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President’s Word
COVID-19: a big challenge - and opportunity - to the packaging industry
Pierre Pienaar*
 The packaging industry has been under the
spotlight in this challenging time of COVID-19. More than ever, packaging has
been tested in so many ways. Packaging has saved the product on so many levels
and allowed the consumer to be safe. I have no doubt our industry will emerge
on the other end of this pandemic with a much stronger public awareness and
clarity of the key role packaging plays in our lives.
There has been an overwhelming fear of
consumers of being exposed to and catching COVID-19, which is currently a
driving force behind safe packaging. The response to this has been that
companies and brands have had to adapt to meet consumer’s new demands. Not
only are consumers washing their hands more frequently and using more sanitiser
than they have ever used before, they are also increasing their use of
household disinfectants and cleaners. Purchasing behaviour for many consumers
has changed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and consumers are now
stock-piling non-perishable items such as rice, pasta, canned fish, canned
vegetables etc.
Packaging for the food market has seen a
huge growth in the home delivery sector as families go into lockdown or prefer
to self-isolate. This new life choice has seen a rise in the production of
insulated packaging to keep frozen goods safe for home deliveries. As
restaurants have re-opened with limited numbers allowed, if at all, the need
for take away containers has skyrocketed. Some countries have reflected
an increase in demand of more than 200% for some lines of meat, seafood and
poultry. This is a result of more people staying home and cooking for
themselves rather than going out to eat. This change has led to a greater demand
for appropriate meat trays that have been produced in safe, COVID-free
environments.
In the flexible packaging sector, it has
become necessary to give more attention to projects that have perhaps been only
in experimentation stage to date. New coatings and materials for pouches and
sachets that can be anti-microbial, anti-bacterial and aseptic packaging
innovations have suddenly had to become part of the new race as consumers
demand packaging manufacturers jump over hurdles to produce safe packaging. (PKN
Packaging News, 2020, p. 23)
The challenge for us in the packaging
industry, therefore, remains two-fold: our first focus should always be on
aiming to produce safe, reliable, reusable or recyclable, sustainable
packaging; our second – but equally important – focus has to be on insisting
local governments cooperate with us as material manufacturers, or converters to
create a robust, successful recycling infrastructure that can process all the
fantastically exciting new innovations in sustainable packaging.
There is still far too much confusion among
consumers regarding the disposal of packaging, especially plastics; and those
who are keen to clean up our planet often have no where to go to manage their
waste packaging. Now, as consumers expect more protective packaging than ever
before, we need to become serious about finding solutions to this even greater
pandemic impact on packaging.
The pandemic has also revealed an agitation
among consumers who are concerned about health and hygiene. Not only do these
consumers want sustainable packaging that is safe, they also want it delivered
to their home because that is where they feel safest. Apart from packaging
companies re-thinking materials and design for safety, the spike in consumers’
digital engagement for shopping now extends beyond clothes and gadgets and
suddenly includes, far more frequently, the purchase of groceries. This
increased demand means significant implications for packaging design. To date,
food packaging has been designed to be sold in a bricks-and-mortar
establishment, not through online shipments and tailor-made home deliveries. It
can be expensive to deliver a box of canned goods to a home through the mail!
We need to rethink packaging materials in terms lightweight, volume density,
shelf-ready packaging, in order that shipping costs can be reduced.
I believe education in packaging knowledge
is key to our future success. Attending webinars or offering your employees
training programs to ensure they keep up with the newest trends and
expectations, is an excellent start. The WPO can help you with such training
courses.
My real hope, after this pandemic subsides,
is that the public perception of and attitude to packaging, particularly
plastic and sustainability issues, will have changed as they realise the value
of packaging. I really hope the ongoing drive to remove plastic altogether and
of seeing plastic as the ogre – rather than the solution - will have changed to
a push for improved waste management infrastructure around the world. COVID-19
has perhaps done the poor plastic victim a BIG favour. And, hopefully, a new
focus and knowledge will lead to new innovations for better collection, for
recycling and reuse of plastic materials.
*Pierre Pienaar is President of WPO
[email protected]
WPO – World Packaging Organization
pienaarpierre
@WorldPackOrg1
Around the World
WPO member in Greece, AGMPM joins
Europen
Since April, AGMPM (Association of Greek Manufacturers of
Packaging & Materials – www.pac.gr), a WPO member,
is the new member of Europen (European Organization for Packaging and the
Environment – www.europen-packaging.eu).
Europen is an industry organization that rerflects the opinion of the packaging
supply chain in Europe on topics related to packaging and the environment,
without favouring any specific packaging material or system. It aims to achieve
a fully accessible European market for packaging and packaged products, while
protecting the product and the environment.
Congrats to CSAOSZ for its 30th anniversary!
WPO member in Hungary, CSAOSZ (Hungarian Association of
Packaging and Materials Handling – www.csaosz.hu),
was founded in June 1990 by 72 companies, after the first free parliamentarian
elections. It was the second professional organisation in the country at that
time.
During the last 03 decades, a modern packaging industry has
emerged in Hungary guided by international standards; many of the original
companies successfully operated by Hungarian families became multinational and
foreign owned companies.
