Plastics are an unrivalled packaging material due to their diverse properties and low production costs.However,fuelled by expectations of emissions of 85 million tonnes/year of CO2 by 2050 and the drive for a low-carbon economy,plastics have come under the heat of late.The use of renewable materials is seen as a viable option.Finnish packaging materials producer Stora Enso is looking at shifting from fossil to renewable materials like wood fibre as a complementing strategy for packaging.In a study conducted by Swedish management consulting business Material Economics for Stora Enso,wood fibre is pointed out as CO2-neutral and able to offset 65% of fibre production emissions.It also stated that while recycling is necessary to address the plastics problem,this solution will only tackle 30-40% of the problem.Stora Enso also stated that eliminating CO2 emissions from packaging plastics in the EU alone would require 80% of all electricity currently produced from renewable energy sources in the EU.
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