Originally published in Packaging Technology Today on December 3, 2024.
As featured in Packaging Technology Today magazine on December 3, 2024, Anna writes, “Packaging design has become a cross-company team effort. Once viewed as a disposable commodity, packaging is now an important part of the circular economy in which materials have the potential to be recycled and recirculated back into the market. Beyond protecting and transporting products, packaging is becoming the focus of sustainability initiatives centered around increasing recycling and reuse. Circular pathways require thoughtful design and industry collaboration to allow materials to reenter the market instead of being disposed of in landfills or reaching the environment.
For plastic packaging, companies along the entire value chain are working to extend the life of plastics beyond their initial use in an effort to minimize resource consumption and waste generation. Governments around the world are beginning to mandate recyclable or recycled materials, requiring a fundamental shift in the way packaging materials are sourced, manufactured, and repurposed.
There are many opportunities available for improving the recyclability of plastics, but in lockstep with this, the infrastructure to collect and process them must continue to be developed, even in the most modern of economies. By building relationships across the value chain, industry players can support plastics circularity and establish a strong supply chain for recycled materials. When companies at various production stages work together, the collective effort toward achieving a shared goal accelerates innovation at scale and builds resiliency for the manufacturing supply chain, helping to increase the reliability and the use of recycled materials.”
Read the full article here on Packaging Technology Today.
Anna Rajkovic is the market and innovation manager for mechanical recycling at NOVA Chemicals. In this role, Anna is responsible for managing the company’s PCR product portfolio and for driving circularity, both with plastic converter customers and across the entire plastics value chain.