Over this time, CSAOSZ also became an unavoidable
professional organisation, whose professional opinion is always expected by the
authorities. Its task is to create a competitive and predictable legal
environment for the Hungarian packaging industry and to promote the technical
and economic development of the profession as well.
At the initiative of its open-for-novelty and excellent
professional community – its presidency, secretariat, working groups – the
barcode technology was introduced in Hungary and later the EPR system for the
management of packaging waste, which has already been proven in Europe.
Because of the high quality, the CSAOSZ professional
programs – trainings, workshops, conferences, national packaging awards – are
very popular, so during the last decades CSAOSZ became a packaging knowledge
centre in Hungary.
Leaders of the Hungarian packaging industry could not be
successful without many hardworking and creative experts, designers. The most
expressive evidence of the excellent Hungarian creativity is the 112 WorldStar
prizes between 1997 and 2020.
CSAOSZ assists the Hungarian packaging companies to develop
their foreign relations as well. Since a decade, CSAOSZ (co)organises national
booths at the most prestigious packaging exhibitions in Europe, like Interpack,
in order to offer its members the possibility for introducing their products at
international level.
Congrats to Miklós Nagy, Secretary General of CSAOSZ for
such achievements and for being an active and valuable member of WPO.
Packaging Conference 2020 in Singapore
Every year, the Singapore Manufacturing Federation’s (SMF - www.smfederation.org.sg), Packaging Council of Singapore (PCS) Industry Group organises a packaging conference as a platform to reach out
to the industry and students from Institutes of Higher Learning (IHL) to
discuss the latest trends and changes impacting the packaging industry.
This year, in line with the continued focus on
sustainability, the theme of the conference was on achieving zero packaging
waste. This is the second year that the conference focused on sustainability,
with the first held in 2019.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference was held
virtually, with part 1 on 27 July 2020, and part 2 to be held in October 2020.
During the conference, Aldin Velic, from Oliver Healthcare Packaging,
highlighted the challenges the healthcare industry faced in ensuring safe and
sustainable packaging methods. William Chen, from Nanyang Technological
University (NTU), presented new innovative packaging solutions that are
available in the industry. To round off, John Goh, from Xcel Industrial
Supplies Pte Ltd, who is one of the winners of the Singapore Packaging Star
Awards 2019, shared case studies and best practices on sustainability.
Well done winners of Royal Crown Packaging competition!
The 2nd edition of Royal Crown Packaging Limited’s annual
competition for tertiary institutions took place virtually from 27th July to
7th August 2020. This year’s competition saw students from University of Ghana,
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ashesi University and a new
entrant Academic City College.
The competition which is facilitated by IOPG (Institute of
Packaging Ghana – www.africapack.org), a WPO member, aims to
introduce students to the world of packaging ie studying the corrugated
packaging industry and its production chain, identifying the inherent
challenges within the packaging industry and proposing innovative solutions to
the constraints inherent in the packaging industry.
After two weeks of brainstorming and researching, the
various schools presented their findings to the panel of judges. According to
IOPG, a couple of the innovative packaging that were presented have been
earmarked for the 2021 Students World Star Competition organised by the WPO.
Plastics Conference 2020 in Greece
Recognizing that plastic materials have found themselves in
the communicative “line of fire”, AGMPM (Association of Greek Manufacturers of
Packaging & Materials - www.pac.gr), a WPO member,
was one of the supporters of the 1st Plastics Conference that presented the best
practices of production and management of plastics, as well as improved ways
for their retrieval and recycling.
The target of the event was to form a Pan-European
meeting spot for the most important industries of this field, as well as all
the companies and the carriers of recycling and waste management. The new
Community Directives have changed everything in the plastics industry, which
is, however, already starting to transform, ensuring its development.
International speakers, experts and executives of
the plastic industry and representatives of the Greek authorities
presented case studies focusing on various topics, among them: initiative and
goals of the European Commission; “plastic investment” of the food and beverage
industries and innovations; solutions for recycling; bioplastics; industrial
evolution; better practices from factories in Europe and Greece.
Participants were informed on the new technological methods
of production, waste management, retrieval and recycling and met the
visionaries and the innovators of the European plastics industry. For more
information access the link https://www.plasticsconference.gr.
First and third generation of same family recognised with
WorldStar
Following their win in the 2019 Australasian Packaging
Innovation & Design (PIDA) Award win in 2019, Impact International was also
recently awarded a WorldStar Packaging Award for the Sarah, Craig and Margorie
100% recycled PE and sugar cane PE tubes in the Health & Personal Care
category.
 Aleks Lajovic, Managing Director, Impact shared his views on
what winning a WorldStar means to him and his family business. “When you work
in a family business, it is not only financial results that drives you. It is
the history, the protection of the legacy and having something to pass on to
the future generations. It is about having a team that you see as extended
family members and friends and not just employees.”
According to him, his grandfather (Starrapapa) that passed
away two years ago, won their first WorldStar back in 1994. “Receiving Impacts
second WorldStar in 2020 is one of my proudest moments since becoming the 4th
generation to work at the company.”
