Flexible Packaging
How to scale sustainable flexible packaging under PPWR
By Sara Alexander, MarCom manager, Flexible Packaging, BOBST
he EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) has pushed fl exible packaging into its next phase, and the move from innovation to industrialisation is reshaping priorities for converters, brand owners and suppliers alike.
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For years, the industry’s main question was which material delivered consistent and commercially-viable performance. With high- level and legally binding recyclability targets now coming into eff ect, a new question has emerged, ‘How to get sustainable packaging onto shelves at scale without disrupting supply chains?’
COST NOT CHEMISTRY AS A BARRIER Much of the R&D groundwork for sustainable and circular substrates is already done. Barrier papers, mono-material fi lms and also biopolymers exist in one way or another today.
One of the bigger challenges is minimising the cost of new, sustainable packaging solutions. That cost extends beyond the substrate itself,
with fi lling line productivity, equipment upgrades and the price premium barrier papers command all part of a calculation brand owners must make to balance the cost of non-compliance. Investment in new materials, process development, and line readiness will vary by application, but the price of non-compliance can be far greater once wasted lead time, market access, and commercial penalties are accounted for. As supply chains mature and machinery is better optimised for a new generation of substrates, the cost equation will be simplifi ed, although raw material availability at scale, particularly for paper and MDO-PE, challenges how quickly the industry can evolve.
BARRIER PAPER IS CLOSING THE GAP Barrier paper performance has advanced substantially. Progess has focused principally on barrier performance and structural strength, and while barrier papers will not suit every application, current performance levels are increasingly credible for mainstream use. That progress refl ects process knowledge as much as material science. Getting barrier paper to this stage has depended on combining deep understanding of how fi bres behave with knowledge of the application space to create solutions that are functional, resilient and available at an industrial scale.
This combination matters even more as adoption scales over the next few years, and other markets turn their attention to paper-based packaging, from snacks and beverages to cosmetics and home care. All are opportunities, though adoption in each case will depend on whether the market can absorb the current cost premium and how that cost premium will even out over time with larger scale industrialisation.
MONO-MATERIALS DEMAND DIFFERENT THINKING
Mono-material structures face a diff erent set of hurdles.
Getting the barrier specifi cation right is a primary concern. Conventional, multi-layer and non-recyclable laminates were cost-competitive enough that few questioned whether they were overspecifi ed; now many mono-material projects begin by correcting years of built-in overengineering. Building eff ective mono-material structures typically means removing functional layers like aluminium foil and engineering barrier performance, sealability, and printability into the substrate itself.
This feeds into the need to understand polymer chemistry and related manufacturing and material transformation expertise. To achieve this requires expert control of polymers and their formulation and adding functional layers that replicate the required barrier levels, stiff ness and heat-seal properties that multi-material laminates previously achieved. Interest is also high in compostable biopolymers, but adoption depends on the same considerations: performance, resilience, cost, and sourcing. Once biopolymers reach a competitive price with suffi cient performance, growth could accelerate quickly. Until then, expansion will likely stay incremental.
MYRIAD CHOICES
It is almost impossible to know what sustainable fl exible packaging will look like in 2030. Will the market be dominated by paper, mono- material plastics, biopolymers, or a mix of diff erent solutions? It is genuinely too early to tell, although most likely, by 2030 paper-based and mono-polymer materials will co-exist and serve applications according to their strengths.
The opportunities and challenges with a new generation of fl exible packaging materials are that there is not one universal solution. Rather, myriad choices exist for brands and retailers seeking sustainable and circular packaging solutions, and more are in development.
For converters, this demands diversifi cation rather than specialisation and attention paid to having the right supply chain in place. By building capability across diff erent substrates, developing expertise for all, and staying fl exible enough to serve whichever solution a brand favours, this will better help converters succeed in tomorrow’s world.
This creates more opportunities than it does challenges for the fl exible packaging industry. It also reinforces the message that the time to act is now. With the fi rst measures of PPWR in place and the ramp-up and industrialisation needing to begin, it is the time to act and not be too late.
18 September 2026
www.convertermag.com
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