Glass vs Plastic: Which is Better?

13 Aug.,2024

 

Glass vs Plastic: Which is Better?

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If it takes 7 seconds to form a first impression of a stranger, it takes a fraction of that for a consumer to evaluate your product among others on the shelf. A customer might not try your product before making their decision and instead judge the book by its cover, or in this case the product by its container. Material plays a large role in this. Glass and plastic containers make up the vast majority of bottles, jars and jugs on the shelves and we&#;ve listed 7 key factors to consider to help you decide: Which is better, glass vs plastic?

1. Perceived Quality Between Glass vs Plastic

Consumers perceive a difference of quality in glass vs plastic. A study found that participants believed food products packaged in glass had a higher level of pleasantness than the same product stored in plastic. As it tends to be more expensive, glass offers a premium experience in look, feel and weight that can be essential for luxury fruit juices, craft cold brew or other products that want to promote a sophisticated image for marketing.

On the other hand, glass breaks. Plastic offers durability and ease of use. It could be dangerous if you gave a child or baby a glass bottle that he/she could easily drop. Plastic tends to be less slippery than glass, and it can be molded into a variety of shapes and sizes such as a neck with ergonomic finger molds for better grip and easy handling.

2. Difference in Characteristics & Chemical Compatibility

Glass offers inertness and impermeability ideal for sensitive products in the pharmaceutical or personal care industries as well as liquids that store for long periods of time such as spirits and other alcoholic beverages. It is less permeable to CO2 and O2 than plastic, keeping fizzy products bubbly longer. Able to handle a wide range of temperatures, glass will not warp under pasteurization.

Plastic is versatile. It comes in many varieties like polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP) and more. Each of these types of plastic has its own chemical compatibility properties, temperature rating, impact resistance, etc. With so many options, it&#;s likely you can find a plastic container suited for your product and use.

3. Shipping Glass vs Plastic in Bulk

Shipping glass can become expensive fast. This is because glass is typically more fragile and heavier than plastic, leading to higher freight costs. A plastic 2 fl. oz bottle may weigh only .023 lbs. while its glass counterpart weighs .177 lbs. This seems like a small difference when comparing a single bottle but when ordering pallets in bulk, it can add up to large figures that impact your profit margin. Additionally, even with extreme care in shipping, some glass bottles might break during handling.

Plastic, on the other hand, is lightweight and durable, making it much more suitable for transportation than glass. It requires less gas and oil than glass to transport, expending less energy and leaving a smaller carbon footprint. If you need to ship your container long distances, plastic stands as the economic and often eco-friendly option.

4. Which Costs More, Glass or Plastic?

Not only is glass more expensive to ship, it also costs more to produce primarily due to the amount of heat required during production. Glass manufacturing is energy-intensive accounting for 1% of total industrial energy use in an Energy Information Administration (EIA) survey of the manufacturing sector. Natural gas fuels most of this energy.

The melting point of plastic is much lower than glass, requiring less energy during production. With new technology developments in plastic molding, manufacturing plastic containers has become even more affordable. At one point, producing new plastic was even cheaper than recycling it. Economically, plastic exceeds glass in terms of both production and shipping.

5. Environmental Factors & Recycling

Although glass may take more energy to produce and ship, it is 100% recyclable meaning that each time glass is recycled, the resulting product has no loss of quality. Glass can also be reused as it can be washed and sterilized. Most plastic can be recycled, but it can degrade with each cycle. This means that when you recycle a plastic bottle, it typically is not used to make another bottle and instead is used for synthetic clothing or carpets. This process is often called &#;downcycling.&#;

The environmental effects of glass and plastic are not clear cut. Glass makes up 5% of the garbage in the U.S, meaning that even though it is recyclable it often finds its way to the landfill anyway. Producing a single-use glass vs plastic container has a larger environmental impact due to the energy required. However, even though glass is long-lasting it is made from natural material. While plastic is relatively new compared to glass, plastic makes up 20% of garbage in landfills.

