| High density molded cellulose | Traditionally molded cellulose | Expanded polystyrene | PE Foam | Folded cardboard | |
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| Form weight | 10g up to 200Kg | 10g up to 50Kg | 10g up to 400Kg | 10g up to 150Kg | 10g up to 50Kg |
| Impact on the environment | 100% recyclable. Carbon consumption reduced (little fossil energy use during manufacturing & transportation) | 100% recyclable. Carbon consumption reduced (twice as much carbon used) | No sector recycling/exhaustion of fossil energy. Durable damage to the environment (water, land…) |
100% recyclable, but use of virgin fibers | |
| Cost of a form | Unit cost comparable for identical runs | More expensive due to greater in-house logistic costs during start-up. | More expensive due to higher labour cost (gluing of pieces) | More expensive due to the time needed to assemble the pieces | |
| Fluctuation of packaging prices | Moderate. Waste paper recycling was 60% in 2009. | High. Due to fluctuations in the price of oil. | High. Prices are a function of the availability of virgin fibers. Abrupt drop of the offer after the closing of more than 300 plants (paper, sawmills, etc.) since 2003 in Canada | ||
| Equipment | Between 5,000 and 15,000 euros depending on the size of the machine | Low cost of equipment | Between 1,000 and 3,000 euros depending on the size of the machine | ||
| Protecting against vibration | High resistance due to reinforcement and shock-absorbers. Custom-made forms to fit the need of the product, distortion capacity. | High resistance due to the thickness and density of the materials | Very high resistance due to the distortion capacity of the materials and its thickness | Low resistance because the container does not fit the part | |
| Stacking & packaging (on a scale of 1 to 20) | 20 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 20 |
| Odor | None | High | None | ||
| Risk during start-up | No risk | Risk of cuts while handling | |||
| Heat risks | None / naturally insulating | None / insulating material / flammable | flammable | None / insulating material | |
| Humidity resistance | Average resistance | High resistance, but mildew/rusty risk if water evacuation is not timely | Sponge effect | Low resistance | |
| Abrasiveness (on a scale of 1 to 5) | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Dimensional tolerance on runs (in millimetres) | +/- 1 mm | +/- 4 mm | +/- 1 mm | +/- 3 mm | +/- 5 mm |
Molded cellulose and its competition
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