THIN-WALL PACKAGING | PROCESSING Slender
advantage: thin-wall packaging
The thin-wall packaging market has seen huge changes over the last decade – with legislation in particular affecting factors such as material use and packaging design
The thin-wall packaging market has seen huge change over the last decade. Susannah Owen, a consultant at AMI, told delegates that the main themes at this year’s Thin Wall Packaging confer- ence included recyclability, circularity (including tray-to-tray recycling), plastics reduction and energy efficiency. At the equivalent event in 2013, the main topics were barrier packaging, decora- tion, new PP grades and biopolymers. In the interim, there has been lots of industry consolidation and a massive focus on recycling – which has partly been driven by legislation. “Recent requirements put further pressure to
accelerate the availability of recyclate,” she said. In Europe, thin-wall packaging production is
likely to remain stagnant between now and 2027. Within this, there will be inevitable winners and losers: applications such as convenience food is likely to thrive, while disposable, take-out contain- ers and fruit & vegetable packaging and likely to decline. Here, initiatives such as reusable packaging, or the use of alternative materials – such as fibre or paper – has contributed to this lack of growth. Regarding specific materials, while PP and PET will continue to thrive, PVC and PS will decline. ‘Combination packaging’ – which uses a blend
of materials such as plastics and cardboard – is also on the rise.
“Sustainability regulations are increasingly
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determining and driving material and format substitutes,” she said.
Stateside rules In North America, legislation is also having a huge effect on the packaging market. Dan Felton, executive director of Ameripen, said that ‘produc- er responsibility’ legislation – which forces packag- ing producers to take on more responsibility for their products at the end of life – is becoming more prevalent. “Packaging producer responsibility has existed in other jurisdictions such as Canada and EU for decades – and officially arrived in the US in the summer of 2021,” he told delegates. Just two states – Maine and Oregon – introduced new laws that year, but since then others have followed – or are “in discussions”. In addition, there are two bills under consideration by the US Congress. A number of states have – or are planning – tar- gets for the use of recyclate in plastics packaging. “This is a possible policy lever to increase demand and supply for recycled content and drive end market development,” he said. However, he warned that moves may lead to unintended consequences if not “done thoughtfully”. In California and Maine, the legislation – or planned legislation – covers only beverage contain- ers. In Washington and New Jersey, the laws cover
Main image: Food trays are a common example of thin-wall packaging
November 2023 | FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION 13
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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