Packaging Europe Issue 19.1

VOLUME 19.1 – 2024

THE RACE TO STOP CLIMATE BREAKDOWN AHEAD OF COP29 IN BAKU, HOW CAN PACKAGING REACH VITAL NET ZERO GOALS?

OUR TEAM THE CONTENT TEAM

Tim Sykes Brand Director Victoria Hattersley Senior Writer Elisabeth Skoda Editor Libby Munford Journalist Fin Slater Digital Content Manager Emma Liggins Journalist Frances Butler Journalist

VOLUME 19.1 – 2024

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THE PRODUCTION TEAM

Rob Czerwinski Creative Lead Meg Garratt Multimedia Designer Syed Hassan Digital Analyst

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THE OPERATIONS TEAM

Amber Dawson Operations Director Kayleigh Harvey Advertising Coordinator Guy Bill Events Marketing Executive Shona Clacher Customer Success Executive

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THE SALES TEAM

Jesse Roberts Sales Director Dominic Kurkowski Senior Portfolio Sales Manager Matt Byron Portfolio Sales Manager Clayton Green Business Development Manager

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ISSN 2516-0133 (Print) ISSN 02516-0141 (Online)

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Editorial Elisabeth Skoda Net Zero How can the packaging industry reach vital goals?

Unpacking the cheese market Protection, sustainability and brand appeal Berry Global interview Plastic waste as an opportunity Weighing and inspection A look at challenges and trends Renewables Exploring the fibre-based packaging landscape In conversation with… KHS on the importance of innovative PET bottle coatings Ocean plastics Challenges and opportunities Autra interview A deep dive into Extended Producer Responsibility 2023 highlights The top five trending news stories of 2023

AMSTERDAM 2024

12-13 NOVEMBER

A ‘DAVOS’ FOR SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING www.packagingsummit.earth/2024 2

Packaging Europe

EDITORIAL

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elcome to the first edition of Packaging Europe magazine in 2024!

Last year has been a tumultuous one, and many of us long for calmer waters – however, with everything that is happening in the world it remains somewhat doubtful whether that hope will be fulfilled.

2024 has been billed as a super election year, with ballots being cast for the European parliament, in the US, India and the UK, to name just a few.

The results of these elections will likely shape the packaging agenda for the coming years and also affect the world’s net zero goals.

Regardless of what happens in the world of politics, it is encouraging to see swathes of innovation and players across the packaging value chain coming together to work on sustainable solutions. Our annual Sustainability

CONTACT ME Elisabeth Skoda · Editor at large es@packagingeurope.com @PackEuropeEli

Awards set out to honour these efforts and spotlight the most innovative and exciting packaging innovations in sustainability. Submissions close on March 15th, so don’t delay and make sure to get your entry in. The winners will be announced at our Sustainable Packaging Summit, which will take place at the popular Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam on November 12th and 13th – tickets are now on sale.

We have exciting news to announce for the Packaging Europe brand – we’re launching a brand-new paid membership tier, which will provide access to a new and exclusive range of frequently updated, high-value, in-depth information for packaging industry professionals. These new resources – consisting of briefings, in-depth reports, access to recordings from the Sustainable Packaging Summit, and a bespoke weekly newsletter – will help users gain a more in-depth understanding of the themes, ideas and issues that professionals across the packaging value chain deal with daily in their professional lives.

In this upcoming magazine, we have plenty of insightful content for you.

Victoria Hattersley speaks to a range of industry experts and tracks the packaging industry’s progress on the journey towards net zero, an ever more pressing challenge with 2023 having been the hottest year on record.

Libby Munford investigates progress in the area of weighing and inspection machinery and explores trends, challenges and developments with Ishida Europe. Elsewhere, Emma Liggins takes a deep dive into cheese packaging and looks at how manufacturers balance packaging functionality and effectiveness with sustainability demands.

Renewable fibre-based packaging is an important cornerstone of circularity. Frances Butler discusses progress and innovations in a dynamic and fast-moving market.

We also have a couple of big interviews for you. I talked to Berry CPI’s president Jean-Marc Galvez about the company’s journey towards boosting plastic packaging sustainability with the company’s CleanStream® recycling technology and planned global centre of excellence in Barcelona, which sets out to turn plastic waste into an opportunity.

Diving deeper into the ever-relevant topic of Extended Producer Responsibility, I spoke to Aura’s Gillian Garside-Wight about its effects on businesses, sustainability benefits and how to tackle the challenges around it.

Enjoy this edition of Packaging Europe magazine, and don’t forget to send us your Sustainability Awards entries by March 15th!

Elisabeth Skoda Packaging Europe

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HOW WILL THE PACKAGING VALUE CHAIN ACHIEVE NET ZERO? With the year 2023 the hottest on record, moving towards Net Zero to meet the 1.5°C global warming target laid out in the Paris Agreement should be at the top of the agenda for all companies along the packaging value chain. Victoria Hattersley spoke to just some of these to find out how this is being achieved.

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he 2023 COP28 negotiations in Dubai were a forum to highlight the need to phase out fossil fuels and move towards more renewable energy solutions. In his closing speech, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell commented that, “Whilst we didn’t turn the page on the fossil fuel era in Dubai, this outcome is the beginning of the end.”

There are indeed some reasons to be hopeful about this commitment – three of them, to be exact, according to Sarah Laidler, Senior Consultant at the Carbon Trust: “Firstly, it covers, for the first time ever in a COP outcome (after 28 years), the need to move away from all fossil fuels (not just coal).

Secondly, it focuses on the fuels themselves, rather than their associated emissions. Thirdly, it clearly communicates the need for an urgent transition ‘in this critical decade’, putting pressure on parties to end fossil fuel production and consumption as fast as possible.”

Yet the commitment is far from perfect, and the conference was set against the backdrop of different interests and clashes over fundamentals such as which language to use: it ‘calls’ on governments to make the

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necessary transition from fossil fuels rather than mandating them to do so. And many who represent fossil-based interests prefer the term ‘phase down’ to ‘phase out’ in relation to these materials. For many, this ‘end’ will not come nearly fast enough at the pace we are moving.

Barriers to achieving Net Zero…

One of the biggest challenges for environmental policy negotiators is how to align the needs of industry and supply chains with global and regional commitments. While it is good news for the industry that within the ongoing COP talks there is now a greater focus on the role of stakeholders such as business or investors in the climate agenda, changing policy takes time and time is something we don’t have in abundance here. So as negotiations go on, companies must also press on with their own Net Zero strategies, albeit against an often very nebulous regulatory backdrop.

Every company along the packaging value chain faces its own barriers to reducing – whether that’s a lack of high-quality, actionable data, poor

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supplier transparency or one of the many other bottlenecks we are seeing in this complex issue. This inevitably requires bold action – often, says Sarah Laidler, we’re talking about “drastic business model shifts”.

“The packaging sector is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving Net Zero emissions in this sector requires a comprehensive approach that addresses the entire value chain. Key barriers that exist for this lie mostly in Scope 3 emissions, as organizations can be at the mercy of their suppliers in some value chains.”

She highlights several challenges associated with transitioning to a Net Zero manufacturing sector, including: considerable demand for high-temperature heat; use of feedstocks with an associated high level of emissions; or external barriers such as how green the grid is in the location of an organization.

When we look at a brand owner perspective, it seems to confirm Sarah’s point that for many companies, issues with suppliers or other barriers beyond their control can really hinder progress.

“A key part to achieving Net Zero is the upstream carbon impacts from our suppliers and raw materials which may not be in our direct line of influence, so it is harder but not impossible to change,” says Mark Allen, Senior Sustainability Director PepsiCo Europe. “Downstream, the recycling infrastructure is also not in our direct control and needs industry-wide schemes to improve their circular nature.”

…and how companies can address them All of this said, a major part of our approach at Packaging Europe is asking, not only what are the barriers and sticking points, but also the steps that can be taken to address these. Sarah Laidler stresses that it’s not a simple one-size-fits-all approach – it can depend upon the type of company.

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“For the likes of converters, e.g. of polymer to bottles, major decarbonization lies within efficiency and use of renewables in their Scope 1 and 2. If the organization is a polymer provider, major decarbonization happens in the material – raw virgin material swapped with recycled/recovered alternatives.”

Given this, it is of course interesting to speak to different members of the value chain about how they view the key action points for reducing emissions.

For Robert Taylor, Director of Sustainability at label materials supplier UPM Raflatac, “A multi-spectrum approach is required: reduce, recycle, renew and reuse. The role of ‘reduce’ is probably the biggest opportunity but this is not just lightweighting. It also means choosing raw material suppliers who are actively reducing their own emissions, our Scope 3.

However, switching to biobased alternatives, increasing recycled content, or ensuring recyclability or reuse are all important levers.”

