Packaging serves many important purposes; it keeps food fresh, safeguards our health and safety, and protects the products themselves during shipping throughout the global supply chain. Despite these benefits, packaging can also generate a great deal of waste, and many governments and organizations are calling for change in how we treat plastic waste as well as a more circular approach to packaging design. Eco-friendly packaging solutions that can be recycled and contain recycled materials are in high demand.
The packaging industry can work with these buyer preferences to make meaningful changes to increase recycling rates. Expanding access to home and away-from-home recycling programs is essential, as is educating consumers about the types of packaging that can be recycled. Brand owners are designing new packaging to make recycling easier and meet the increasing regulatory requirements such as post-consumer recycled (PCR) content minimums. These trends involve reduced and lighter materials, designing for circularity, and incorporating recycled content.
Recyclable Designs
Recent advances have made mono-material packaging designs more accessible, replacing mixed-material laminates that could not be recycled. Pouches and other previously difficult to recycle packaging types can now be made from all-polyethylene (PE) constructions using high-density polyethylene (BOPE-HD) film, increasing the amount of waste that can be recycled and improving the quality of what is collected. Other innovative approaches, including incorporated recycled content into packaging and offering take-back programs, are diverting plastics from landfills and closing the loop on the product lifecycle. Perhaps most importantly, industry players are collaborating across the value chain to further circular solutions and bring sustainable products to market, such as NOVA Chemicals’ partnership with Pregis.
Reducing Material Usage
As brands work to reduce their carbon footprint, lightweight packaging design is gaining momentum as it helps minimize waste and reduce transportation costs. Thin-walled containers, flexible packaging, decreased head space, and innovative folding techniques optimize material usage and storage space while maintaining performance. Brand owners are also focusing on reducing virgin resin usage due to the growing public sentiment that plastic waste is a growing problem. As we work to expand the recycling infrastructure, we can shift our mindset about plastic from waste to resource and our consumption model from linear to circular.
Achieving a Circular Economy
The trends in consumer packaging reflect a growing commitment to sustainability and circularity. Small changes are not enough, however, and packaging professionals across all aspects of the value chain must work together to create action plans that allow us to transform plastic waste into a resource. We are currently relying on brand owner commitments like those laid out by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, but a true shift in packaging and our approach to plastics will involve producers, manufacturers, converters, recyclers, and public involvement. We must stay at the forefront of the demand for sustainable options to preserve our resources and protect the environment for future generations.