Impact was one of the 11th Australian and New Zealand
companies that has been internationally recognised in the prestigious
WorldStar. Winners from Australia and New Zealand also received the third
highest amount of WorldStar awards in the world behind Japan and China. This is
an incredible recognition for the annual Packaging Innovation & Design
(PIDA) Awards program, organized by WPO member Australian Institute of
Packaging (AIP – www.aipack.com.au).
From the board
WPO had its first online Packaging Education Program
WPO first online Packaging Training Program was scheduled
for September 21 to 24, through Zoom platform. It was open for 100 students,
from different parts of the world, that were searching for the training
‘Introduction to packaging’. According to Aslihan Arikan, WPO Vice President
Education, the format allowed the same interaction with the trainers and the
same valuable content provided by face-to-face classes.
The official language of WPO online packaging training is
English and during the 4 days of the program, students trainned 3 hours per
day. Everyday, training commenced at 12h00 (Central European/Vienna time zone).
The registration fee was €100. Trainners were Kishan Singh (WPO Ambassador –
south Afrca) and Pierre Pienaaar (WPO President – Australia)
This online training was the second held by WPO in 2020. At
the begining of March, before the pandemic, WPO organized training in Legon,
Accra (Ghana). The trainer was Global Ambassador, Kishan Singh, and the event
had the support of WPO local member, IOPG (Institute of Packaging Ghana); 26
students participated.
Over the past few years, WPO has been responsible for more
than 52 packaging training courses in 15 countries that has influenced more
than 2,141 packaging professionals. The idea is to continue this mission even
with Covid-19.
WPO aligns its Business Management System to ISO9001:2015
The operational practices and systems of WPO have, over the
past 15 years, evolved into a mature and effective business management system,
encompassing the General Secretariat, Education, Marketing, Environmental
Sustainability, WorldStar Awards, Membership and Media Communication
disciplines. Additionally, the generation of position papers on strategic
global packaging topics, and the support of global packaging optimisation
projects, have been the cornerstone of WPO business activities.
However, in recent years, there has been a growing need to
address the requirements of accountability, not only to members, but also to
its strategic corporate partners, business relationships, sponsors and other
related stakeholders.
To achieve this objective, the decision to align the
business systems of WPO to a more formal ISO9001:2015 type of management system
was taken. Since the beginning of global COVID-19 pandemic, GI Business
Solutions has been working on this initiative and the project, supported by the
WPO Executive Team. The project is expected to be completed by November 2020.
WPO launched ‘Packaging Trends Report’
 The document ‘Packaging Trends Report’, based on the entries
and winners of WorldStar Packaging Award 2020, the major global packaging
competition organized by WPO, is already available for download at WPO webpage www.worldpackaging.org. It can be easily
found in the section Resources – WPO Brochures of the webpage.
Produced by Liliam Benzi, WPO Press & Communication
Officer, ‘Packaging Trends Report’ gives an overview of commom trends that
guidelined packaging projects all over the world in 2019 and that were
submitted to WorldStar Award 2020.
WPO collaborates with ProPak in a
series of webinars
 WPO is a partner of Informa Markets, through the ProPak
team, in a series of webinars that run from June to October 2020. The purpose
is to give a truly global overview covering key trends and the hottest topics
in the packaging and processing industries in the post-pandemic era.
The webinars include a raft of international speakers from
across the globe, a who’s who from the international processing and packaging
industry, to facilitate a thorough examination for the future direction of
travel for the sector.
The ProPak and WPO webinar series is free to access. The
next ones are scheduledd to:
- 23 September 2020
The role of packaging Food Waste and Food Insecurity
- 21 October 2020
Global Supply Chains
Worldstar
2020 WorldStar Special and Student Awards ceremony goes
virtual
In keeping to current circumstances, WPO host a virtual
ceremony for the winners of 2020 WorldStar Special Awards and Student Awards.
The ceremony happened on two days – August 25 and 26 – due to global time zone
differences.
There were 15 winners in the Special
Awards, in the categories Lifetime Achievement Award, President´s Award,
Sustainability, Packaging that Saves Food and Marketing – and 12 in the Student
Award. Winners are from 14 countries around the globe - Singapore, Spain,
Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Netherlands, USA, Finland, Brazil,
Lebanon, Turkey, United Kingdom, China, South Africa.
“WPO Executive team continuous searching and working on
creative and innovative solutions to continue interacting with the global
packaging community despite the current global circumstances. And this was not
different regarding the WorldStar 2020 ceremony that had to be adapted to the
pandemic moment”, explains Pierre Pienaar, President of WPO.
WorldStar is the largest and most important global packaging
award and the 2020 edition had 214 winners that attracted over 300 entries from
36 countries around the globe. The four countries most awarded in 2020 are
Japan, with 34 awards for the third year running, followed by China, taking 22,
Australia & New Zealand (ANZ), taking 13 collective, and Germany 12.
Packages eligible for WorldStar are those that have already
received a national award recognised by WPO. Entries for the 2021 edition are
open until October 19. More information at www.worldstar.org.
