The road to ever more environmentally friendly packaging is far from over. And it is as exciting as it is varied.
1. re-use: reusable packaging takes off
Around 80,000 reverse vending machines that will take in around seven billion glass, plastic and metal drinks containers every year: With the "RetuRO" system, Romania has established the largest reusable network in Europe to date. The country is currently the European spearhead in terms of re-use, even eclipsing France, which has been driving the issue forward in recent years.
Reusable packaging is undoubtedly the most promising long-term solution on the road to environmentally friendly packaging and a circular economy. However, this requires new logistics and take-back models, such as those currently being developed. The pool system established in Germany is welcome, but should not be transferred linearly into the future; it needs to be optimised and expanded to include fully optimised steps.
"The pool system in Germany has unfortunately deteriorated over the years. Initially, there were uniform, standardised bottles and crates in the beverage sector. These were then increasingly customised by the bottlers. As a result, the entire logistics process has become more complex and less profitable, and not all steps have been automated. Together with many networks and partners, a new system is therefore being developed to eliminate the weaknesses internationally and make the system attractive again. For our part, we have also developed a new reusable concept consisting of primary and transport containers, which has many advantages," says pacoon Managing Director Peter Désilets.
You can experience the brand new reusable concept from pacoon at Anuga FoodTec 2024 (19-22 March, Cologne) and discuss the possibilities of a market test with pacoon.
2. recycling: a classic with stagnating rates
While re-use has become the hardest currency for sustainable packaging, recycling naturally remains an important topic. The EU's planned packaging directive sets a clear focus here: according to the directive, EU member states must recycle at least 65 per cent of their packaging waste by 2025, with the target rising to 70 per cent by 2030. There are also specific targets for individual materials.
The actual recycling rates currently achieved in the member states are still quite widely spread. Slovakia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Germany, for example, are leading the way in plastic packaging with over 50 per cent in some cases, while other countries still recycle less than a quarter of the quantities. Overall, the rates remain unsatisfactory - and large investments are required to expand the necessary infrastructure and thus drive up the collection and sorting rates. Ultimately, however, a large proportion of plastics do not end up in recycling, but are often sent abroad and 'disposed of' improperly.
"We are talking about many millions in investments that need to be made in the infrastructure for plastics recycling. We have long known from Germany that consumers do not automatically collect single-use plastic packaging either. This collection and recycling rate is much higher for paper. So why not invest heavily in a promising re-use system, where we are talking about return rates of over 90%?" asks Désilets.
3. recyclates: the long wait for PPWR
The future use of recyclates is heavily dependent on the decision on the PPWR. The EU's Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation, the entry into force of which is being negotiated until March, stipulates, among other things, a minimum proportion of recyclates, particularly in plastic packaging.
The use of recyclates is currently difficult as the availability of suitable materials is low and the realisation is slowly dawning, particularly in the case of PET, that this interrupts the bottle cycle and that new virgin material is constantly flowing into the beverage bottle sector. The hope of chemical recycling means that the industry is currently waiting to see whether clean recyclates will come onto the market shortly before the "PPWR deadlines" - a hope that will probably not be realised, as the processes are very complex, the output quantity from pyrolysis is very low and also competes with mechanical recyclates such as PE and PP.
The use of recyclates from mechanical recycling will in turn depend not only on the price of oil, but also on new barriers that enable the food-grade use of recyclates. Unless new, profitable application channels outside of packaging open up or the price of oil rises significantly, the recycling industry will continue to come under severe pressure. Another exciting question is the extent to which solvent-based and enzymatic recycling - in industrially relevant volumes - will become established.
"We have to ask ourselves what we want to achieve in the end. On the one hand, a lower or neutral carbon footprint and, on the other, less environmental waste, primarily due to incorrectly disposed plastic packaging. We therefore need to completely rethink how we can achieve this. On the one hand, we could also achieve Virgin Plastic through bio-based plastics and dramatically increase production capacities. On the other hand, the resulting lower costs would also allow us to focus on biodegradable or compostable plastics, for which recycling would also be profitable or which could be used for energy recovery. Today, the proportion of agricultural land used directly for energy is 100 to 200 times higher than that used for packaging. Cascade utilisation would allow us to use agricultural land much more sensibly." Peter Désilets also argues in favour of a general rethink.
4 Fibre-based packaging: Growth for the renewable
Packaging based on natural fibres has an excellent image among consumers. So why haven't they long since become standard? Fibre-based packaging can take advantage of this effect. And a lot is currently happening in this area, both in terms of fibre raw materials and the technologies used to incorporate these fibres into new packaging solutions.
In order to help bio-based packaging material achieve a breakthrough, new technologies and new barriers are required first and foremost. Individual packaging made from 90% or more cellulose already achieves almost the same product protection and shelf life data as its film-based counterparts. One example of this is the nut packaging from Delfort and Magna Sweets or a solution from ImpaQ: fibre-based food packaging that enables recycling in the waste paper cycle. Several very promising approaches aim to establish extremely thin and biologically based or biodegradable coatings as a barrier.
In addition, more and more potential materials are coming into focus: grass, bagasse, hemp and straw are considered exciting candidates, as are rice straw and bamboo, and even seaweed and algae are seen as promising to relieve the pressure on wood as a raw material. In any case, it will be crucial that the packaging works in the waste paper stream and that fibre recycling is achieved - then fibre-based packaging will have a bright future.
