cassava, including a version of PET.

They come under two main headings: PLA and PHA. PLA (polylactic acid) formulations are made from fermented plant sugars and are used in packaging, in textiles and for plastic cutlery. PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoates) plastics are a treat for bio-geeks, as they’re produced by microbes. They’re being used in medical devices and packaging and are highly biodegradable.

Needs and complexities of special treatment

Materials used in medical and food-grade applications must also meet regulatory standards, such as ISO 22000 – and so must the storage solutions.

Different materials require different environments and they don’t come cheap. These temperature-sensitive plastics can degrade if they aren’t kept within their operating temperature range. The same applies to moisture-sensitive packaging and especially so to bioplastics and some additives.

It all means that warehousing operations, including cross-docking, must be more tightly managed. Cold storage systems use a lot of energy. Managers of cold and frozen food storage and logistics operations already know that, but the fact that plastic packaging itself can be environmentally sensitive is an additional dimension. Monitoring and maintenance must be maintained at high levels of accuracy, sensitivity and responsiveness. Sensors have to be totally reliable; failures or faults can and will affect packaging performance.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that adhesives and barcode labels can fade or fail in cold or humid conditions, which adds another issue for the checklist.

Controlling energy costs

Refrigerated zones are generally expensive to build and maintain, as well as being energy-hungry. Effective operation means optimisation of the layout, to at least the same extent as ambient operations and probably more, so that costs are contained. Closer stacking and racking can lead to challenges in keeping track of location, which would seem like an opportunity for RFID, Bluetooth or even 5G connections. Even the most dedicated employee doesn’t want to spend their time crawling around high-level racking, looking for the right frost-covered label in a refrigerated storehouse. And hoping the frost isn’t covering a label for a product or packaging that is sensitive to cold and has been misplaced!

Sometimes, different solutions need to be adopted. Carbonated soft drinks, for example, are sensitive to heat. Temperatures above 30°C could see entire loads of carbonated sodas and colas explode, without refrigeration, but the cost of keeping them at less than 10°C, say, in such heat is enormous. A solution that has been adopted in Australia and some other countries to enable these products to be shipped and stored at ambient temperatures is to make them without CO2 and to add the fizz later, closer to the destination, in stores that are less ruinously expensive to keep cool.

Beyond the physical environment, personnel should be considered as well. Cold environments can be fatiguing and, in extremis, dangerous, with the risk of frostbite. Hot environments aren’t any less potentially risky. Ensuring that the environment is safe for both staff and products requires specialist training in handling sensitive materials and understanding of the importance of the right gear and equipment.

More complex but better in practice?

We have been dealing with sensitive materials for decades; the last product that could be handled in the open air, come what may, was probably coal. Advances in medicine, food technology and chemicals require more specialised packaging, which means more demands being placed on warehouse operators, logistics providers and materials handling professionals.

It’s fair to draw an analogy with automobiles. They’re much more complicated and sophisticated than they were, and pretty much impossible to fix with a handbook, screwdriver and torque wrench – but they’re much better. More economical, more comfortable and longer lasting.

The same applies to advanced materials: they handle sensitive products vastly better and make increased complexity commercially feasible. The diversity of packaging materials is already pretty wide, and likely to get wider, depending on demands for environmental sensitivity and consideration of consumer needs. Consumers, customers and clients all need to be aware.