Sustainability
Innovative Sustainable Packaging Designs
recognised in Food & Beverage
The 2025 National Packaging Targets, from
Australia, enables brands to clearly understand what outcomes they need to
achieve to ensure that the packaging put into the market is sustainable and
circular by design by the year 2025.
The targets include that the packaging is
100% reusable, recyclable or compostable, 70% of plastic packaging is being
recycled or composted, packaging includes 50% of average recycled content and
there is a phase out of problematic and unnecessary single-use plastics
packaging in Australia; all by 2025.
A high number of companies across the Food
and Beverage industries are set to achieve these targets and are evident
through the 2020 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards
for Australia and New Zealand, organized by WPO member, AIP (Australian
Institute of Packaging).
The Sustainable Packaging Design Award has
been designed to recognise companies that have developed innovative packaging
or processing solutions that incorporates sustainability considerations.
Elements include Efficient Use of Materials, Source Reduction, Energy, Recovery
and Recyclability, Sustainable Packaging Design Considerations, packaging
changes to meet the 2025 National Packaging Targets and Benefits to Society.
This is a WorldStar Packaging Awards category.
Due to the broad range of packaging design
innovations that covered everything, from milk cartons to e-commerce solutions,
the winners were split into two sub-categories. 1. Retail Pack and 2. Product
Protection.
2020 Sustainable Packaging Design Special
Award – Retail Pack
 The winner of the Gold Award for the 2020
Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year category – Retail Pack was Coca-Cola
Amatil for the 100% recyclable post-consumer recycled rPET bottles. Coca-Cola
Amatil (CCA) has provided key industry leadership and assisted the drive to the
circular economy by making and delivering on a commitment to convert all of
their single serve PET bottles to 100% post-consumer recycled PET resin (rPET).
By converting all of these SKU’s to 100%
rPET, seven out of every ten bottles CCA sells in Australia are now made from
recycled post-consumer resin. This equates to over 55% of CCA's total PET
tonnage or a reduction of CCA’s use of virgin plastics in Australia by around
16,000 tonnes a year.
Even more technically remarkable after the
bottle weight reductions undertaken over the last decade, the conversion to
rPET was achieved without increasing the weights of any packs and in the case
of the preform used for warm fill and aseptic dairy, they successfully light
weighted these bottles by a further 8.5% during the conversion to rPET.
The winner of the Silver Retail Pack Award
was Pact Group for New Zealand's Earthwise brand of PCR 75% rHDPE household
cleaning range. Earthwise has been pioneering eco-friendly products for over 50
years and is one of New Zealand’s most trusted environmental brands.
Sustainability is at the heart of everything they do and are always looking for
ways to improve their environmental footprint.
Earthwise follows environmental practices
that take into consideration the full life cycle of a product, from sourcing
plant-based ingredients, use of recyclable packaging, and management of energy,
water and waste to reduce their contribution to landfill.
Earthwise pledged support to the New
Zealand Plastic Packaging Declaration and with packaging already recyclable,
moving to bottles made from recycled content was the next step. Earthwise will
have reused and diverted over 320Tonnes of plastic packaging from landfills
over the next 12months.
The winner of the Bronze Retail Pack Award
was a tie between Brownes Dairy for Australia’s first renewable gable top milk
carton and UPM Raflatac & Kiwi Labels for the CUSTOM-PAK rPET Cherry Punnet
with self-adhesive label, permanent adhesive that is also washable at the PET
recycling plant.
Brownes Dairy identified that to be truly
sustainable they must focus on both end-of-life management and recycling,
considering the full end-to-end environmental impact their products and package
have. After considering different packaging options, Brownes decided to
progress the Tetra Rex Bio-Based Carton, from Tetra Pak. Tetra Rex Bio-Based
packages are the world’s first fully renewable carton packages - made entirely
from bio-based, fully renewable materials. The paperboard used is certified by
the FSC and is recyclable.
The Cherry Punnet Label applied to the
CUSTOM-PAK rPET container has been manufactured on UPM Raflatac Label Stock,
printed by Kiwi Labels and has three features to consider that are relevant to
criteria 1: Firstly, the label enables significantly enhanced recyclability of
the package once discarded; secondly the package is manufactured from 100%
rPET, rather than just virgin PET; and lastly, components of the label stock,
namely the label liner, now contains 90% post-consumer recycled (PCR) waste
which has replaced virgin plastic.
2020 Sustainable Packaging Design Special Award – Product Protection
The winner of the Gold Award for the 2020
Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year - Product Protection category was
actually a tie between Opal Packaging for the recyclable moulded paper inserts
Sealed Air Brand Protective Packaging for the TempGuard kerbside recyclable
packaging for pre-packaged, temperature sensitive goods.
 The Opal Packaging inserts provide superior
protection and presentation for fresh produce inside the carton and offer a
recyclable alternative to standard, non-recyclable PVC plastic inserts. The
recyclable moulded paper inserts are made from responsibly sourced fibre and
can be customised with specific colours and branding for a range of products.
The inserts are currently available for avocado and mango segments in multiple
count sizes.