Feliks Bezati, Global Sustainable Packaging Manager at Mars, Inc., describes some of the areas the company is focusing on. “Renewable energy and packaging process efficiency are key. There are also several packaging design choices that impact GHGs. This includes moving to mono-material plastics and continued weight reduction. Prioritizing materials that enhance recyclability is our way of taking ownership and setting a sustainable industry standard for achieving Net Zero packaging. Increasing availability of food-safe recycled material is a critical enabler of GHG reduction.”

But wherever the company sits in the value chain, says Sarah, “The important first step is to understand where those hotspots lie in your own emissions reporting, then to prioritize decarbonization in those areas. Having targets to reduce your emissions is important but being transparent to stakeholders and customers on how this is being prioritized, scheduled and tracked is of far more necessity to keep temperatures to 1.5.”

Aligning policy and investment When it comes to aligning policy with industry’s Net Zero agenda, we asked our interviewees how they feel packaging regulations across Europe – and indeed globally – are enabling (or hindering) progress. In which areas is it most imperative that adjustments be made?

First, according to Sarah Laidler, “The speed and extent to which the European plastics system transitions to circularity and net-zero are heavily influenced by three critical factors: the urgent need for more intense and more combined efforts of all parts of the European plastics system and of policymakers and regulators; the ability of the European plastics system to remain globally competitive along this transition; and the creation of a policy and regulatory framework that enables, rather than frustrates, the industry’s transition.”

Mark Allen suggests that European policy currently tends to focus on shortterm improvements, when we need to be considering long-term solutions – ones which are reached through open dialogue with the scientific community.

“We need policy that incorporates the latest research into plastic alternatives and promotes innovative solutions as well as balancing carbon increase against plastic reduction. Simple substitution may not always yield the best results in terms of GHG reductions; for example, a returnable glass bottle could provoke more emissions than a single-use and fully circular PET bottle (recycled and incorporating recycled content), depending on the distance travelled and number of reuse cycles.”

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) – mandatory in the EU from 2024 – and deposit return schemes (DRS) are also going to be key to addressing the climate crisis on an industry level.

“When beverage packaging collection targets are as high as in the EU (90%), DRS is an effective tool to achieve full circularity,” continues Mark,

“guaranteeing high collection and recycling, and feedstock availability to incorporate recycled content in new bottles, provided that beverage producers have access to the collected material.”

This feeds into another part of the Net Zero and circularity equation – the need to increase the use of recycled content in packaging.

“Policy plays an important role in delivering against this goal and this lever is in line with the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) which mandates that by 2030 plastic packaging must contain 10-35% recycled content, increasing to 50-65% by 2040,” says Feliks Bezati.

There has also been much discussion on the role advanced recycling can play alongside mechanical recycling to bring more challenging materials – such as flexible plastics, which can be a ‘necessary evil’ to protect perishable goods – into the circular economy. “In Europe,” says Feliks, “legislation has the power to create legal certainty for advanced recycling by recognizing a fuel-exempt mass balance method.”

And what ties all this together? Harmonization, says Robert Taylor: “The biggest challenge in all policy development is to be consistent and harmonize approaches where possible. We can see practical examples today where packaging waste regulations or carbon neutrality policies are being applied in different ways at national level. This adds complexity for global businesses and can drive critical resources away from focusing on emission reduction strategies.”

What is the role of data?

As Sarah Laidler has already touched upon, it is important for companies to first identify the ‘hot spots’ in their emissions reporting before implementing a Net Zero strategy – and collecting data through life cycle assessments Packaging Europe

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(LCA) is an important tool for this. But not all data is created equal: rather than generating huge amounts, companies should be focusing on the quality of the information they are collecting and how it can be utilized most effectively.

“LCAs can be extremely useful for supplier specific data and organizations up and down the value chain should be working towards better data quality as a constant improvement. What a ‘right’ LCA looks like is subjective to what information you are asking for as companies can provide you a ‘cradle-to-grave’ ‘or a ‘cradle-to-gate’ breakdown.”

“Lack of data can reduce the decisive action taken so at PepsiCo we are taking a pragmatic approach where sensible changes can be made without lots of LCA data, for example, reducing packaging volume or shortening transport distances,” says Mark Allen. More detailed analysis is needed in the more complex cases, for example, re-use inside and outside urban areas. Moreover, as our partners integrate sustainable packaging practices, they will need to report on progress – and we will need to calculate and centralize this data.”

Having said this, we must remember that using data to identify where action must be taken is still a step removed from actual strategy implementation. Indeed, there is a danger that an organization can become so caught up in finding the ‘perfect’ data or the ‘correct’ analysis that this doesn’t translate to concrete action. How, then, can data be utilized effectively while ensuring it doesn’t impede progress? Sarah Laidler, again, has some practical guidance here.

“Each year organizations must calculate and review their emissions output, on an organizational level and a product level if it applies. In doing this, they can review the level of uncertainty they have in key data sets being used on an annual basis. Data improvements should be logged and targeting each year in key material categories moving forward. But the perfect data set for Scope 1, 2 and 3 of a product or organization simply does not exist in complex value chains like packaging.”

Driving the Net Zero agenda forward All members of the value chain are moving towards broadly the same goal; that being the case (and at the risk of sounding repetitive, as this is something we mention time and again), collaboration, as they say is key.

This can range across anything from cross-value chain, continent-wide coalitions to individual project-based partnerships. To give a snapshot of some of the ongoing initiatives our interviewees shared with us: 8

Packaging Europe

“We are a founding member of the Supplier Leadership on Climate Transition (Supplier LoCT) coalition,” says Feliks Bezati. “This coalition has a global scope and is dedicated to catalyzing climate action throughout industry-wide supply chains. Through close collaboration with our suppliers and ensuring their alignment with these climate-focused initiatives, we can collectively make meaningful strides toward achieving our emissions reduction objectives.”

Robert Taylor describes one of UPM’s own approaches to cross-value chain collaboration. “Our Label Life service is a great example of working with suppliers, printers, and brands, allowing us to deliver product-specific footprints, digital product passports, Scope 3 portfolio reports and basic advice on how to make the smart choice and switch to more sustainable products.”

All of this should confirm to our audience that there are many possible approaches and opportunities for companies when setting their own Net Zero targets. Furthermore, as Feliks is keen to point out, we should no longer be viewing a focus on sustainability as antithetical to profitable business.

“Our approach challenges the notion that investing in climate is a tradeoff between planet and productivity, or between environment and employment. We have proven that cutting emissions is sound business policy, that it is achievable, affordable, and is absolutely necessary.”

COP29 will take place in Azerbaijan from 11-22 November 2024 and – without wishing to sound too negative – it is by no means certain that any major advancements will be made. It is, therefore, all the more heartening to see that at least the packaging value chain and lobbyists for change within it understand the need to act on the Net Zero goal and are putting their plans in place.

UNPACKING THE CHEESE MARKET: PROTECTION, SUSTAINABILITY, AND BRAND APPEAL

Cheese has been at the forefront of various conversations in the packaging space, from consumer spending habits to criticism of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.

Where does that leave us in the present? Emma Liggins takes a deeper dive to answer that question.

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tatistically speaking, Europeans love cheese. Nine million tonnes of it is consumed in the EU every year, according to global data and business intelligence platform Statista, and the market is expected to grow by 6.88% between 2024 and 2028 – achieving a market volume of US $151 billion, or over €138 billion, by the end of the period.

With such high demand, it is both increasingly important and difficult to balance plentiful supply with effective, protective, and environmentally sound packaging designs. Nevertheless, all these features remain essential, and the packaging industry is taking steps to improve in every area.

What should a pack do?

Packaging requirements can vary depending on the type of cheese, explained Gianni Holzem, Fresh-Lock commercial sales director at Reynolds Consumer Products, in conversation with Packaging Technology Today.

Swiss cheese, for example, emits CO2 and must therefore be stored in ‘breathable’ packaging, but this is not true of other cheeses. Some require specific moisture levels to be adequately preserved and must therefore be packaged in materials with high moisture barriers. These cheeses should not be oxidized for fear of stimulating mould growth, so they also need the appropriate barrier properties to keep oxygen out.

Holzem stated that maintaining high product quality and long shelf life reaffirms positive consumer perceptions of a brand, while premature spoil-

age and food waste can threaten the chances of repeated purchases. This was reinforced by a consumer survey conducted by Amcor last year, in which 70% of European respondents identified proper sealing as the most important requirement in hard cheese packaging. 89% foregrounded transparency as a means of assessing the appearance, size, and freshness of a product for themselves, while 53% opted for reasealability as their preferred feature.

Holzem added that resealability is important for maintaining product quality throughout long-term storage. Consumers respond well to packs that open and close easily, he said, especially those that provide audible and/or tactile confirmation of sealing, such as a click. Press-to-close packs and track and slider or double-lock closures fall under this umbrella.

Not only do such features protect the cheese itself, but they also negate the need for additional single-use plastics (e.g. cling film) to be applied in storage – thus keeping unnecessary waste out of the environment, landfills, and incinerators.