"We have been following these developments with great interest since 2010. At the same time, we are demanding and testing the recyclability of the fibre materials in the waste paper stream and any negative effects on the quality of the recycled fibres. However, we are not joining in the chant that all fibre-based packaging is good, nor that composite packaging is bad per se. The end-of-life scenario must always be examined on a case-by-case basis and considered from the outset," says Peter Désilets, referring to his many years of experience with fibre packaging.
5 Glass packaging: Renaissance thanks to technology
The dilemma is well known. Glass packaging is almost perfect from a food hygiene point of view and is also ideal for reusable use: it can be reused up to 50 times. On the other side of the equation: glass is at risk of breaking and its production is both energy and resource intensive. Unfortunately, this also applies to the melting down of used glass in the course of glass recycling, where 60-70% of the energy required has to be reused.
Nevertheless, 2024 could be a year of the glass packaging renaissance, both in the disposable and reusable sectors. And this is - once again - due to new technologies. The development is going in two directions: Thanks to new chemical hardening technologies, glass can become ever thinner and harder at the same time. This results in more robust lightweight glass packaging, whose lower mass also helps to reduce transport costs and increase reuse.
However, it will be crucial for the glass industry to recognise the new potential. Only then will it be prepared to invest heavily in new technologies. Ardagh's new hybrid glassworks impressively demonstrates that it can also trim production itself in the direction of climate neutrality: 80 per cent of it is powered by electricity and only 20 per cent by gas. This makes the industry less dependent on raw material countries such as Russia.
"The glass industry wants to become completely climate-neutral in the next five to ten years - on the one hand by reducing CO2 emissions and on the other by offsetting the CO2 emissions that are not reduced. If we manage to switch to 40 to 50% lighter glass with higher breaking strength and then reduce energy consumption by using renewable energy, then climate neutrality will not only be achieved much faster, but will also be much cheaper. At pacoon, we have therefore based our reusable concept on this new lightweight glass technology, which means even more dramatic savings compared to disposable glass," says Peter Désilets.
6. communication: when less is actually more
It is sometimes astonishing how much text some manufacturers put on their product packaging. Much of it is required by law, others are informative or even just entertaining. However, one particular part could soon disappear.
With the Green Claims Directive, the European Commission is taking action against greenwashing. And there is a lot to do here: according to a 2020 Commission study, 40 per cent of environmental claims made by companies are "completely unfounded" and more than 50 per cent are "vague, misleading or unfounded". The Commission's initiative aims to ensure that such claims must be validated by credible and appropriate justification in future. At the same time, the proliferation of newly emerging eco-labels is also to be ended - for example by interposing certification by independent auditors.
If the directive comes into force, communication about packaging will also change. Initially, it will probably be reduced and, in a second step, concentrate on the essential and verifiable statements. This is a welcome development for consumers and the credibility of brands.
However, before communication on packaging changes, sustainability communication in companies must change fundamentally: from a nice-to-have to a supporting pillar in content marketing and in the overall brand strategy.
"It's not just in B2C that communication will have to become much more precise. Companies will also have to reorient themselves in B2B. Instead of simply talking about 'sustainability', companies will have to consider what exactly they are offering their potential customers in terms of benefits. pacoon therefore started a cooperation with the content marketing agency AustriaContent two years ago and, with its Pacontent service, offers companies the opportunity to not only sharpen their message in terms of content, but also to prepare and disseminate their communication in a way that is SEO-compliant and beneficial. We ourselves also use AustriaContent for our communication. And we regularly conduct our own studies to analyse which statements are understood and relevant in B2C and B2B," says Peter Désilets.
7. business models: it is becoming much more diverse
Much of what was labelled a "new business model" in industry and retail years ago has long been established today. In the packaging sector, things still tend to be a little more conservative. Approaches such as product as a service, intelligent digitalisation, tracking and tracing, digital product passports or digital twins are waiting for a real breakthrough in many places. However, 2024 should bring a (further) boost. After all, there are some good examples.
On-demand packaging, for example, which means that packaging is produced directly by the shipper, with cartons only being produced in the required size and quantity. The effects are clear: less filling material, lower shipping costs, less packaging waste, less damage and therefore fewer returns. Product as a service is also already being applied to packaging - in other words, the model of no longer disposing of these as single-use products, but returning them to the sender or retailer for reuse. A classic step towards a circular economy.
There is still enormous potential in digitalisation and the use of AI. Packaging that is equipped with "intelligence", new and improved forms of shipment tracking, increased data security and new forms of data analysis. The establishment of the AI Application Hub for Plastic Packaging, which brings together more than 50 partners from business, science and society, shows just how exciting artificial intelligence is considered to be in this context. The common goal: the exchange of data across the entire value chain.
"We have been using AI in our daily work for several years, both in design and in communication. As part of the KIOptiPack funding project together with over 40 partners, we are very excited to see how AI can be used to optimise recyclate quality and use. But we also have other topics planned for the coming years," Peter Désilets indicates.
Event tip:
Pacoon's Packaging 2024 trend show - where is packaging heading?
Find out more about our seven trends and get insights into the most important developments in the packaging market in 2024 from Pacoon Managing Director Peter Désilets. At our online trend show on 12 March 2024 from 10.00 to 10.45 am.
Click here to register directly!