10. Sustainable packaging

Overshoot day

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate that year

• After this date, we consume more plastic than there is available

What is the main source of our carbon footprint?

• Food and drink (!!)

• Transport

• Energy

• Stuff and clothes

• Flying

Therefore we can help consumers by making the right choices in their food

• Even the type of food we eat has effect on CO2 footprint (see picture)

• As a producer, you can choose what you put in your food strategically to reduce footprint

• Additionally choosing the right packaging to prevent waste

Morphology PE

• HDPE: few or no side branches → compact

• LDPE: long sidebranches → more space

Effect of polypropylene

• Much thicker plastic

• Gives impression of freshness as plastic sounds crunchy

Bio-based vs. bio-degradable plastics

• Most plastics (LDPE, HDPE, etc) tend to be fossil based and non-compostable

• Green PE can be molecularly exactly the same as normal PE however these are not biodegradable

• Compostable = often poorly recyclable

  • Putting PLA or PHA in recyling bag, will mess up the recycling process

• All green = bioplastics

• All of these choices make it difficult to make a choice between plastics

• Also makes it hard to decide in which bin to throw it (compost, plastic?)

How is bio ethylene made?

Types of foil extrusion

• Cast film extrusion

  • Produces flat films (plano)

• Blown film extrusion

  • Produces tubes

Correlation layers of plastic and number of extruders

• The screws are heated

Blown film extrusion

Packaging attributes that help determine the type of plastic you should choose

• Visuals: clear or not? Haze? Color?

• Physical: stretch, tear resistance, shrink, puncture resistance, crinkle (sound), thickness

• Barrier properties: light, oxygen, moisture, odor, chemical (e.g. putting chocolate next to mint, chocolate will taste like mint?)

• Surface: rought, soft, slippery, texture, printability

• Printing: inside, outside, middle, anti-fog, paper touch (PE/PP can not be printed on and need to be sparked)

• Rigidity: flexible, rigid, standup pouch, thermoforming

• Runnability: seal properties, friction, roll resistance (important

• Other: sound, UV resistance, heat resistance, freeze resistance

What are the key sustainability challenges for the packaging industry?

• Waste

  • Waste management → Re-duce, Re-design & Re-cycle

  • Littering & behavior change

• CO₂ emissions

  • Paris agreement & global warming

  • Re-duce & Re-duce food waste

  • Re-design, Re-new

• Overconsumption of raw materials

  • Re-duce our footprint

  • Re-design & Re-new

Linear economy, reuse economy vs circular economy

• Linear: no recycling

• Reuse: still some non-recyclable waste

• Circular: no non-recyclable waste (not realistic, there will always be waste)

Packaging dossier 1994

This foundational legislation aimed to harmonize national measures concerning the management of packaging and packaging waste to prevent or reduce its environmental impact while ensuring the proper functioning of the EU internal market.

It includes:

• Packaging is safe

  • REACH

  • Food contact materials

  • During recycling, landfill or incineration

• Minimise packaging material use

  • Volume & weight limited to the minimum adequate amount

• packaging has minimal environmental impact

  • Reuse

  • Recovery incl recycling

Last two could be ignored for a valid marketing reason

Current packaging dossier

Focus of this lecture is on packaging & packaging waste regulation

Ambitions EU packaging

• More recycling and design for recycling

• Rules on compostable packaging

• Harmonization of labels

• More reuse

• More use of recyled material

• Less packaging waste

• Reduction of negative effects of packaging and packaging waste

Who is responsible for more sustainable packaging? (packaging & packaging waste regulation legislation)

• Supplier of packaging material

  • Supplies information and documentation to manufacturers

• Manufacturer (of packaged products) importers/distrubtions

  • Conformity assessment, labeling, and reporting

• EU memberstates

  • Reporting of all data (normally through extended producer responsibility)

  • Reporting pakaging & packaging waste

  • Reporting reuse and recycling

What is packaging? (packaging & packaging waste regulation legislation)

Packaging means items of any materials that are intended to be used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery or presentation of products and that can be differentiated into packaging formats based on their function, material and design

What are the five pillars of PPWR (packaging & packaging waste regulation legislation)

• Recyclability by design

• Mandating material

• Driving re-use & re-fill

• Waste minimization

• Harmonized regulation

1. Recyclability by design (PPWR)

• 2030: EU market access only for recyclable packaging

• 2035: Onwards, packaging must be recycled at scale

2. Mandating material (PPWR)

• There will be a minimum recycled content for plastics starting 2030

• Further focus on safety e.g. PFAS restriction

• Compostable only in some formats

  • e.g. stickers for fruits and vegetables, tea bags, things that go in gft not allowed in other packages

Exceptions to 2. mandating material

• Exceptions exist for: Farmaceutic products, medical products, dangerous goods

• Contact sensitive packaging for food and drink for infants and toddlers

• Plastic packaging for food products when the recycled contact is posing a health risk and when the packaging therefore is not compliant with rules

• Plastic parts that constitute less than 5% of the total weight of the total packaging

• 1 januari 2028 all exceptions will be reviewed

• If recycled materials are ‘not available at scale’ or ‘extremely expensive’ the commision can review legislation

3. Driving re-use & re-fill

Re-use targets on E-commerce, transport, takeaway food and beverage

• The packages used in this area should be reusable

4. Waste minimization (PPWR)

• Packaging minimisation (weight/headspace)

• Reduce packaging waste: 5% total packaging reduction by weight in 2030 vs 2018. (10% 2035 and 15% 2040)

• Proposed bans for certain packaging formats

Restrictions:

• No single-use plastic grouped packaging (Shrink wrap around a 6-pack of water bottles)

• No Single-use plastic packaging for unprocessed fruit & vegetables under 1.5 kg

• No single-use plastic for dining except for takeout.

• No single-use plastic packaging in restaurants for jam, sugar, coffee creamer etc except if its takeout

• No single-use for cosmetics, hygiene & toilet articles in hotels for examplels

• No lightweight carrier bags except for hygiene or if it prevents food waste

5. Harmonized regulation (PPWR)

• under PPWR:

  • The same requirements apply in all EU Member States

  • Companies don’t have to deal with 27 different national systems

  • Enforcement and definitions become more consistent

Waste reduction by going from tray to bag

70% reduction

New label proposal to see where things have to be thrown away

• Conformity assessment data needs to be online with QR code

Extended producer responsibility (EPR)

• You are as a producer accountable for the waste management of the products you put on the market.

• In the Netherlands we have EPR’s for:

  • Car tyres

  • Cars

  • Batteries

  • Electronic equipment

  • Textile

  • Packaging

  • Roadside litter

• Under special agreements:

  • Window glass

  • Paper and carton

  • Mattresses

  • Lightbulbs

• In the making are:

  • Building materials

  • Horti and agricultural

What are the costs for well recyclable vs poorly recyclable materials?

Standard costs from verpact is: 1,22 euros

You can get a discount when:

• You put recycled content in the packaging (-20 cents)

• The packaging is colorless or white (-10 cents)

• The packaging is monomaterial (at least 90%) (-10 cents)

• Correct labelling (-10 cents)

• If the package is VERY well recyclable (-10 cents)