Plastics, Costs and Opportunities

Material prices (April 2022) have increased astronomically compared to a few months ago. Many metals, woods, paper, electronics, but also energy and therefore transport costs have increased to such an extent that opportunities arise for other solutions. Although plastics have also increased in price, their increase is lower than most metals and woods.

There are now options to replace more expensive materials with, for example, plastics, but lighter constructions also offer opportunities. The use of wood in pallets is one such example, where you may wonder whether this cannot be solved much better by using (recycled) plastics. In addition to the advantage of hygienics, integration of functional details, reuse and possible nestability, wood is not the most ecological material to use in this type of logistics products.

Thinking carefully about other materials, designs and/or production methods whereby the total life cycle costs, but also the environmental impact of the product are evaluated is a service that BPO can help with. We provide insight into which alternatives there are, what the consequences are of an alternative choice of material and what options this offers. We can develop this into the new generation of products, that are better balanced in terms of costs, but also better balanced with the environment and the future.