What does a pack do?

John A. Lucy, professor of food science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and director of the Center for Dairy Research, spoke to Dairy Foods magazine about the increasing trend of recycle-readiness for food packaging – first at drop-off points, with ongoing efforts to facilitate home recycling – but the difficulties surrounding the recyclability of food-contact materials remains a Packaging Europe

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“In a consumer survey conducted

by Amcor last year, 70% of European respondents identified proper sealing as the most important requirement in hard cheese packaging. 89% foregrounded transparency as a means of assessing the appearance, size, and freshness of a product.” challenge. In the cheese industry, specifically, he highlighted its efforts towards carbon reduction by introducing thinner packaging films, although product protection and consumer appeal must also be considered.

This balance is not simple, even for the experts. ‘A sustainable cheese packaging survey involving scientific papers and patents’ was conducted by Christian Spreafico and Davide Russo from the University of Bergamo and published in the April 2021 edition of the Journal of Cleaner Production. It involved the analysis of 403 papers and 2272 patents to identify patterns in eco-strategies, materials used, and the types of cheeses concerned.

In this case, sustainability was defined as the preservation of flavour and shelf life, considering environmental factors like oxidation and UV light, without sacrificing practicality or shelf appeal. The study noted a range of existing propositions for sustainability in general, from embedded bactericides and edible packaging to moisture and oxygen barriers – yet only a small number of papers focused on cheese packaging specifically, and those that did mostly centred around its material composition.

According to the findings, though, increasing shelf life was a major focus in both research and business. Active, vacuum, and modified atmosphere packaging was largely favoured in academic literature, whereas biodegradable options were more frequently patented – yet the study noted a general preference for bioplastics of vegetal origin as a packaging material, followed by synthetic plastics.

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One natural source gaining increasing traction in the packaging space is whey, a by-product of the cheese production process. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, over 18 million tonnes of cheese are produced across the world every year, resulting in 180 million litres of whey. Its disposal can have a significant and adverse effect on the environment; this is a particular concern for small artisanal cheese factories, which often lack the equipment required to capture by-products.

Thus, the GO ORLEANS Project was born. AIMPLAS, ADM Biópolis, La Cabezuela, FEDACOVA, the Universitat de València, and cheese companies Dehesa Dos Hermanas and Quesos La Cabuezuela teamed up to create an active coating made from waste whey. It is applicable with conventional printing technologies and its antifungal properties are set to extend shelf life by between 25% and 50% – negating the need for synthetic preservatives in the product itself.

Similarly, Lucy advocated for the use of bioplastics in cheese packaging, especially those sourced from dairy waste. In particular, he highlighted the work of bacteriology professors Erica Majunder and Tim Donohue. Majunder’s research involves engineering microorganisms to ferment acid whey into polyhydroxybutyrate, or PHB, which can then be used to produce biodegradable plastics. Similarly, Donohue examines the biofermentation of cheese whey into pure lactic acid; in turn, this can be turned into renewable and biodegradable polylactic acid for bioplastic applications.

Where are we now?

In terms of recyclability, 80% of respondents to Amcor’s survey claimed to recycle their hard cheese packaging in compliance with local instructions. However, the top three reasons for consumers failing to do so were listed as not knowing how to, limited access to recycling streams in their area, and the inconvenience of separating and cleaning packaging materials before recycling.

Manufacturers are developing simpler packaging made of single or similar materials in a bid to streamline the recycling process for consumers. To name one example, Winpak provides its ReForm thermoforming film and complementary ReLam non-forming film. Designed to be recycle-ready, these nylon-free structures mostly consist of polyethylene and are said to offer high oxygen barrier properties, low greenhouse gas emissions, and a ‘slightly higher’ yield in grams per square metre than equivalent nylon-based films. Both films are thought to run efficiently on high-speed thermoforming packaging equipment.

Similarly, Amcor’s PrimeSeal and DairySeal Recycle-Ready Thermoforming Films apply to a range of edible products, including hard cheese.

Made of transparent polyethylene with low EVOH content, the films feature memory retention technology, are cyclos-HTP-certified as recyclable at end-of-life, and claim to offer an 80% lower carbon footprint than standard PA and PE films. Both are resistant to punctures and abrasion and are heat resistant at temperatures of up to 90°C. Other manufacturers have foregone plastics altogether in search of a renewable alternative. Group Lacroix offers boxes, trays, plates, and rings made of wood sourced from its poplar plantations in France. All wooden components are PEFC-certified and, according to EN13432 standards, are industrially compostable. Some entries into the range are designed for compatibility with cooking and reheating in traditional and/or microwave ovens.

Printed letterpress and woodburning can be used to decorate the wooden packaging, and the glue, staples, thermoforming, and thermogluing of specific

packs can be adapted to suit individual products. Parchment paper is also available for the appropriate product applications.

On that note, French cheesemakers previously hit out at the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation for its recyclability requirements – which, they feared, would have ruled out the round wooden boxes traditionally used to package camembert. Lacroix’s chief executive, Claire Lacroix, spoke to the media about the massive expense of implementing sorting and recycling infrastructure for wooden packaging by 2030, which could have a serious impact on businesses.

“Several companies teamed up to create an active coating made from waste whey. It is applicable with conventional printing technologies and its antifungal properties are set to extend shelf life by between 25% and 50%.”

Towards the end of 2023, the plenary vote on the Regulation declared lightweight wooden packaging exempt from these rules, much to the general relief of the cheese industry.

However, packaging is not restricted to supermarket shelves or consumers’ fridges. Mozzarella cheese, in particular, requires around two weeks’ worth of preparation in maturing bags. For food safety reasons, these bags must be multi-layered – but the consequence is that they are incompatible with mechanical recycling and often end up in an incinerator.

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“French cheesemakers previously hit out at the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation for its recyclability requirements – which, they feared, would have ruled out the round wooden boxes traditionally used to package camembert.”

In response, SÜDPACK and Arla Foods have come together to combine mechanical and advanced recycling in a circular business model. By sorting and mechanically recycling easily separable plastic components while chemically processing multi-layered, contaminated, and mixed plastics into virgin materials, the companies hope to produce new, food-safe packaging and keep plastics in the loop.

In turn, the process aims to lower the consumption of fossil feedstock. By cutting down on transport, electricity, and thermal energy loss, it expects to lower overall carbon emissions; and the full processing of plastic waste per tonne, including the chemical recycling process, is said to emit 50% less carbon than incineration.

Last year, SÜDPACK and Arla Foods tested the process with 80 tonnes of plastic film in Rødkærsbro, after which they sought to evaluate the results and consider their next steps.

All these developments are undoubtedly important, but the question remains: how can we make recycling processes simpler and more accessible for consumers? Industry players are attempting to address these issues, too.

At the UK Packaging Awards 2023, Saputa Dairy won the Flexible Plastic Pack of the Year for the recycle-ready, resealable flowpack used to package Cathedral City’s grated cheese. Making use of mono-polyethylene from Amcor’s AmPrima

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portfolio, it is designed to align with CEFLEX guidelines and is certified as recyclable by cyclos-HTP. Apparently, consumers can choose to recycle the pack with bags at large supermarkets or via TerraCycle.

TerraCycle runs a series of free, UK-based recycling programmes for hard-to-recycle packaging materials. Its partnership with Cathedral City led to the foundation of the Cheese Packaging Free Recycling Programme, in which participants can return any company’s flexible plastic pouches, individual wrappers, protective film for sliced cheese, and plastic nets – and, for Cathedral City packaging only, labels – for mini cheese products at approved drop-off points. These can include stores, community centres, places of worship, and libraries.

Once the designated collection box is full, participating organizations can download and print a prepaid label via their TerraCycle accounts; these can then be used to deliver the plastic back to TerraCycle for recycling.

A similar process takes place in the Babybel Free Recycling Programme, although it limits its intake to labels, nets, wax, metal clasps, and individual wrappers found in Babybel cheese products. As it is brand-specific, the programme is sponsored by Babybel and comes at no extra cost to the participant. Running a public drop-off point in general is not thought to require any monetary investment, as TerraCycle encourages participants to use pre-owned boxes as containers for the plastic.

Undoubtedly, there are more designs, initiatives, and ideas out there that envision completely sustainable packaging for our favourite cheeses. Which ones will come to fruition and make a difference remains to be seen, and as always, there is still more work to be done. Nevertheless, the industry is off to a promising start; to see where it goes next, keep your eyes on your local supermarket’s dairy aisle.

Plastics as a packaging material are still posing a considerable challenge within the circular economy. Berry Global is taking steps towards boosting plastic packaging sustainability with its CleanStream® recycling technology and planned global centre of excellence in Barcelona.

PLASTIC WASTE AS AN

OPPORTUNITY

Elisabeth Skoda speaks to Jean-Marc Galvez, Berry CPI president, to find out more.