The individually moulded trays provide
shock and vibration protection (no ringing on fruit) and offers ventilation and
moisture control characteristics to ensure fresh produce integrity. The inserts
are fully recyclable and an alternative to the standard plastic inserts as they
are a third lighter than the current industry PP/PVC insert, which weighs 24gm
compared with the moulded paper inserts at 16gm. The inserts can also be reused
and are space efficient for storage compared to the plastic inserts. They simplify
the recycling process as there is no need to separate inserts from the cartons,
saving time and reducing contamination within ‘bale press’ recycling.
Sealed Air's TempGuard is a fully Kerbside
recyclable and ARL compliant paper pouch liner made from virgin kraft paper and
is filled with 100% recycled paper. It is used to line cartons that are used
for distribution to deliver exceptional thermal insulation for chilled items
including chilled meals, pharmaceuticals and chocolate.
TempGuard flexible liner pads are only 14mm
thick yet provides cushioning and protection with greater space efficiency
compared to EPS (wall thickness of 30mm) and allowing the opportunity for
customers to decrease the size of the outer carton. TempGuard’s flatpack format
enables reduced warehousing costs (space and utilities) and efficiency
improvements compared with EPS.
TempGuard virgin kraft fibres on the pouch
exterior means that the pouch remains unaffected by product condensation which
is especially important for chilled applications such as seafood and for other
chilled good processors who are looking for alternatives to EPS.
TempGuard is fully recyclable through PREP
with on pack communication providing clear information to consumers about what
to do with the product at the end of life.
The judges also awarded a High Commendation
for the Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year - Product Protection category
to Omni Group for the PerformX 100% recyclable stretch wrap. This reinforced
film requires fewer wrapping rotations while significantly higher holding
force. PerformX uses over 50% less film than conventional stretch film.
All of these remarkable Sustainable
Packaging Designs are now eligible for WorldStar Packaging Awards, the global
packaging competition organized by WPO. Thanks Nerida Kelton, Executive
Director of AIP (Australian Institute of Packaging), a very active WPO member,
for sharing this article.
Message from General Secretary
Hurdle sprint
Life could be so easy, our jobs so
straightforward … if not such hurdles like corona crisis would flap up and
question all our plans. I know, it is a bit banal: every crisis has it’s
chances. What shall we do but shaking off the dust, go on and try to do our
best? Well at least we tried within WPO the last weeks and months. And I think,
we’ve been quite successful.
As you know, we had to cancel the meetings
at Interpack (Düsseldorf, Germany) in May 2020. Meanwhile it is also clear,
that we cannot have a “normal” meeting in South Africa in November 2020.
Together with Bill Marshall, Institute of Packaging South Africa, we canceled
all our bookings there.
Be prepared that we will hold our WPO Board
Meeting and all surrounding events like WPO Working Groups and WorldStar
judging online via our Zoom account. Don’t miss it! We have important things to
do, like voting for WPO President! Timing will be the same – so please keep the
week 23.-27.11.2020 blocked in your schedules. We will announce the detailed
time plan within the next days.
For all those, who are sad about not going to SA: postponed is not abandoned!
IPSA agreed to organize the meeting one year later in November 2021! Thanks,
Bill!
Have you recognized the hidden message
above? – Yes, we have a WPO Zoom account meanwhile. The new normal, we use it
frequently. So, I have the feeling, WPO is even much more in contact, then ever
before! That’s not the only change in our pipeline: We realized the first WPO Webinar
already last week (Great success, realized by a marvelous team! Soha, Luciana,
Tanja for organization; Pierre, Chakravarthi, Carl and Kishan: perfect job on
the screen!). More Webinars will follow on 2.9.2020, 17.9.2020 and 2.10.2020.
Not enough: Aslihan and her WPO Education
Team are preparing the first WPO Online Training
scheduled for 21.-24.9.2020. New experience for all of us – but I’m sure we can
multiplicate this modern education tool soon to spread better quality of life
through better packaging for more people!
So everything could be easier, without
these hurdles … but would we reach new levels of services, contacts,
communication so quickly as we do now? Anyhow, we have to go on...
Barbara Zottl & Tanja Woschniak
WPO Secretariat
[email protected]
Johannes Bergmair
WPO General Secretary
[email protected]
Special Article
Sustainable environment industrial products packaging: a way
forward
By P.V.Narayanan* (in memoriam)
Air pollution, alternate energy, alliance to save energy,
alternative fuels, biodiesel, carbon-di-oxide and conservation are the major
resource areas that need to be addressed towards a global green glossary. Significant aspects within the above could
be reached through”Green Living”, Eat Green”, “Think Green”, “Go Green Society”
and party theme “Go Green in daily life”, “Green Entrepreneurs”, “Green
Technology”, “Build Green”, “Green Social responsibility” and “Green at Home”.
The underlying principle is preserving and renewing when and
wherever possible human and natural resources, buy products with post consumer
recycled content, participate in recycling, create awareness and encourage
changes in the life style, adopt wind and solar energy, use longer lasting
materials, use biodiesel and be creative like reusable resources.
