Page 38 - Plastics News February 2023
P. 38
FEATURE
How to tackle sustainable packaging practices
n estimated 36 percent of all plas- determine the current situation. From percent.
Atic produced in a year is used for there, it is important for brands to set Overall, through innovative packaging
packaging resulting in an increased fo- holistic goals for plastic reduction and design and focus on the elimination
cus on the durability and lightweight- track progress towards those goals. of unnecessary packaging, FHCS has
ing of the material. Packaging still Freudenberg Home and Cleaning So- been able to reduce packaging weight
creates high amounts of plastic waste lutions (FHCS), for example, has set by 10 percent in just two years, al-
each year – affirming the urgency for multiple targets related to packaging ready meeting its 2025 target.
companies to build circular processes including design for recyclability, elim-
in packaging and invest in protecting inating unnecessary packaging and an Materials matter
our future. overall reduction in plastic packaging Once unnecessary packaging has been
The United States drives a significant used. eliminated, you can take a closer look
portion of the world’s plastic waste, Partnerships with organisations that at the material you are using. Is the
accounting for more than 40 million work to accelerate the transition to plastic you are using for packaging re-
tons of this waste annually. More con- a circular economy can help inspire cyclable? Are there recycled or com-
cerning is that little of that packaging brands and keep them on track. The postable alternatives that can better
gets recycled, with the recycling rate Ellen MacArthur Foundation, for ex- serve this packaging? Will these alter-
sitting at a mere five to six percent. ample, is committed to helping cor- natives have a larger carbon footprint
Most of this waste ends up in landfills porations eliminate all unnecessary than the plastic itself?
or dumpsites, or in too many instanc- packaging and strive towards a circu- Today's biggest challenge facing the
es, scattered across the landscape and lar economy in all aspects of business. industry is a shortage of recycled raw
in our water systems. Is that packaging necessary? materials. There are two driving fac-
California recently signed a new law A good starting point is to scrutinise tors for this shortage: lack of con-
into effect which seeks to reduce and reduce the amount of packaging sumer education on how to recycle
plastic usage by 25 percent while si- required for a product and its trans- and limited economic value of recy-
multaneously mandating 65 percent portation. Brands often make the mis- cled material at Material Recovery
of all single-use plastic packaging be take of assuming bigger is better when Facilities (MRF). MRFs are working
recycled – all within a ten-year time it comes to packaging, whether it is to on tight budgets to sort through large
frame. This paves the way to a larger protect the product in transport or amounts of materials that are not re-
goal: that packaging used within the simply stand out on a shelf. Consum- cyclable. As a result, it is difficult for
state be recyclable or compostable by ers are paying attention because 55 sustainable brands to secure recycled
2032. raw materials as alternatives for pack-
percent of U.S. consumers are con- aging.
In the wake of this legislation growing cerned about the environmental im-
in popularity across other states, and pact of product packaging. Corporations can help facilitate recy-
the continued build of plastic packag- There is a minimalist movement in cling through the emphasised use of
ing in landfills and water systems, the packaging design to greatly reduce mono-materials, which consist of a
time is now for corporations eve- excess plastic waste. Brands are more single material and are therefore eas-
rywhere to get serious about plastic and more focused on using only the ily recycled. FHCS has targeted that
waste reduction and optimised recy- minimum of material for packag- 100% of its plastic packaging mate-
cling efforts, coming full circle with a ing, displays, and fillers. Through an rial be “designed for recyclability”,
circular economy for packaging. or mono-material, by 2025 and has
analysis of materials used and external nearly reached that goal already.
Set a goal packaging design, FHCS, for example,
has switched transportation shrink Reflect on internal processes
Corporations should conduct an
internal audit of their packaging, wrap to thinner, recycled material The same sustainable practices used
whether it is for B2B or B2C use, to which enabled the brand to reduce its in consumer product packaging
packaging thickness by as much as 75 should also be applied to a corpora-
40 PLASTICS NEWS February 2023