ES: How far along is Berry Global on its journey to make 100% of its fastmoving consumer packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025?

JG: We are ahead of schedule, and very pleased with the momentum in the business. It is a complex task to transform a business and a whole industry towards circularity starting with reduce, reuse and recycle across all those dimensions. We are committed to the key targets that you can find in our Impact 2025 plan. We have reduced our Scope 3 emissions ahead of schedule. We had said back in 2019 that we would reduce them by 8%. In 2022 we already achieved that goal. So we set ourselves another goal: to reduce Scope 3 emissions by 25% by 2025. Similarly, for Scope 1 and Scope 2, we are now at 21% compared to 2019, so we are close to our 25% objective.

On the emissions side, we are ahead of schedule.

On recyclability, it’s a similar story. Across all the businesses, we ensure to transform our portfolio towards full recyclability and towards 30% recycled content by 2030 in our packaging, using data. When we design for recyclability, we use RecyClass as a key metric, always looking to achieve RecyClass A, B or C certification. The objective is to bring clarity and stand-

ardization to the way we operate, with RecyClass our reference for recyclability. We are aiming to get to 100% recyclability by 2025. We are also on track for the goal of using 30% recyclate by 2030. We have secured more than 300,000 tonnes of recycled content of circular resins, and we have invested in a world-class recycling facility to support the transition to a net zero economy and to support that important commitment.

ES: Were there any particular roadblocks or challenges you had to overcome to get to this point?

JG: When thinking of a challenge, I always also think about the opportunity.

We have focused on what our customers are looking for. Our customers have made big bets to move to full recyclability, reusability or compostability by 2025 and usage of recycled content between 10 and 30%. There is a lot of complexity across the portfolio. It’s all about making sure to be clear on the objective, but also on the data and the tools that are going to be used to be effective. Clarity and standardization have been an opportunity for us to tackle the challenges that the complexity will bring.

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Berry Global’s new recycling facility in Leamington Spa

ES: Despite measures to the contrary, according to an OECD report, the amount of plastic waste produced globally is on track to almost triple by 2060. What can be done against that?

JG: When you look at it from where we stand today, there is still a lot of leakage. A lot of this leakage occurs in developing countries, around 40 to 50%, while it’s down to around 6% in the developed economies. It is obvious that we need governance on waste management across the globe.

I think the UN treaty that is being developed will help to address this.

At the same time, what we need is leadership. Berry Global, as one of the largest companies in the packaging industry is playing its part, is investing and working on innovations. When you think of Coca-Cola’s tethered closures – that’s Berry, or the McDonalds Friends reusable cups – that’s also Berry supporting our customers.

At our new recycling facility in Leamington Spa, we take domestic waste and transform it into FDA-certified circular resins for sustainable packaging. So overall, I would say that despite the fact that there is still a lot to be done, the train has left the station and we in the industry are taking the actions that are needed to address and eradicate plastic waste pollution.

We have made it very clear that Berry Global will be part of the solution.

Plastic waste is an opportunity to reduce CO2 emissions, and even energy and water usage. Ultimately, I’m positive about our ability to address ocean plastics pollution to ultimately, thanks to plastics, minimize greenhouse emissions. We must not forget that plastic has one of the best carbon stories among all the substrates available.

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ES: You talked about Berry Global’s recycling facility – could you tell me more about the CleanStream® technology, described as a closed-loop system to mechanically process domestically recovered household waste back into food-grade packaging. What is its scope, and what applications is the material suitable for?

JG: After years of building and planning, we have officially opened our new recycling facility in Leamington Spa in the UK. It is addressing a clear need for contact-sensitive applications. We can demonstrate that plastic waste from domestic bins can ultimately be collected, sorted, processed and transformed into a product major brand owners of this world will use in personal care and cosmetics applications. This was not obvious when we started some years ago.

We have started our first commercial deliveries recently. It’s very exciting to consider the waste reduction we are going to achieve as a result of this. We are going to use more than 40% of the PP domestic waste that is available in the UK, so more than 40% of the domestic PP waste will be transformed into food-certified applications. The product already has an FDA non-objection letter to be used in these contact-sensitive applications, which is a proprietary Berry technology. Ultimately, this shows that plastic recycling plastics works, and it does work in the UK. ES: You mentioned that Berry Global invests heavily in research and development. What will research at the new Global Centre of Excellence in Barcelona focus on?

JG: We have an approach of producing innovative products that will impact the lives of billions of consumers around the world, providing convenience. After all, packaging has to provide that convenience to consumers. Sustainability is core for Berry, and particularly addressing the plastic waste issue. It is very important for us to send the signal that we are part of the solution and that we are investing in recycling capabilities apart from the packaging capabilities that I mentioned before.

We are investing in R&D and innovation, and the centre will be a place where we are going to continue to develop new products and new sustainable packaging together with our customers. We’ll ensure that we will accelerate the pace towards circularity, because ultimately we have to accelerate to ensure that we can beat all the projections on plastic waste forecasts that you mentioned before.

The last thing I’d like to mention is education. When you think about the perception of plastics, we are not there yet. Public perception is somewhat skewed, as plastics have the best carbon story. Ultimately plastics is going to be one of the best materials moving forward towards a net zero economy.

It’s important that we continue to educate, but always with data, science and actions, and ultimately, consumer perception will change.

ES: On the subject of virgin plastics versus recycled plastics, do you think that the innovations you’re doing around recycled plastics might also help to lower the price for recyclate? I understand that at the moment virgin plastics still can be cheaper than recycling plastics.

Jean-Marc Galvez President of Berry CPI

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Planned Global Centre of Excellence in Barcelona

The new Berry Digi-Cap digital closure

JG: This is a question of supply and demand. As we get to move more of our resins to recyclate and as we get up to scale, once we have cost-effective solutions, more than 50% of our resins will be derived from recycled resins. When you think about price, you have to think about value, and today, all the circular products we are bringing forward are highly valuable.

Ultimately, they will deliver tremendous benefits to the consumers because they will address the social challenge through the design of this packaging.

They will still ultimately be cost-effective.

where Berry is driving its supply transformation, the innovations that we are developing in Europe are being globalized and they are scalable. As a result, the recent investments I mentioned before in recycling capabilities and R&D will continue. Ultimately, I will say that from a sustainable packaging standpoint, you can rely on Berry to do well by doing good.

Advancing the net zero economy can only be achieved if we can dedicate resources and produce enough recycled content, so that we can give plastics multiple lives and keep resources in use and out of the environment.

With the recycling technologies we have, especially Berry’s CleanStream® proprietary technology, we have a key solution moving forward, even before we get advanced recycling technologies that help us move forward on food contact applications. But I think it’s going to be very important that we keep investing, not only in packaging but also in recycling. As I said, recycling plastics does work, definitely in the UK and Europe.

ES: Are there any new and exciting projects in the pipeline for Berry?

JG: Berry is a Fortune 300 company that has more than 40,000 employees on more than 250 sites. We merged with RPC four years ago and became truly global, and we continue to invest strongly across the globe. Europe is the place

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CHECKING IN ON WEIGHING AND INSPECTION There are many long-standing, esteemed representatives within the packaging sector – none more so meticulous and knowledgeable than Torsten Giese, Marketing Manager, PR & Exhibitions at Ishida Europe when it comes to the weighing and inspection market – a sector that requires as much attention to detail and scrutiny as the machines it relies on. Libby Munford catches up on the latest issues and trends driving the market.

It’s all about the incremental gains Rather than radical technological developments or brazen pivots within the marketplace, it’s all about the small gains – building on generations of tried and tested models that lead to further efficiency and advancements.

Indeed, last year Ishida introduced its new multihead weigher range, the CCW-AS. This is the 11th generation of multihead weigher from Ishida since the company invented the technology in Japan in the 1970s.

These latest weighers have been specifically designed to offer the ‘highest weighing performance’, further increasing Overall Equipment Effectiveness, particularly for more challenging products such as sticky items, while at the same time significantly reducing energy consumption, according to Torsten Giese.

As another example of leveraging small gains, he shares, “Our development focus for multihead technology in recent years has been on incremental enhancements, each new range taking multihead weighing technology to Packaging Europe

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another level, with continual advancements in areas such as speed, accuracy and efficiency. We have employed the same approach in the ongoing development of our checkweigher range with our latest DACS range designed to meet latest European market requirements, with greater flexibility and higher speeds.”

However, this is not the only route, and it seems that leveraging the latest technology is also a means to increased detection sensitivity, accuracy and high productivity rates. Ishida’s recently launched Ishida IX-PD in the X-ray Inspection System range features new sensor and image processing technology. Combined with Ishida’s Genetic Algorithm and Dual Energy technologies, the new machine produces an ultra-high resolution and clearer image than conventional X-ray systems. Direct Conversion technology enables the X-rays to be directly converted to electrons rather than through a photodiode. Removing one of the stages in the inspection process increases the energy efficiency of the IX-PD. Ishida has tactically innovated by using different technology– highlighting that it also pays off to change course rather than build on the tried and tested.

