Materials
Why not use a refill model? The pouch is not refillable and not reusable so a food contact certification would not work – but the material they are made from is. That is why the focus is on recycling as that is where the biggest impact can be made. Flexible packaging is so lightweight that very little waste is generated. And even that almost non- volume is being put into a circular economy. Refill seems sensible from the outside, but if you consider the logistics of transporting an empty pouch, cleaning it, then shipping it to the refilling line, then more shipping to return to the customer, it adds a lot of layers in which an empty product is being shipped.
A further challenge with amending the material structure is that many things that were not recyclable five or ten years ago are today, and new plants being constructed have far more capable technology than previous ones did. However, it is not uniform or widespread, which adds to the complexities of local level waste management. Consumers don’t know that there is a chance their waste gets managed more efficiently or not as they have no way to influence this, and so packaging, even if it could be recycled, is not because it is in the wrong stream or location. This is replicated across thousands of local areas and nationally. Might it be better to substitute the material composition for another that may be more sustainable or less wasteful, passing on quality control and scale, and focusing on recycling technology potential and capacity?
In the UK, there is already the Enval technology operating, which can perfectly recycle multi- material laminates. Other technologies in the field of chemical recycling are also being installed and further developed. The technology is here, incoming and commercially viable. That’s what we consider the most important thing; it works and it also makes money. For example, Enval is working with Sonoco and Kraft in the US to build plants that fully recycle materials, and close the loop on production waste. The US has historically been less concerned by the environment, and so when such major companies are looking at this technology and using it, it is proof they can justify an economic reason as well as telling consumers it is for environmental ones too.
Big moves Ultimately, it is probably better to reuse the material than the package. Flexible Packaging Europe conducted a study that found if all flexible packaging could be recycled, more than 21 million tonnes of material would be saved. To highlight just how large this is, that represents about one third to 40% of the entire material
Packaging & Converting Intelligence /
www.pci-mag.com
usage for all packaging. In CO2
terms, this is
almost half a percentage of the entire European emissions. That might seem small, but that entire scope includes everything: transport, manufacture, travel. And that can be gained from something as simple as moving into flexibles. We are not telling people to do this, it is just important to understand the impact that flexible packaging has on the waste stream when compared with other materials. Recycling is not the only way to make a difference; all options have to be considered.
Supply chain circular economies will need flexible packaging to function properly.
“The technology is here, incoming and commercially viable.”
To summarise where flexible packaging is and where it is going, the biggest legislative focus is on the revision of the European Commission’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, including the essential requirements that all packaging will have to be recyclable by 2030. This does not mean in theory recyclable, or a percentage, but all packaging to be 100% recyclable. Legislation is also on its way to harmonise the calculation of recycling rates so they are more uniform within the EU. There is also the SUP guidance and the EU’s plastic levy, and how it will be implemented across member states. Meanwhile, because of Covid-19, there was a small peak in the use of flexible packaging in the first half of 2020, from March to June, and then a fall-off.
These focal points, in combination with Flexible Packaging Europe’s overall aim to make flexible packaging sit firmly in the circular economy, are the main focus for the organisation in the immediate future. ●
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