6. Does Glass vs Plastic Impact my Health?

Glass is non-toxic, free from potentially harmful chemicals and generally not associated with a negative impact to your health. It is less porous than plastic. It also has a high resistance to leeching into your product even when contained for long periods of time. Organic or all-natural products may want to consider glass products as public knowledge increases of bisphenol A (BPA) and other potentially hazardous chemicals in plastics.

However, most plastics do not contain BPA. Plastic gets a bad reputation for its toxicity and tendency to leech into products. When used incorrectly, plastics can leech possibly harmful chemicals into your product. Improper or extreme storage conditions can accelerate this process. Taking precautions to ensure that your plastic container suits your product and its use can ensure that using plastic is a safe alternative to glass.

7. What&#;s Going Inside & How it will Be Used

A large determining factor between glass and plastic is what works best for your product. If it&#;s a spirited beverage or a liquid where keeping carbonation is essential, glass might work best for you. Thick substances such as shampoos and lotions often fit a plastic bottle you can squeeze to dispense. Glass vs plastic might help your all-natural beverage sell better, but a product that a child or baby handles might be ideal in plastic.

So what&#;s the bottom line? Which is better and is more beneficial, glass or plastic? Only you know will work for you! Find out more about packaging and containers, as well as lids, caps and closures to go along with them here at The Cary Company.

Medicinal Cannabis Packaging Safety: Jars vs Bags

The approval of cannabis flower for medical use continues to increase globally &#; written into UK law in &#; as healthcare professionals seek to take advantage of its ability to ease chronic pain, relax muscles, manage nausea and more.

But how is medical cannabis flower best stored, delivered and dispensed to the patient? As with any medicine, storage and integrity play a key role in the safe and effective administering.

Two of the most popular packaging products for medical cannabis flower are jars and bags &#; but which is most effective and why?

In this article, medical packaging experts at Origin explore the advantages and disadvantages of bags and jars for the storage and dispensing of medical cannabis flower&#;

For more information, please visit Child Resistant Glass Jar Factory.

The role of packaging in the use of medicinal cannabis flower

All medicines have unique and specific storage requirements &#; to keep them safe and maintain both quality and integrity until patient consumption.

These storage requirements will include recommendations on materials, temperatures, safety considerations and more, ultimately outlining how to best mitigate risks to the medicine&#;s effectiveness.

For example, inadequate packaging may cause product contamination or degradation &#; either from exposure to oxygen or other substances &#; as well as loss of potency. With medicinal cannabis, this means providing air-tight protection, as well as avoiding UV light and extreme temperatures.

But it&#;s not just quality considerations that the healthcare industry must contend with. Medical cannabis packaging must also meet regional regulations for safe and legal dispensing.

For example, in the UK, medicinal cannabis packaging must conform to the regulations set out in the Misuse of Drugs Act . This covers a range of requirements including labelling and information guidelines &#; such as dosage and patient consumption advice &#; as well as tamper-evident and child-resistant demands and marketing restrictions.

Key considerations for medicinal cannabis flower packaging

To meet both the product quality and legal requirements for medical cannabis flower packaging, some key considerations must be designed and developed into products, including jars and bags:

  • Air-tight &#; to avoid product degradation. Exposure to oxygen can dry out the flower, affecting its potency and efficacy. This also avoids contamination through leakage.
  • Temperature &#; extreme temperatures can also affect the potency of the medicine and potentially have drying effects. The packaging must be able to provide ample temperature regulation to keep the product fresh and maintain its integrity.
  • Humidity &#; too much or too little moisture can impact medical cannabis flower by either encouraging mould growth or by drying the product. Packaging must provide a protective barrier to the medicine for suitable humidity control.
  • UV light &#; UV light can be harmful to medicinal cannabis products, degrading the product and reducing its efficacy. Packaging, therefore, must provide UV light protection in its external barrier.
  • Child resistance &#; as with any prescription medicine, child-resistant packaging is crucial. Jars or bags must be designed to prevent access to children &#; and ultimately, accidental ingestion of the product &#; while remaining simple to access for adults.
  • Labelling &#; packaging products must also meet labelling requirements, including dosage and administering instructions, expiry dates, storage conditions and appropriate warnings. There are also restrictions around what cannot be included on medicinal cannabis flower labels, for example, claims about the product&#;s medical benefits that are not based on robust evidence.