“Skills and labour shortages continue to have an impact on many companies. Alongside these challenges, manufacturers are usually operating in highly competitive markets, a situation that has been further exacerbated by the fast-rising costs of both materials and services.”

The demand for automation When asked what is driving demand for automated solutions, Torsten Giese remarks, “Skills and labour shortages continue to have an impact on many companies. Alongside these challenges, manufacturers are usually operating in highly competitive markets, a situation that has been further exacerbated by the fast-rising costs of both materials and services.”

He continues, “For packaging equipment suppliers, continual enhancements to their machines have helped to make them more user-friendly for line operators. Information screens, for instance, have become more intuitive, further speeding up machine set up and problem solving. To take the example of a multihead weigher, the weigher will continue to operate with one weighing head out of action, but the loss of this head halves the number of weight combinations available for each weighing cycle. This quickly adds up to a big drop in overall efficiency. Such a problem can now be instantly flagged up for operators to take remedial action.”

With technology and operation becoming increasingly intuitive, the synergy between man and machine is closing the gap of problem solving.

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The Smart Food Factory Machines communicating seamlessly and working in conjunction with each other is perhaps key to increasing productivity and efficiency, and the future of the industry. “Over the years Ishida has therefore continued to expand its product offering to become a single source supplier,” says Torsten Giese. “More recently, these integrated solutions have been further enhanced by the ability of the equipment to exchange live data with centralized and remote systems. Our Sentinel software, for example, enables both individual machines and complete packing lines to be monitored by both Ishida and the processor and packer.” This connectivity gives companies the power of sight in previous dark zones and again, will open the possibility of making incremental gains towards streamlining efficiency.

“Businesses need to know exactly how much it costs to get a product out of the factory and be able to easily identify bottlenecks or areas where there are opportunities for improvement.”

Torsten Giese continues, “Such systems provide a high level of preventative maintenance where potential issues can be identified and even anticipated, so that action can be taken before machines and packing lines suffer any significant downtime. This in turn allows better planning and deployment of engineering resource. Remote monitoring also enables service visits to be planned in line with machine usage rather than to a fixed schedule.

“Equally important, the data capture and analytical abilities of these systems are able to help companies manage their operations more profitably.

Businesses need to know exactly how much it costs to get a product out of the factory and be able to easily identify bottlenecks or areas where there

are opportunities for improvement.” It seems that supplying the whole picture is essential for the future of manufacturing, perhaps rather than specialising in one area.

Small enhancement equals significant difference “Markets are likely to remain highly competitive so helping companies to maximize both quality and efficiencies will remain paramount,” Torsten Giese underscores.

“It is important to emphasize that even a small enhancement in terms of efficiency and accuracy can make a significant difference to a manufacturer’s bottom line. To take one example from Ishida’s installation base, the replacement of a confectionery customer’s existing weigher with a brand-new model further reduced product giveaway by 0.5g and increased overall speed by 10 packs per minute. These relatively small improvements equated to an annual saving of 450,000 Euros and led to payback on the machine being achieved within six months.”

Giese’s insights from his position at Ishida, a global leader in food industry equipment and services, underlines the importance of attention to detail, building on existing tried and tested technology and machinery, and crystallizing operations and efficiency through small gains.

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EXPLORING THE FIBRE-BASED PACKAGING LANDSCAPE Renewable packaging can play a major role when it comes to building a more sustainable, circular industry. Frances Butler takes a look at innovations in renewable fibre packaging with a focus on paper- and wood-fibre-based packaging.

Developments in paper-based packaging Innovations in paper-based food packaging are proliferating. SEE (formerly known as Sealed Air) has developed in this field with its TempGuard insulated bag, which was an entry in our 2023 Sustainability Awards. Designed for chilled food products, SEE stated the bag is made from all-paper mono material from responsibly sourced fibres and FSC certified paper.

Reportedly containing at least 25% recycled fibre, the bag is also “100% curbside recyclable”.

The company added the bag is designed with a bottom gusset which can apparently fit more products compared to some plastic-based packaging, meaning a shorter pack-out time and better upright stability, reducing void space within meal kit cartons. It also has a “self-seal adhesive flap” to maintain temperatures.

In addition, Mondi has claimed a “UK food market first” with its recyclable paper-based packaging for rice company Veetee. According to the company, the FunctionalBarrier paper was the first paper-based packaging for dry rice in the UK and aimed to provide a direct replacement for plastic.

Mondi says several trials were carried out to ensure the required barrier properties for the packaging – moisture protection and a long shelf life – were achieved while supporting Veetee’s mission to reduce plastic and make 20 Packaging Europe

packaging recyclable, with the packs said to be certified by OPRL as widely accepted for kerbside recycling in the UK. BOBST’s oneBARRIER FibreCycle packaging was another entry in our 2023 Sustainability Awards, with the company describing it as a “high barrier recyclable paper solution that is a viable alternative to non-recyclable multi-material structures based on metallized PET”, recyclable in existing paper and board waste streams. Its uses include dry food and beverage products such as Nestlé Nesquik, Smarties and dried soup packs. BOBST said the final structure was independently assessed by German research institute Papiertechnische Stiftung (PTS) as 94.4% recyclable.

Paper-based packaging has also expanded in the field of industrial applications. Packaging and paper company Mondi announced its recyclable kraft paper bag for Holz-Bauer’s wooden pellets, made from “renewable, responsibly sourced” fibres and apparently disposable in existing European recycling streams. The bags are printed and converted in-house

by Mondi before being sent for filling and closing through Holz-Bauer’s “secure sewing method” in a static binder machine, with Holz-Bauer stating the 15kg PelletBags would replace its existing plastic bag solution.

Elsewhere, DS Smith revealed its Light Wrap paper fibre box solution for the construction industry, designed for bricks. Apparently using “19%

less fibre than its traditional alternatives” and reducing CO2 emissions, the company said it also supports the weight of stacked bricks during transportation and at point of sale without deforming or damaging the packaging, inspired by the compression and fastening features used to protect the components and occupants of a car.

“

One of the main challenges for fibrebased packaging, especially with paperbased packaging, is the use of plastic barriers and barrier coatings which can affect recyclability. Companies have been hard at work to address this.

”

Designed for use in the personal care and cosmetics industries, Neopac told us about its fibre-based PaperX tubes which claim to “overcome the challenge of sealability”, apparently an issue in firstgeneration fibre-based tubes. The company says the sealability of the tubes was tested on mechanical engineering company IWK’s tube filling and sealing equipment. The tubes are said to use a 300 micron fibre-based laminate with 80% paper content, with the caps made from HDPE (High Density Polyethylene).

The challenges: recyclability and complementing or replacing plastic packaging One of the main challenges for fibre-based packaging, especially with paper-based packaging, is the use of plastic barriers and barrier coatings which can affect recyclability. Companies have been hard at work to address this.

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In May last year Henkel and UPM Speciality Papers collaborated on heat-sealable and recyclable barrier paper solutions for food and non-food packaging applications. Apparently, the paper coatings can be applied to a range of substrates and are thought to allow easy recycling and the recovery of fibres.

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A key question in this area is whether paper packaging needs to replace plastic, or if the two materials can complement each other.

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A few months later, Kemira and Jain Chem announced a joint development of aqueous barrier coatings for recyclable paper and board products, a move expected to replace the use of PE and PFAS in paper and board end-use applications. Mainly for use in food service packaging, the solutions are said to be microwaveable, oven-safe and suitable for frozen food.

A key question in this area is whether paper packaging needs to replace plastic, or if the two materials can complement each other. Many compa-

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nies have been introducing more paper-based packaging and aiming to reduce plastic use – but does it need to be an ‘either / or’ situation?

In June 2023, our editor at large Elisabeth Skoda explored the recent developments in paper barriers, where the question of paper packaging complementing or replacing plastic packaging arose. Janne Varvemaa, director of products and technology at UPM Specialty Papers, pointed out plastics are great in terms of functionality and versatility, while paper has an edge in sustainability, as a renewable raw material with a globally widespread, well-working recycling infrastructure, and “sometimes the working solution comes from combining the best of both materials”.

Eric Valette, director of innovation BU Flexibles at Coveris, stated that from the company’s perspective it’s not about choosing between paper or plastic, “it’s about finding the best, most eco-efficient and best-performing packaging for the respective product – without any limitations in materials”.

Developments in wood-fibre based packaging What about advancements in renewable wood-fibre packaging? 2023 saw several developments in personal care and cosmetics packaging, including Holmen Iggesund’s Creator Kit Beauty, made from the company’s Invercote paperboard which is renewable, recyclable, completely biodegradable

and “made from leftover wood parts from Holmen’s sustainably managed forests”, according to CEO Johan Nellbeck.