The subject of packaging and waste arising out throw away
packages have been in the limelight since the recent years and within the
family of packages plastics particularly the flexible have kindled considerable
debates. The latter probably because of their high volume per unit weight
resulting in easy visibility and higher efforts for low return. Demands on
packaging gaining strong grounds and their role becoming more
challenging-creation of right perception assumes greater significance and
allowing the “final pack” do its duty effectively.
Parallel, packaging also becomes the Brand Ambassador for
any product with considerable and probably dynamics of the demographics. Notwithstanding with clean environment as a
slogan the 3 Rs-Reduce, Recycle and Reuse theories propagated. The efforts of
the package converters and packaging personnel then got diverted into the 3 Rs
probably with reasonable success.
With the progress of time the term “Circular Economy”
surfaced with strongly alongside development of biofilms- edible, soluble and
degradable. Most of the researchers, professionals
echoed their views and suggestion but interestingly all these addressed to
packaging of FMCG products but very little attention seems to have been given
to industry products packaging.
Industrial products packaging
The term would primarily relate to engineering and
electronic goods like the auto and white goods/entertainment sectors. A review
would reveal the large quantum of wood and plywood used besides the synthetic
foams. The basic question is “is this a
potential area” to be addressed primarily keeping the sustainable –
eco-balances and circular economy?
Probably worthwhile.
It is estimated that India consumes about 7.7 million cubic
metres of wood for packaging and hence the depletion of forest resources. These would mainly be the jungle wood
including mango, rubber woods and pine and other hard woods. Medium density
woods are more prominent for exports. The wood is converted into boxes and
crates, plywood and pallets. Essentially, they offer excellent load bearing
properties and plywood boxes are very common for tea/coffee packaging and used
plywood boxes for storage and transportation of horti-agro products.
Some developing and third world countries still use wooden
boxes and crates for fruits and vegetable packaging. The challenge is how best
and how much of the wood could be reduced and a review should be interesting.
This review could analyse styles of wooden cases, wooden cases for large and
medium-heavy engineering and related products, wooden crates-sheathed and
wooden pallets.
- Redesigning of wooden cases considering, end panel battens
from four to three, reduction in the number of girth battens, reducing plank
thickness and shift to corrugated board packaging media should reduce wood
consumption.
- A complete shift from wood boxes and crates to alternate
packaging for agri-horticultural produce also save large quantum of forest
resources.
- Base wood or pallet mounted engineering products use
considerable quantities of wood for side and end panels and top. Since the products are self-held on a firm
base- the side and end panels could be sheathed create structure and the
sheathing could be from reused plastics sheets, hard boards, or jute
boards. These sheathing media are
available in larger sizes unlike wooden planks and hence require less nailing
besides being more microbial resistant and demand lower replenishment cost, so
also less heavy and hence lower tare weight with reduced freight cost wherever
the consignments are moved on weight basis.
In essence wherever in the case and sheathed case construction large volume of wood is used, the above
alternate media could be highly cost effective, save forest resources with
other attendant advantages
As for the recycled plastics either HDPE or PP based
recyclable waste materials could be used and sheets produced through extrusion
process in standard width and thickness.
This would not only help to identify reuse of waste plastics but also
save considerable quantum of natural wood and plywood.
Jute boards are relatively unknown. However, technologies
are developed to convert jute fibre and fabric into sturdy hard boards which
could easily replace wood and plywood.
The web of fabric is unwound and passed through a coating system wherein
the fabric is coated by a spraying or dip process followed by drying resulting
in jute board. The sheets could be cut to length as desired. Possibly this
newer material is not deployed effectively.
- Large number of IBCs (rigid) are in use for storage and
transportation of a variety of chemical and other industrial products. Most of these are reuse and returnable
containers. Here again the metal used
for side and end panels as well as top could be replaced by recycled plastic or
jute board sheets.
- Yet another major area where the forest resources could be
saved are the pallets- used both for in-house storage and for transport of
goods. Whereas a variety of sizes of
pallets are used (though standard sizes are recommended), the two common
styles/designs are (i) Reversible (Non-expendable) and Non-reversible
(expendable) ones. The former has deck
boards on either sides of the strut (load bearing members) and the latter only
on one side on which the loads are stacked. High percentage of pallets in vogue
are constructed from wood (medium density and higher cost). The plank thicknesses used for the deck
board vary from 7/8” to 2”. Prima facie
the following should help:
- In respect of pallets for in-house storage-standardise on
single deck pallet.
- Replace the wood-planks for deck boards by recycled plastic
sheets or jute boards.
- Replace wooden pallets by plastic pallets made from waste
plastics.
- For short term life and single trip consignment consider
CFB/Honey comb board pallets.
The added advantage of the alternate media would include
less replenishment cost, better resistance to microbial attack, nil or less
treatments, lower weight etc. Whereas the details in the foregoing were mainly
related to packaging sector, such as of these alternate media could also find
in the fabrication and construction sector with excellent contribution to save
natural wood resources. In essence, where there are other means of generating
packaging media it is high time prevent destruction of nature wood resource.
Conservation should aim at preserving and renewing when possible human and
natural resources.
Thinking green means being aware of the inter connection
with the world and reflecting on the unintended damage caused to the nature in
the daily course. Thinking green leads
to acting green-taking corrective action to make environmental responsibility a
reality. A cleaner world is indeed a
healthier world.
