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As well as environmental
considerations - which put paper pulp moulded packaging into the forefront of
the marketplace because it encourages and promotes recycling of paper
(newspapers, office paper, etc) and cardboard which might otherwise be thrown
away - there are also many other advantages in using paper pulp moulded
products.
Initially in the 1930’s
moulded (molded) paper pulp packaging was used for packing eggs and fruits.
These are delicate items and moulded (molded) paper pulp packaging is
ideal because it can be moulded (molded) to the shape of the products.
Also, because the paper pulp moulded (molded) package is relatively soft,
it cushions delicate items as it absorbs any impacts and helps to prevent egg
breakage and bruising of fruit in transit and in storage.
These cushioning and shock absorbing properties of paper pulp moulded
(molded) products again make them the preferred type of packaging compared to
plastic. Egg trays are made with different pocket sizes for the
different sizes of eggs and fruit trays are made with different pocket shapes to
store different shaped fruits such as pears and apples. The egg trays and fruit trays are all made from recycled
paper and they can easily be recycled by supermarkets and other end users along
with the external cardboard box in which they are packed. This is also another advantage over plastic packaging as it
is much easier and quicker for the end users to recycle all the packaging
instead of having to separate plastic inserts from cardboard outers.
Indeed some export destinations now demand that all packaging is
recyclable – if it is not then it must be shipped back to the country of
origin.
Over the years a wide range
of additional applications has been found which benefit from the use of paper
pulp moulded (molded) packaging. The
cushioning effects of paper pulp moulded (molded) packaging means that it
performs extremely highly in vibration and drop tests.
For over 30 years paper pulp moulded (molded) packaging has been used for
the protection of wine bottles and beer bottles.
The staff at MoldMaster developed and designed packaging for large
chemical bottles – to hold one or four bottles - from moulded paper pulp and
cardboard.
In the last 10 years paper
pulp moulded (molded) packaging has been used in the electronics industry
instead of expanded polystyrene. Again
in drop tests the paper pulp moulded (molded) packaging outperforms polystyrene
and many things such as TVs, video, mobile phones, printers, printer ink
refills, etc are now to be found protected by moulded (molded) paper pulp.
Chemicals can be added to
the pulp mix that will give waterproofing features if they are required – this
is an advantage in egg trays – if there is a breakage it will be contained.
Also a wide range of colours can be added to the pulp mix to make the
pulp moulding an attractive feature of the product as well as being fully
functional – red apples displayed on a black paper pulp moulded fruit tray
appear far more attractive than those displayed in a pale blue tray.
Because paper pulp moulded
(molded) products are biodegradable another very important development in the
past 30 years has been the manufacture of plant pots for growing seeds and
plants.