Paper mill company Stora Enso announced its collaborative effort with Blue Ocean Closures and AISA to develop the “first ever” paperboard tube with a fibre-based closure. Aiming to help brand owners increase the share of renewable material in packaging, with all elements designed for recycling, the packaging apparently contains more than 85% fibre content.

Intended for cosmetics and personal care applications, the tube is composed of Stora Enso’s barrier-coated board material Natura Shape and a screw cap designed in with Blue Ocean Closures, assembled by AISA and expected to be commercially available in 2024.

Wood-fibre packaging also featured in the telecommunications field.

We asked Ericsson about its wood-fibre packaging for telecom equipment, as part of the finalist interview series for the Sustainability Awards.

The company stated one of the challenges was preventing abrasion on the product surfaces in contact with wood-fibre material without the need to add plastic components, saying: “The vibration that occurs during transportation, in combination with rough paper surfaces, is harmful to the

product’s surface finish. We solved this by using a coating on the paper which prevents abrasion without affecting the recyclability of the paper.”

Ericsson also claims the packaging concept is “99.9% plastic-free” which makes recycling easier and reduces the risk of plastic pollution.

Looking to the future Ultimately, in 2023 the applications for paper-based renewable packaging saw developments in chilled food packaging such as SEE’s insulated bag and increased recyclability with Mondi’s paper packaging for Veetee’s rice range. The question is whether companies will continue to adopt paperbased packaging as a replacement to plastic on a widespread scale, or if these solutions will be implemented to complement and act as an alternative to plastic packaging on a more case-specific basis.

At the same time, innovations in renewable wood-fibre packaging saw expansion into telecommunications with Ericsson’s equipment packaging and in the cosmetics sector with Holmen Iggesund’s Creator Kit Beauty.

However, it remains to be seen whether the use of wood-fibre in packaging will have a large-scale impact in future.

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KHS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF INNOVATIVE PET BOTTLE COATINGS

In the evolving landscape of sustainable beverage packaging, the enhancement of PET bottles through the use of specialized coatings has emerged as a key focus. To learn more Philipp Langhammer, Product Manager Barrier technology at KHS Group, tells us more about these.

I’d like to start by taking a look at coatings for PET bottles as a whole. How do they work, and why are they sometimes required?

The so-called Plasmax technology, which is only offered by KHS in the beverage sector, serves to preserve product quality and specifically protects the product against oxygen pickup, loss of carbon dioxide, loss of flavour and loss of vitamins.

In addition, it extends the shelf life of the bottled beverages, which in turn allows for higher utilization of PET filling lines, as a longer shelf life enables production even before a peak season.

At the same time, the quality costs for bottles returned due to expired shelf life are reduced. As a result, the distribution chain from production to the consumer is extended and market penetration increases.

Lightweighting beverage bottles to reduce the use of PET is very relevant for many markets, both for sustainability reasons and in terms of cost reduction.

However, the weight reduction results in thinner walls and higher CO2 retention or increased oxygen input.

Therefore, the shelf life is reduced. Our SiOx coating on the inside of the PET bottle significantly reduces the permeation of gases (oxygen ingress, CO2 loss) and thus greatly extends the shelf life.

Material barrier solutions are often designed as a composite of different materials, PET plus barrier. These additives make them more difficult to recycle than a normal PET bottle as despite being subjected to elaborate 24 Packaging Europe

processes the various materials cannot be separated during recycling and cause discoloration of the recyclate, for example.

This complicates pooled recycling with the traditional single-use PET containers in the deposit system and makes global bottle-to-bottle recycling, which requires 100% pure rPET, practically impossible.

Now let’s take a look at KHS’s solutions in this field.

What is FreshSafe PET, how does it work, and how does it perform in terms of recyclability?

The bottles are coated using the PICVD (Plasma Impulse Chemical Vapor Deposition) method, a process first used in the pharmaceutical industry. In this process, a reaction gas mixture is introduced into the PET bottle in a fine vacuum, which is then subsequently transformed into a plasma state by applying microwaves.

In this state, SiOx or chemically pure glass is deposited on the inside of the bottle. The inner glass coating is transparent and has a thickness of less than 0.1 μm. It is therefore flexible, chemically bonded to the inner wall of the bottle and cannot peel off. It is only in the recycling stream that the SiOx is hydrolyzed by the caustic washing solution.

Thanks to this special feature, the FreshSafe PET bottle from KHS is 100% bottle-to-bottle recyclable. This has also been confirmed by trade associations such as the European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP) and the Association of Plastic Recyclers APR (USA).

In the context of deposit return schemes, do you believe that FreshSafe PET can assist with the recycling of bottles which might otherwise not be included in these schemes?

in which PET bottles are collected and new bottles are processed again. Plasmax technology can also be used for bottles made of 100% recyclate. With our solutions, we support the European Strategy for Plastics, which requires all plastic packaging to be reusable or recyclable by 2030.

Definitely. To ensure the protection of beverages, PET bottles may contain additives with oxygen absorbers or a passive CO2 barrier such as nylon or EVOH. As mentioned, these additives make pooled recycling with the traditional single-use PET containers in the deposit system difficult and bottle-to-bottle recycling, which requires 100% pure rPET, impossible.

Our eco-friendly alternative, on the other hand, uses a barrier made of chemically pure glass. The wafer-thin coating is fully recyclable. During the recycling process, the coating is hydrolyzed using hot caustic and thus removed from the inner bottle wall. It then goes into solution and the pure PET can be collected by type.

What can we expect from KHS in the future in terms of PET bottle coatings? Are there any specific coating trends that you think will have an important impact on the market in the near future?

How does the solution perform from a carbon emissions perspective?

Concrete figures are not yet available. In general it can be said that PET bottles are much lighter than glass bottles. This has a positive impact on the amount of CO2 emitted by trucks as fewer bottles or lower load weights mean less gas consumption. Plastic bottles are also unbreakable, flexible and recyclable.

Thanks to the recyclability of our solution, we promote closed material cycles

At Anuga FoodTec 2024, we will be presenting the latest generation of our Plasmax coating technology, which offers even better coating quality, more flexibility, higher evacuation capacity and more PET savings. In addition, the technology offers greater design freedom, lower maintenance costs and is therefore even more efficient.

The trend towards smaller pack sizes under 300 ml is often accompanied by the use of metal cans instead of PET due to the better barrier.

The large surface in comparison to the small volume has often been an argument against the use of PET. In this respect, the coating has the potential to become a game changer to reduce the carbon footprint and introduce PET bottles in small pack sizes with a long shelf life. To date, the circular economy has only worked with clean and pure rPET. Every barrier placed on a package must be fully recyclable and applicable to 100% PCR for a circular economy.

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OCEAN-BOUND PLASTIC AS A MATERIAL CIRCULARITY DRIVER IN PLASTIC POLLUTION VULNERABLE AREAS GLOBALLY Alexandra Tomczyk, Analyst, Plastic Recycling at ICIS gives an introduction to the ocean plastic (OP) and ocean-bound plastic (OBP) industry, which has sprung from the necessity to address the issue and is proving to be an innovative way to tackle plastic pollution.

P

lastic pollution is now thoroughly lodged in public consciousness. For decades mis-managed waste has been building up in the environment. The issue is complex, with no silver bullet solution or one single responsible party to blame. Between local and national governance, individual consumer purchasing patterns, product design choices, disparities in social economics, underdeveloped waste management infrastructure, and other factors – ocean plastic pollution has become a problem on a global scale.

Challenges of recycling ocean plastic and OBP 80% of OP is generated by the marine industry, and the remaining 20% leaks from mismanaged land waste – otherwise known as post-consumer waste. Projects on all continents addressing both sources have been proving successful in diverting pollution and returning valuable feedstock into circulation, but not without challenges.

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The biggest barriers to recycling OP include the difficulty of establishing a steady stream of feedstock supply, at a consistent quality. Biomass and mineral pollution, deterioration and fragmentation caused by mechanical abrasion through waves and extended UV exposure are some of the technical challenges to recycling OP. A mix of prevention (e.g. take-back schemes for end-of-life equipment) and direct extraction from the water is being deployed as a collection method. Despite both collection and processing factors driving the cost of processing and the quality of outputs the industry has seen a significant rise in volumes processed.

Meanwhile, OBP as a product category consists mostly of commodity resins – predominantly PET. OBP is defined as any plastic found within 50km of a coastline and at high risk of entering the environment due to a lack of adequate formal waste management infrastructure. Unlike ocean plastic, OBP is found almost exclusively on land and ocean-adjacent water-

Alexandra Tomczyk

ways. The collection is done via the informal sector – each item is picked individually and sold to a small aggregator or a centre, where the material is hand-sorted and pre-processed. Consequently, the level of pollution found in OPB is much lower than in OP, making it easier to recycle.

