Most Smart phones come packaged with paper, card and plastic.
There’s actually no use for plastic to be used outside of the product itself, and Samsung is committed to kiss plastic goodbye starting this year.
Samsung’s commitment actually goes beyond its phones. The South Korean company produces a huge range of handheld and wearable devices through to large home appliances. All of them typically have plastic as part of the packaging and Samsung plans to get rid of them too
But how will Samsung fill the hole cutting off plastic will cause? Recycled plastics and Bioplastics. Recycled plastics ensure the plastic we’ve already produced remains useful rather than ending up in landfills or worse pollute our oceans and water supply. Bioplastics are derived from biomass such as food waste, woodchips, corn starch, or agricultural by-products. They are not perfect, but require less energy to produce and biodegrade much more quickly.
To start with, Samsung will be switching out the plastic used to hold phones, tablets, and wearables with pulp molds. The bags they are wrapped with will be from eco-friendly materials, chargers are also being redesigned. The glossy plastic finish typically seen today on charging plugs will be replaced with a matte finish which removes the needs for plastic protection films.
Packaging of home appliances will also be getting new looks, they will be shipped in new eco-friendly plastic bag. Samsung is now committed to only using paper and fiber materials from trusted sources including the Forest Stewardship Council, Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Scheme, and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. This will be in place by 2020.
The end goal is to be using 500,000 tons of recycled plastics by 2030 and to have collected 7.5 million tons of discarded products by then, too. By doing this, Samsung will not only be cutting down the impact of its packaging on the world, they will be setting the bar for other manufacturers who will hopefully get on the sustainability train and put similar initiatives into action if they aren’t doing so already.
Original Post: PC Mag