Jars for medicinal cannabis flower

A range of HDPE plastic containers and glass jars are commonly used to store and dispense medicinal cannabis flower &#; offering a variety of protective properties that help to maintain the integrity of the medicine until patient consumption.

Firstly, jars provide an air-tight seal through screw lids, protecting against exposure to oxygen or extremes of temperature or humidity that can degrade the medicine and impact its potency and efficacy.

Plastic and glass jars also provide a sturdy and durable layer of protection for the medicine against damage in transport or storage. Plus, glass can be produced in protective colours, such as amber, to provide additional UV protection to maintain product quality.

The relatively simple design of packaging jars also means it is easy to add tamper-evident and child-resistant mechanisms and features. For example, single-use tearing strips can be attached to the lid for peace of mind that the container has not been opened before dispensing, while jar lids can be designed to require multiple simultaneous movements to open &#; preventing access to young children.

Ultimately, jars are the most effective and popular method for storing and dispensing medicinal cannabis flower &#; providing a desirable balance between protective properties that maintain medicine quality while also remaining portable and providing ample surface area for relevant informational labels and branding.

Bags for medicinal cannabis flower

While typically associated with recreational use, bags can also provide unique and positive use cases for storing and dispensing medical cannabis flower.

Bags provide a compact, lightweight and portable way of storing medicinal cannabis, while also providing a surface for relevant compliance labels and branding.

However, while bags can come with features such as resealable zip locks and protective tinted finishes, they do not provide the same level of humidity control as jars &#; due to the air-tight seal provided by jar lids, as well as greater temperature and UV light protection provided by plastic and glass containers. This is critical in maintaining the potency and integrity of the flower.


Medicinal cannabis flower packaging &#; bags vs. jars

 JarsBagsAir-tight sealLid creates air-tight sealCan come with resealable zips or locksTemperature-resistanceHDPE plastic and glass jars provide heat-resistanceNo effective temperature-resistant propertiesHumidity-resistanceAir-tight lid provides humidity control within the container when attached.Can be resealable to provide some humidity control within the bag.UV light-resistanceGlass varieties can come in various colours to provide UV light protectionProvide little resistance to UV raysChild-resistance/tamper-evidenceCan come fitted with mechanisms such as tearable strips and child-resistant lidsCan include features such as single-use strips and child-resistant locksLabellingProvide a printable surface for information labelsProvide a printable surface for information labels

The future of medicinal cannabis flower packaging

As the demand for medicinal cannabis flower grows, the healthcare packaging industry must keep pace and continue innovating designs to aid dispensing without compromising product quality or safety.

The future of medicinal cannabis packaging is therefore likely to incorporate elements of smart packaging, such as integrated tools for tracking the temperature and humidity of the container in real time. These features will be invaluable in retaining the potency and efficacy of medicines until patient consumption.

Dosing innovations are also likely to improve the patient experience, including pre-measured doses or integration with apps that remind patients when to take their medicine.

Safety will always remain a key consideration as the market grows. This includes both in terms of patient safety and medicine quality &#; for example, through scannable QR codes that allow users to track the medicine&#;s journey &#; as well as child-proof innovations such as biometric locks that require a fingerprint or even compatibility with smartphones.

For more information on the future of medical cannabis flower &#; aside from just packaging innovations &#; check out Origin&#;s expert thoughts in our blog!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the ideal medical cannabis flower packaging?

The ideal cannabis flower packaging protects the quality of the medicine &#; by providing an air-tight seal as well as temperature and humidity resistance &#; while being child-resistant and incorporating important patient information.

HDPE plastic and glass jars are the most popular products for dispensing and storing medicinal cannabis flower, as they come with an air-tight lid and protective barrier that meets these requirements, as well as providing a surface for printing or attaching patient information.

For more 3.5 weed bagsinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.