However, OBP faces its challenges, as its social and environmental impact is complicated. Working with the informal waste sector, found predominantly in the global South, poses many questions for big Western corporations. For many people, waste picking is a form of subsistence living – a single person can collect between 10kg to 50kg of plastic per day. The lack of work formalization and adequate access to services such as education, childcare, healthcare or banking) makes bridging the gap between FMCGs interested in OBP material and the reality of how it’s procured a difficult process to navigate. Additionally, OBP is not collected in an environmental vacuum – while polymers such as PET bottles are highly valorized, others, such as multilayer sachets, currently have little to no market value. Where not structured to address this issue, OBP projects cannot be considered an effective form of environmental pollution prevention.

Finally, there is the issue of traceability. Proof of origin for both OP and OBP is vital to differentiate genuine, impactfully sourced material. The production costs of recycled OP and OBP are usually higher than comparable materials sourced through a well-established waste management system.

The added value of the environmental and social benefits, contemporaneous to current public concern with the issue of plastic pollution, is an attractive story many brands want to use to entice consumers. Consequently, traceability is a cornerstone of OBP especially. The most recognized OBP certification was developed in 2019 by the NGO Zero Plastic Oceans, with a recent addition of a new Social+ standard.

Certification is vital in building trust in ocean-bound plastic as a product. The extended value chain and the resulting high-quality, manually sorted products are often sold at a premium precisely because of the attached social value.

End-users who want to buy recycled OBP can align their values with the story behind the materials.

The growth of major players Nearly 120 organizations across the value chain have been certified with the OBP certification. Sourced from Southeast Asia, India, Africa and South America, the material is now being used by global brands from Ikea, Dell, HP, through to L’Oréal, The Body Shop, and a long list of European retailers, including Lidl.

OBP operations are an example of deep, cross-sectional collaboration – a mode of work which has been growing in the recycling industry in general. Organizations such as NextWave Plastics bring together members (including Dell Technologies, HP, and IKEA) to pool resources needed to meet their sustainability and social commitments through the incorporation of OBP into their supply chain. Research and investment into this space are also driven by organizations such as The Circulate Initiative (not-for-profit) and Circulate Capital (investment fund).

Companies embarking on the inclusion of OBP in their products or offerings must consider a holistic approach, as many OBP suppliers set high expectations for collaboration and transparency. In a way, the OBP industry is ahead of the curve when considering the likely future legislative landscape.

Outlook for the OBP market There are no signs of consumer sentiments around plastic pollution changing any time soon, so demand for recycled OBP and OP is there. Businesses are also committing to more ambitious corporate sustainability agendas and pushing investment into innovation and sourcing irrespective of current legislative backing. Those businesses with forethought to establish strong relationships now are likely to future-proof their supply of recyclate, be it for OBP, OP and standard material. The demand is likely to increase as key legislative milestones (in the EU) approach in 2025. However, the industry is not immune to the tough market conditions present since mid-2022. Many OBP players survived last year but are still waiting for their moment to thrive. Current trends indicate a brighter future for those with strong traceability, well-established relationships, and a bit of patience.

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A DEEP DIVE INTO EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY

Extended Producer Responsibility, or EPR, is a policy tool that extends the packaging producer’s financial and or operational responsibility for a product to include the management of the post-consumer stage with the aim to help meet recycling and recovery targets, shifting waste management cost of physical collection, partially or fully, from local governments to producers.

Elisabeth Skoda discusses EPR, its effects on businesses in the EU and how it can help with sustainability challenges, and also what to expect when implementing it and how to tackle the challenges it can pose, with Gillian Garside-Wight, who is Consulting Director at Aura.

ES: Could you briefly introduce yourself and talk about your work at Aura?

ES: What changes have you seen in the industry over the last 20 years?

GGW: I’ve had several years’ experience in the packaging industry, working on structural packaging. I was a packaging development manager for many years.

Sustainability has existed for many years in various forms. But only now are we seeing a holistic approach to the circular economy, and doing the right thing in packaging. Aura has been working on consulting with major brands and retailers globally to help guide them through the complexities of legislative requirements, consumer pressure and perception of sustainability, as well as costs. I’d love to say that sustainability doesn’t cost money, but unfortunately at this moment in time, it does have a financial impact. So, we help guide our clients through the maze.

GGW: 20 years ago, packaging legislation evolved slowly. In the early 2000s, it was very much about reducing packaging and its weight. It was a step in the right direction. But in the last five years, legislation has had a huge impact on the industry across the globe. As the situation evolved, the view has become more holistic, thinking about the right materials, recyclability, reusable packaging, elimination of unnecessary packaging components and GHG / carbon emissions. All these discussions should be embraced.

There’s a lot more noise in the industry, but consumers are also pressurizing brands and retailers to make a meaningful difference. Unfortunately, these consumers are not always well-informed. So it’s about finding that fine, fine line.

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ES: Could you define what EPR means for the packaging industry?

GGW: EPR is about making sure that everyone takes responsibility for their packaging and then funds infrastructures to be able to dispose of the packaging.

It’s not enough to put packaging on a shelf or on a virtual shelf to sell your product. It is a carrier of products, so it has a core function to protect and preserve the products that it contains, which sometimes gets forgotten. So we absolutely must embrace that and use its full potential, but also take responsibility throughout the process to then dispose of it responsibly and make sure that that doesn’t have a negative impact on our planet.

Without EPR, the infrastructures don’t get the funding needed to then be able to improve.

At the moment, there is a much-reduced quantity of post-consumer recyclate available to manufacturers to put back into packaging. We need better and more efficient infrastructures to then be able to ensure that we have that valuable material that saves us from having to use virgin materials and make sure that we’re making the best use of the resources we have. EPR is vital in that whole process.

ES: What are the sustainability challenges the packaging industry faces, and how can EPR help to address them?

GGW: There are many complexities and EPR does add to the complexity in some areas. But the problem is that we are continually putting new materials into the market. Traditionally, we are pretty good at recycling aluminium cans.

They can be fully recycled and made back into aluminium cans. It gets more

complex with polymers. Consumer education needs to be better so they know what the right materials are to put back into recycling infrastructure.

Unfortunately, consumers sometimes view sustainable packaging solutions differently. For example, a study showed that consumers perceived a toothpaste tube in a cardboard box as more sustainable than just the tube, because they’re seeing the fibre board rather than the plastic. So we need to educate, but we also need to make sure that we put materials back into this process. These are the big challenges that we as an industry must face in to.

ES: EPR rules are different from country to country and evolve. How can the maze be navigated?

GGW: Without the data, it doesn’t matter what the rules are. You need to know your packaging. Many countries have eco modulation, other don’t, and there are bonus malus schemes versus straight fees. There are all sorts of complexities, but the question is, will we get consistent EPR schemes across Europe? In the future, we could. However, each EPR scheme is set up because of the infrastructures that are in place in each country, and they are different.

The UK, for example, does not industrially compost very well. At the moment, we don’t have the infrastructure in place, whereas in many European countries, there is established infrastructure for composting.

It’s about making sure that the EPR scheme works for each individual country, which adds complexity for global brands and retailers. Eco modulation is probably the biggest variance across countries.

Submission criteria can differ too. Some are annual, some are every six months and some are quarterly. So you have to understand the EPR

Gillian Garside-Wight

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requirements per country / state and make sure you comply with the data sets that are required to be able to submit in a timely manner.

The biggest challenge, certainly for retailers, is data. They’ve been so far removed from the packaging data in the past. In the UK, for example, there are packaging recovery notes, which require some data which tends to be retrospective. Data is captured once a year. But what we are seeing with EPR is because of the frequency of submissions increasing, there is a greater need for live and accurate packaging data to submit for EPR. Beyond the actual data, you also have to think about the resources required to be able to capture, cleanse and update the data, and a lot of our clients are asking for help with this process.

ES: Do you have any other tips for organizations on how to get it right?

GGW: Legislation is changing rapidly, not just in Europe, but all over the world. Not one person has all the answers. It is important to make sure that brands and retailers have a network of contacts that can help and support them on the entire journey. So stay up to date with the regulations.

Be proactive, plan and start now. Don’t wait until it becomes an issue.

If your brands and retailers don’t have accurate and live packaging data, start that process now. Make sure that you’re engaging the right people in your supply chain. Capture that data, and make sure that it remains up to date.

ES: How do you think the landscape is going to evolve, and how could requirements change in the coming years?

ES: What data is needed to manage EPR in the best way possible?

GGW: Every country requires something slightly different. However, the level of packaging data that we’ve historically held in packaging specification databases is likely to need to increase, especially as eco-modulation becomes more prevalent.

As a bare minimum, you must know the weight and the substrate of your packaging. But as we get into eco modulation, it goes beyond the basics to the adhesives, the ink coverage and much more. It requires delving deep into the packaging data that you and your suppliers have.

