14 DESIGN


Pulp Paper & Logistics


Recycling should start with the basic


concepts of paper-based packaging Guidelines for the eco-design of cellulose-based packaging that support recycling systems have been established in Italy. Andrea Marinelli, Romina Santi, Barbara Del Curto from the Politecnico di Milano outline the objectives


sustainability. It has always had a strong focus on environmental issues, reaching and overcoming the recycling and recovery objectives set by law in advance. Today, the sector is facing


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increasingly challenging objectives due to an increased attention towards sustainability concerns and the transition to a circular economy. New and more ambitious goals have been set by the European Union with the Circular Economy Action Plan 2.0, with particular focus on packaging recycling. In order to achieve a closed


circuit, a strategy involving the entire supply chain is essential: in Italy, Conai and the six material consortia are guaranteeing the achievement of the recycling objectives of packaging waste. This strategy embraces eco- design and design for recycling. It is estimated that the design choices are responsible for 80 per cent of the environmental burden carried by packaging throughout its life cycle.


The cellulose-based packaging


recycling stream is consolidated in Italy under the auspices of the paper and board consortium, Comieco. The recycling objectives established in the European Directive 2018/852 for 2025 have already been reached (80.8 per cent of the packaging released


January/February 2021 The paper mill recycling process


for consumption in Italy in 2019) while the ones to be reached by 2030 (85 per cent) are close at hand. Consequently, it is important to promote continuous improvement in the design phase in correspondence with the


current recycling processes. In this context, the ‘Design for


recycling guidelines for paper packaging’ was developed and published as part of Conai’s ‘Pensare Futuro’ project, in collaboration with Comieco


he packaging supply chain has been one of the first to be regulated for its environmental


experts and our research group. The document is available on the online platform <www. progettarericiclo.com> and is a systemic grouping of all the specific knowledge of players at all levels in the paper supply chain, from designers to producers and consumers, to those involved in waste management and recyclers, all the way to associations, industry experts, universities and research centres. Hereafter, some of the guidelines


are reported. These are the result of:


● National and European regulatory framework;


● Interviews with key packaging manufacturers to understand the objectives and constraints;


● Interviews with players of the collection, selection, and recycling plants (paper mills) to observe the process and identify possible factors generating criticalities in the generation of secondary raw material;


● Analysis of the main types of cellulosic packaging.


The first consideration is related to the quality of the pulp sent for recycling, which determines both the value of the secondary raw material that can be obtained, and the critical factors at the paper mill processes. These are attributable to causes of different entities, starting from properties of the fibres used that require couplings and laminations for certain applications (e.g. to


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