As companies continue to prioritize sustainability, one type of packaging has been making a quiet comeback: paper. While foam and plastics have long dominated protective packaging, paper-based solutions, particularly corrugated and molded pulp, are emerging as a high-performance, eco-friendly alternative.
The Ongoing Challenge of Packaging Waste
Packaging waste represents a substantial and often overlooked challenge, particularly in terms of its environmental impact. Traditional foam, plastics and mixed-material packaging are difficult to recycle, frequently ending up in landfills. As organizations seek measurable ways to reduce waste, paper-based protective packaging is re-emerging as a practical, high-performance alternative. For industries with large-scale shipments like electronics, consumer goods and industrial supply chains, the volume of packaging waste can be staggering. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that containers and packaging account for about 30% of all municipal solid waste, totaling more than 80 million tons every year.[1] Despite efforts to improve recycling, a significant portion of this packaging waste still ends up in landfills or incinerators. Thus, addressing the packaging waste challenge requires materials that are both protective and recyclable, alongside systems that facilitate recovery and reuse.
Why Paper?
Corrugated and molded pulp products have proven to be one viable solution. Designed with recyclability in mind, these materials provide robust protection. They also lend themselves to circular programs that reclaim, refurbish and recycle packaging into new products. In some cases, companies have achieved nearly 100% landfill avoidance, demonstrating the scalability and impact of circular paper packaging.
The global paper packaging market was valued around $397.5 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $527.1 billion by 2030. Notably, recycled paper grades represented over 50% of the paper packaging market in 2024, underscoring the material’s central role in sustainable packaging solutions.[2]
Paper-based packaging offers many opportunities for design innovation. Corrugated and molded pulp can be engineered to meet precise performance requirements, including cushioning, stacking strength and moisture resistance. Unlike older paper designs, modern solutions can match or exceed the protective qualities of foam, making them practical for high-value and fragile shipments.
The benefits of paper packaging include:
- Custom Performance: Each product can be tailored to protect specific items, reducing the need for excess filler and secondary packaging.
- Recyclability: Materials are fully recyclable and can be integrated into closed-loop, or circular, systems that extend their lifecycle.
- Sustainability Credentials: Many solutions are FSC-certified or made from 100% recycled paper, helping organizations meet environmental requirements and sustainability targets.
Environmental Benefits
Paper-based packaging also offers several clear environmental advantages over traditional foam and plastic materials:
- Reduced Carbon Footprint: By using recycled and renewable materials, corrugated and molded pulp packaging reduces greenhouse gas emissions across the product lifecycle.
- Waste Diversion: Closed-loop recycling programs recover packaging material and reincorporate it into new products, preventing millions of pounds of waste from reaching landfills.
- Sustainability Alignment: Many organizations now have ambitious corporate sustainability goals, and adopting paper-based packaging demonstrates measurable progress toward these targets.
Paper Design Innovation
Modern paper-based packaging is far from the simple, flat cardboard of decades past. Manufacturers can now engineer corrugated and molded pulp solutions to meet exact performance requirements.
Corrugated is a strong, but lightweight, mult-layered shock-absorbent material ideal for protecting goods during transit. It is highly recyclable and biodegradable, making it one of the most sustainable packaging materials.
Molded pulp is made from water-based fibers – either recycled paper or cardboard or natural plant materials like sugarcane or wheat. The benefits of corrugated and molded pulp packaging include:
- Protective Performance: Properly designed molded pulp and corrugated packaging can absorb shocks, provide stacking strength, and resist moisture, delivering protection comparable to or better than foam.
- Customizability: Both materials can be precisely engineered for specific products, ensuring a perfect fit and reducing the need for excess filler or secondary packaging.
- Recyclability: Every design choice considers end-of-life recovery, ensuring materials remain fully recyclable or reusable.
Circular Solutions
Beyond material choice, packaging design and management plays an important role in sustainability. Principles such as modularity, ease of disassembly and closed-loop recovery maximize both environmental and economic benefits.
Closed-loop recycling programs collect used packaging materials, refurbishing and recycling them into new products. It’s a sustainable cycle that benefits customers and the environment. This model not only eliminates landfill waste but also demonstrates the scalability of circular packaging for large operations.
Paper-based packaging also encourages innovation in ancillary areas, including shipping methods, storage optimization, and automation compatibility. These benefits reinforce that sustainability can go hand-in-hand with operational excellence, rather than being seen as a trade-off. Organizations that integrate these principles can achieve significant waste reductions while also improving operational efficiency.
Custom Hazmat-Approved Packaging Solution Sets the Standard for Battery Module Shipments
One example of sustainable and customized packaging solutions in action is when a large automotive manufacturer needed a customized packaging solution for its scrap battery modules. The packaging solution needed to pass rigorous hazmat testing requirements for shipping unused battery modules to a recycling facility. The pack had to meet strict safety standards and drop tests to pass compression testing.
After a long process of trial and error, a specialty team manufactured a durable, custom-designed solution built specifically to house and protect battery modules during transit. The solution blends multiple recyclable materials, including a sturdy corrugated paper box with internal foam and wooden structures that secure the module in place, preventing movement and minimizing impact.
Inside the box, a combination of foam and rigid wood corner dividers absorb shock and maintain proper spacing to ensure the sensitive components remain intact. The design is clean and efficient, with a clear focus on both protection and compliance with hazmat shipping standards.
The process and solution developed for this project can now serve as a template for future projects with similar specifications and will streamline production efforts moving forward.
The Future of Protective Packaging
More than a “green alternative,” paper-based packaging represents a strategic, high-performance solution for organizations seeking to balance product protection, cost efficiency and sustainability.
By embracing FSC-certified corrugated products and molded pulp systems, companies can achieve tangible environmental benefits while maintaining operational excellence. With milestone achievements like nearly 100% landfill avoidance, the developments demonstrate that sustainable packaging can be both practical and impactful, proving that paper is truly making a comeback as the next frontier in protective packaging.
The resurgence of paper-based protective packaging reflects a broader shift in the industry: sustainability is no longer a niche concern but a core operational consideration. Companies that adopt circular, paper-based solutions can reduce landfill contributions, lower carbon footprints and maintain or improve product protection.
As the packaging industry continues to explore innovative ways to minimize environmental impact, corrugated and molded pulp packaging stands out for its practicality, scalability and sustainability. Thoughtful design, combined with circular recovery systems, positions paper-based materials not as a replacement, but as a next-generation standard for protective packaging.
Author Bio
Joe Gumbis is Chief Commercial Officer of Specialized Packaging Group (SPG), overseeing sales, marketing and engineering. He was previously CEO of PCD Packaging and holds an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University.