Wait, Plastic Can Be Good for the Environment?
scientificamerican.com
scientificamerican.com
So, pure carton, if it works, is the best. (Apparently waxed cannot be recycled, but still it's compostable and clean to burn.) Cans and glass jars follow.
Look at the rest of the author's articles. If you read in between the lines on them, they could all be summed up as "don't worry, keep the consumer habits you already have, change is coming".