The reader enters the library, chooses a title, pays, takes it home, and tears off the transparent film surrounding it. In seconds, the plastic goes to waste. This gesture is trite, but its impact is enormous.
This thin layer of heat-shrinkable film – used to protect the book from dust and moisture – has become one of the greatest symbols of dissonance in the Brazilian publishing market: a sector that lives on ideas, but still insists on a materially unsustainable habit. It’s called “single-use plastic.”
According to data provided by the CBL (Brazilian Book Chamber) and Snel (National Union of Book Editors), the country printed 366 million copies last year. Assuming that about 70% of these books were individually wrapped, this means that 256 million units received plastic covers before reaching shelves. Each wrapper weighs between 1.4 grams and 2.7 grams, which equates to about 360 to 700 tons of plastic waste per year – waste of low commercial value, which is rarely recycled, and almost always ends up in landfills or oceans, broken down into microplastic particles.
The publishers’ argument is practical: plastic protects copies during transportation and storage. The problem is that protection only lasts until purchase – minutes – while the resulting contamination can span generations. It is an equation of time and damage that no longer holds.
However, there is a deeper reason why this practice continues. E-commerce platforms, such as Amazon and perhaps Mercado Livre, require that books be delivered individually wrapped in plastic. Otherwise, they will not receive orders. At this point, it is necessary to stop and consider that the publishing market is currently completely dependent on e-commerce sales. Major publishers estimate that about 70% of their output flows through Amazon.
To meet this requirement, many publishers require printers to send part or all of the print copy “shrunk”—a technical term for the heat-shrinkable film, which adheres to the book under heat.
Thus a vicious circle is created: printers pack in to serve publishers; Publishers pack to fit platforms; The pallets reassemble them to ship them to the consumer. If all the books left the factory bound, the environmental impact would double – between 520 and 1,000 tons of waste per year, just to meet commercial standards.
In other countries, the scenario is starting to change. European publishers and independent bookstores are already replacing plastic films with recycled paper strips, biodegradable covers, or simply eliminating packaging. They trust the reader and reduce their environmental footprint.
Brazil must follow suit. The discussion of sustainability in a book cannot be limited to the origin of the paper: it must also include the material surrounding it. The book is, by nature, a tool for awareness. No awareness is possible when knowledge remains covered with a layer of invisible pollution.
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Articles published with a byline do not reflect the opinion of the newspaper. Its publication aims to stimulate debate on Brazilian and global problems and reflects different trends in contemporary thought.
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