*P.V.Narayanan was Chairman of SIES School of Packaging in
India. Unfortunately he passed away in June, before this article was published.
Special Article
Follow the RED Recycled Road
By Nerida Kelton*
 When you think of outdoor furniture, roads,
bollards, fences, patio decking and even footbridges you might not realise that
a growing number of these items are made incorporating ‘soft plastics’ as a way
to recycle flexible packaging and materials that have no home at this moment in
the current kerbside recycling systems in Australia.
Of the nearly 1.1 million tonnes of plastic
packaging placed onto the market in 2017–18, approximately 352 000 tonnes (33%)
were soft plastics. However, only 29,000 tonnes or 8% of the soft plastic
materials was recycled, with around 28,000 tonnes being recycled from
Commercial & Industrial (C&I) sources and only 1,000 tonnes from
consumers.
This low recycling figure for soft plastic
has highlighted the need for industry and government to give added focus to
develop a strong national consumer collection program for soft plastics,
combined with investment in additional reprocessing facilities, and innovation
to include recycled content in flexible materials. Changes to procurement
strategies are key to stimulate further investment in soft plastic recycling
and reprocessing and to ensure that soft plastics are seen as a valuable
resource that can be recycled, rather than disposed of as waste.
So what does the term Soft Plastics really
mean?
Soft Plastics are traditionally Polyolefins
which is a collective description for plastics types that include (PE)
Polyethylene including HDPE (High Density Polyethylene), LDPE (Low Density
Polyethylene), LLDPE (Linear Low-Density Polyethylene), PP (Polypropylene) and
(BOPP) biaxially-oriented polypropylene. The polyolefins are the most
acceptable materials for current soft plastics recycling and reprocessing
programs.
There are other potential materials used in
soft plastics including: (PET) polyethylene terephthalate, PVC) polyvinyl
chloride (PVC), (PS) polystyrene, (EVOH) ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer,
(PLA) polylactic acid (PLA), bioplastics, aluminium, nylon and paper. These materials
reduce the value of polyolefins and, in some cases are incompatible with the
majority of reprocessing systems.
The composition of soft plastic packaging
can be broken down into two groups - Mono-layer and Multi-layer. Mono-layer
packaging refers to the use of one polymer in the development of the material
and quite often the material is PE. Multi-layer packaging is composed of two or
more materials bonded together through co-extrusion or lamination. The use of
different materials types together provides a package with unique barrier and
mechanical properties.
So are Soft Plastics recyclable in
Australia?
Currently most Australian kerbside
collection of recyclable packaging does not accept soft plastics. This
restriction is required as the conventional Material Recovery Facilities (MRF)
does not allow for the handling of film and flexible plastics as it gets caught
in machinery and causes failures or damage.
This restriction has also meant that many
consumers are simply not aware that Australia does have recycling and
reprocessing facilities available for the recovery of post-consumer soft
plastic packaging. In fact, Australia has a number of companies actively and
passionately working hard to create new innovative solutions that will
ultimately minimise the amount of soft plastics that head to landfill or end up
in the oceans and the environment. Companies including RED Group, Replas, Close
the Loop, Plastic Forests, Newtecpoly and others.
So how are Household Soft Plastics
Collected in Australia?
The RED Group is a sustainability and
resource recovery organisation that developed and implemented the REDcycle
Program in 2011. REDcycle is an innovative, recovery model for post-consumer,
soft plastic packaging. The program started with 100 Melbourne supermarkets and
today has 1830 retail drop off points located primarily in Coles and Woolworths
supermarkets across Australia. At this level of stores and locations provided
for consumer drop off of soft plastic packaging, the REDcycle program is
classified as ‘Widely Accepted’ recyclability with more than 80% of the
population having access to the collection bins.
The REDcycle program is a true product
stewardship model where manufacturers, retailers and households share the
responsibility to create a sustainable future for as many soft plastics as
possible. The cost of collecting and processing the material is covered by many
of Australia’s best-known brand owners and retailers. Together Coles,
Woolworths and brand owners enable the REDcycle national program to make it
easy for the consumers to actively participate in the collection and recycling
of household soft plastics in Australia.
So what types of Soft Plastics are accepted
through the REDcycle program?
In the simplest of terms, the REDcycle
program accepts clean, dry, uncontaminated flexible packaging materials that
meet the REDcycle material thresholds and have been approved through the
Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) program. Packaging such as bread bags, pasta
and rice bags, old shopping bags, biscuit and ice cream wrappers, confectionery
and frozen food packaging, plastic bags, cereal box liners, fresh produce bags
and Australia Post plastic satchels are all accepted via REDcycle.
The REDcycle program is recognised through
Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) and the Australasian
Recycling Label (ARL) program and have established ‘Return to Store’, ‘Store
Drop Off’ or REDcycle logos on-pack for the consumers. All Brand owners must
become a REDcycle partner to be able to use these symbols on-pack and are also
required to join APCO. The ‘Return to Store’, ‘Store Drop Off’ or REDcycle
logos on-pack communicate to consumers that they can return the packaging to
collection points within major retailers across Australia.