Everyone has this data available from a manufacturing perspective. We need to make sure that it goes upstream to the brands and retailers so that they have access to the same data to be then able to make informed decisions.

So historically when we developed packaging it was a bit of an afterthought.

Now packaging is being selected at the same time as the product, because it has such a financial impact, not only on purchasing, but on its end of life. It’s important to plan for that.

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GGW: I’d love to say that I had a crystal ball, but I think EPR is the first step towards meeting the Paris Agreement.

We should absolutely focus on reducing climate impact, and I think we will get to the point where a carbon life cycle analysis becomes the norm. We’ll have EPR, but we’ll also be assessing and communicating what impact each packaging component has on our environment. If that was implemented today globally, it would cripple the industry on effort and cost. But I do think that incremental steps in that direction are inevitable. As we get more data from EPR that will evolve, we will be asking for more and more data.

I think the future is going to be more complex, more granular detail will be added, but for the right reasons. We’re not there yet, and we might not be there in five years, but we will be looking at things that were not necessarily focused on today in every industry.

I always use the phrase: If we don’t reach for the stars, we’ll never get off the ground. It is about making sure that we have ambitious targets and about making incremental change.

THE TOP FIVE TRENDING NEWS STORIES OF 2023 At the beginning of the new year, we take a look back at the most popular news stories on the Packaging Europe website in 2023. Paper-based packaging, a refill system, packaging redesign and the revision of the PPWR garnered the most interest from our readers. Find out more below!

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT REVISES PPWR

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he European Parliament has set its sights on reducing unnecessary packaging and waste, banning ‘forever chemicals’ in food packaging, boosting reuse and recycling, and more as it adopts its new position on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.

The report constitutes Parliament’s mandate for negotiations with EU governments and was approved by MEPs with 426 votes in favour, 125 against, and 74 abstentions.

MEPs intend to crack down on plastic packaging with specific targets – 10% by 2030, 15% by 2035, and 20% by 2040 – alongside general packaging reduction of 5% by 2030, 10% by 2035, and 15% by 2040.

It is hoped that plastic carrier bags below 15 microns in thickness will be banned wherever they are not necessary to maintain hygiene or prevent food waste. Single-use packaging formats like packaging for miniature toiletry products in hotels or shrink-wraps used for suitcases in airports are set to be heavily restricted.

The new position intends to eliminate per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, also known as PFAs or ‘forever chemicals’, and Bisphenol A from food contact packaging, as well as set a clear definition for reusable and refillable packaging. Consumers should be given the option to bring their

own containers to hotels, restaurants, cafés, and other final distributors of beverages and takeaway food.

Secondary legislation also enforces strict criteria that all packaging should be recyclable. Wood and wax food packaging are amongst the temporary exceptions to this rule, but by 2029, 90% of all materials contained in packaging – plastic, wood, ferrous metals, aluminium, glass, paper, and cardboard – should be collected separately.

In the European Parliament’s view, these measures could help cut down on the packaging waste generated by individual Europeans, which was calculated at 188.7kg in 2021 and is feared to soar up to 209kg in 2030 if no further action is taken. The legislation aims to contribute towards a circular economy, phase out unsustainable forms of packaging, provide alternatives to single-use packaging, and avoid waste.

ALPLA BECOMES MAJORITY OWNER OF PABOCO

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LPLA has succeeded Billerud as the majority shareholder of Paboco and is now investing in scaling its manufacturing capacity, envisioning the production of a fully recyclable paper bottle at a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing site by the end of 2024.

Founded in a joint venture between ALPLA and Billerud, Paboco (The Paper Bottle Company) is based in Slangerup, Denmark, and uses pulp-forming technology to produce FSC-certified fibre-based packaging. It has been working with The Absolut Company, Carlsberg Group, The Coca-Cola Company, L’Oréal, and Procter & Gamble to test its first products since 2021.

Following this successful test phase, it is anticipated that series production for the next

generation of paper bottles will begin in late 2024. ALPLA is taking over all Billerud’s shares and is investing in Paboco in the hopes of industrializing the bottles at speed.

A new manufacturing site and development centre are set to open in Denmark for the market launch. Paboco currently employs 18 people, but this figure is expected to rise by the time production begins.

In the long term, Paboco aims to develop and scale fully bio-based and recyclable paper bottles.

The transaction took place at the beginning of October, with the contracting parties agreeing not to disclose details.

The next-generation prototype of Paboco’s paper bottle – featuring a paper closure from

Blue Ocean Closures – was announced last year.

It was anticipated that the solution would be applied to products in various sectors in 2023.

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NEW PRINGLES TUBE WITH PAPER FIBRE BASE CLAIMS ‘100%’ RECYCLABILITY

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new, 90% paper tube has been developed for Pringles crisps in a collaboration between Fost Plus and the Belgian Engineering and R&D teams at Kellogg’s, aiming for complete recyclability.

The steel base built into previous tubes has been replaced with a paper fibre alternative, which is sealed to the bottom of the pack. As such, the tube is apparently compatible with paper and cardboard recycling once the plastic cover has been removed; the cover can be recycled in the PMD bag in turn.

Furthermore, the pack claims to be completely airtight and offer a 15-month shelf life for the crisps prior to opening.

New machinery will be installed on all production lines for Pringles tubes in Mechelen, Belgium. These are expected to produce over one billion sealed Pringles tubes every year, with the technology expected to roll out to all Pringles production lines in Europe in the coming years – requiring an investment of over €100 million, according to the company.

“As part of our ESG Better Days programme, we have worked hard to improve our environmental footprint,” explains Johan Van Batenburg, director of the Pringles factory in Mechelen. “The Pringles recyclable tube is another step towards sustainable packaging. We learned from the test carried out in 2020 that consumers approve of

the new paper tube and we are therefore eager to introduce it to the Belgian market.”

Wim Geens, managing director of Fost Plus, adds: “The old tube was made of different materials (a paper tube with a metal bottom) that could not be separated by the consumer, making the recycling process difficult. The new packaging solves this problem.”

LUCOZADE INCREASES TRANSPARENCY OF BOTTLE SLEEVES IN PACKAGING REDESIGN ‘100%’ RECYCLABILITY

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ucozade has rolled out a new packaging design for its Orange and Original drink flavours, featuring more transparency in its sleeve to give consumers a preview of the product and indicate its flavour, taste, and refreshment.

The change responds to input from 6,500 consumers and 18 months of extensive research and development and is accompanied by updated recipes for both drinks – implementing a ‘bolder’ taste for the Original flavour and a ‘more citrusy, orange note’ for Orange.

According to consumers, the new sleeves will increase the chances of shoppers noticing the product on the shelves and encourage them to purchase the product. They will be implemented across all Lucozade Energy Orange and Lucozade Energy Original 380ml, 500ml, and 900ml bottles, both for individual sale and in multipacks; the remaining Lucozade Energy flavours are also set to adopt the new packaging in the near future.

This development also fits into Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I’s Core Brand Innovation programme, created by its parent company Suntory to prototype and test new solutions with the viewpoints of consumers emphasized in the process.

“Core brand innovation is at the heart of our approach to brand building,” says Zoe Trimble, head of Lucozade Energy, Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I. “We believe across our business that brands must evolve to keep up with changing consumer needs.

“Our thorough process involves extensive research and agile prototyping with consumers and leans heavily on successful techniques developed by Suntory our global parent company. The goal is to better understand the lives of our consumers, what they’re looking for and what drives their decision making, so we can adapt our brands to meet their needs – delivering a win for our consumers and our customers.”

EVIAN AND WIMBLEDON PARTNERED ON REFILLABLE SYSTEM FOR PLAYERS AT 2023 CHAMPIONSHIPS

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ater brand Evian and tennis tournament Wimbledon announced their first oncourt refillable system for players which was piloted during the 2023 Championships.

The new refillable system aimed to encourage refill behaviour, as players were provided with their own reusable bottles that can be refilled with Evian water on-court and at designated player areas including practice courts, dressing rooms and restaurants.

Courts 2-18 saw an on-court dispenser positioned beneath the umpire chair during matches for players to refill their bottles themselves, alongside ball boys and girls, who will also be on hand 32 Packaging Europe

to help refill on behalf of those competing. On Centre Court and No.1 Court, prefilled reusable bottles will be available to supplement the ones supplied to and brought onto court by players.

Off court, Evian’s 75cl bottles reportedly made from 100% recycled plastic (excluding caps and labels) and Evian sparkling in a 33cl recyclable aluminium can will be available to spectators.

Jen Emerton, head of account management at WRAP, said: “Showcasing a reuse and refill model to reduce single-use plastics on one of the world’s most viewed sporting arenas is a great way to make refill the default option, and an active part of our everyday habits. Providing reusable bottles and refill

facilities and using bottles in future tournaments will significantly cut the number used by players. This is a great step forward by a UK Plastics Pact member, and we hope to see this idea expanded across the entire tournament at future Wimbledon.”

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