While we always focus on trying to have packaging stick around as much as you can, there are some types of packaging that may self-destruct or degrade after a single use, in order to prevent re-use.   Why would you use this? What are the benefits of a packaging that’s only used one time? 

Well, you’re about to find out. Here, we’ll go over the self-destructive packaging that’s out there, including why a brand might use this, and also what sorts of triggers might be used to disintegrate the products. 

Types of Designs 

There’s a lot of great designs that come with this. 

The first is heat-sensitive materials, where once it’s exposed to high-enough heat, it breaks down.

There’s also coatings that are put over the top of this that are biodegradable, so that once it’s outside, it breaks down immediately. This is the most sustainable of all of the options. 

The third one is chemical agents. There are now agents which trigger disintegration, which is a fun way for you to ensure that you have a unique, exciting experience for all of the packaging that you have, and really make it shine in its own way as well. 

The applications 

There’s a lot of applications for this.

One, there’s pharmaceuticals, which are medicines that need to have the packaging gone after one use, because it impacts the sensitivity of the medical items. For any sorts of medications that are a little more sensitive, this is one of the best ways to get rid of it, before it becomes a problem.

There are high-ticket or sensitive sorts of products. These items cost a lot, and in order to prevent the reuse of it, you’ll be able to also make this easier by adding in some self-destructive features, which in turn allow for you to have the best ways to eliminate others knowing about this.

Then there is packaging that’s anti-theft and tampering. If you know something may get poached by a thief, you can use this packaging in order to prevent it from getting there.   sensitive documents also might benefit from this too.

The Benefits and Drawbacks 

There’s a lot of benefits that come with having packaging that self-destructs. 

It bolsters the security of the items, so you don’t have to worry about the wrong person getting into it.

It also reduces the recycling costs, so that when you’re getting rid of it, it doesn’t cost as much out of your pocket compared to other types of packaging experiences. 

Finally, it also eliminates repurposing, which is good for anything that’s sensitive, as it will prevent it from getting worse with time. 

There are some drawbacks though. The first is making sure that it’s still reusable for you to send out.   you don’t want the item to be compromised before it gets to the customer’s hand, so make sure that doesn’t happen. 

The other downside is that you also want to make sure that you make it easy to destroy the item after use. It’s simple, effective, and also will be good for prevention of tampering, but you need to make it easy for people too.

The Future Technologies 

There’s a lot of potential future technologies which come with this.

The biggest one is that there may be self-destruction packaging that’s triggered by RFID tags, or user interaction, which is a good way to prevent the packaging from getting into the wrong hands. Overall, you have a lot of great potentials to be had, so make sure that you consider all of these for your packaging experience.