Partners within the REDcycle program have
access to the Packaging Recyclability Evaluation Portal (PREP) to assess the
recyclability of their packaging within Australian recovery systems. Packaging
and artwork must also be approved through the ARL program and be able to meet
the REDcycle recycling requirements to include the logo on-pack.
How do I know what Soft Plastics can and
cannot be returned in-store?
Keep an eye out for the ‘Return to Store’,
‘Store Drop Off’ or REDcycle logos that are increasingly being included on
packaging as a part of the wider Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) program. If
the packaging does not have one of these logos on-pack then it is either not a
part of the program, or the materials have not been approved as recyclable
under the REDcycle program. These logos are a true indicator of whether the
soft plastics can be returned to the store for collection and recycling via the
REDcycle program.
Consumers are encouraged to set up a soft
plastics bin at home for clean and dry packaging and then return the plastics
back to the retail stores that are participating in the REDcycle program.
Usually the REDcycle collection bins are
located at the front of stores near the checkout and maybe something that you
have never noticed before. If you are unable to locate the REDcycle bin, please
ask one of the staff.
There are now 66 partners in the REDcycle
program that includes brands, packaging suppliers and retailers. The REDcycle
program has recovered over 950 million pieces of soft plastic returned by customers
since 2012. The REDcycle program successfully recovers approximately one
million pieces of soft plastics per day and has diverted enough soft plastics
to circle Australia three times.
The RED Group website www.redcycle.net.au
offers detailed information on what soft plastics are accepted through the
REDcycle program and provides a list of all collection points across the
country for the consumers.
So what happens to the Household Soft
Plastics after it is collected from the retailers?
The RED Group collect, sort the recovered
soft plastic film packaging and then send it on to their local partners:
- Replas is Australia’s leading mixed
recycled plastic manufacturer which aims to provide a solution for plastic
waste by delivering quality cost-effective sustainable products. Replas blends
this mixed plastic with rigid plastics to form a material viable for use in the
manufacturer of new recycled plastic products. The company produces a range of
over 200 recycled plastic products which includes bollards, signage, outdoor
furniture, fitness equipment and Enduroplank™/decking as well as products
suitable for traffic control, parks and gardens and the utilities industry.
Replas aims to turn waste into robust recycled plastic products; all the while
offering sustainable alternatives to the unnecessary use of virgin materials.
www.replas.com.au
- Close the Loop utilise REDcycle material as
a component of high-performance recycled asphalt additive for road
infrastructure known as Tonerplas. Tonerplas™ is Close the Loop’s
ground-breaking asphalt additive, which enhances the characteristics of
asphalt. It produces a high-quality road surface, that last 65% longer than
traditional asphalt and contributes a major solution to the problematic waste
issue of soft plastics. The formulated product is melted into the asphalt mix.
A key partner Downer Group then adds recycled glass and recycled asphalt
pavement to the mix to create a superior lower carbon product with that results
in higher quality roads. Every 1 km of road paved with plastic and glass
modified asphalt uses approximately: 530,000 plastic shopping bag equivalents,
168,000 glass bottle equivalents, Waste toner from 12,500 printer cartridges
and 20% reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). www.closetheloop.com.au
- Plastic Forests uses REDcycle material as a
component of products such as mini wheel stops and air conditioner mounting
blocks. Plastic Forests became the first company globally to commercialise a
unique dry-cleaning process to recycle contaminated soft plastics, without
using water. Used soft plastics are recycled into resin for use by the plastics
industry or may be repurposed by Plastic Forests into a range of sustainable
GreenMongrel products including dunnage, underground cable cover, garden edging
and root barrier and the brand new ‘GardenBed-Heart. www.plasticforests.com.au
So how can you get involved in REDcycle?
Everyone has a role to play in both
collection of household soft plastics and the purchasing of end-products made
from the recycled content. There are several ways that you can get involved in
the program both at work and at home.
If you would like to contribute personally
then start by making a ‘soft plastics bin’ at home and at work and arrange to
return the packaging to your local collection point on a regular basis.
Encourage others to do the same within your workplace and family.
Keep an eye out for products and brands
that are advertising the ‘Return to Store’ and REDcycle logos on pack and next
time you are purchasing products consider which brands are committed to the
2025 National Packaging Targets and National Waste Strategy.
The next time you need a deck, fence,
garden bed or even a patio consider sustainable solutions that are made from
soft plastics. Not only are these solutions designed to be low maintenance they
are durable and capable of withstanding the harsh Australian climate.
Reach out to your local councils and
encourage them to support keeping soft plastics out of landfill by purchasing
roads containing Tonerplas and Replas products or reviewing their procurement
of outdoor furniture for recreational areas. Imagine if every school, park,
recreational facility, government department and office building in Australia
committed to purchasing products made from recycled content.
We all have a role to play and I look
forward to seeing procurement strategies that actively encourage the purchase
of recycled content and more companies taking the lead in
purchasing these products to ensure we create a more sustainable world.
*Nerida Kelton MAIP is Executive Director
of AIP (Australian Institute of Packaging) and ANZ Board Member of WPO.
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