From Regulation to ESG: Recyclable, Sustainable Plastic Packaging Is Becoming the Industry’s Main Trend

Sustainable development is putting growing environmental pressure on plastic packaging, but plastic packaging will not be displaced by other materials because of its distinctive advantages. As technology advances, plastic packaging materials will be used in ways that cut carbon emissions and reduce environmental harm, raising their practical value.

The planet needs sustainable packaging solutions

Globally, statistics show that 42% of plastics are used for packaging, and most of that is single-use. As a result, plastic pollution creates long-term and lasting problems in ecosystems.

Only 10% of plastics are recycled, meaning 90% are incinerated, landfilled or discarded directly into nature. Plastics generally take 20–400 years or longer to decompose. The fragments or microplastics left behind remain in atmospheric circulation, passing through water, food, soil and many other areas. Sustainable material packaging can help break this negative cycle.

More countries are legislating to reduce single-use plastic packaging

In 2021, Australia announced its National Plastics Plan, which aims to ban single-use plastics by 2025. Beyond Australia, more countries and cities worldwide are taking action to ban single-use plastics. In the EU, the 2019 Single-Use Plastics Directive targets the 10 most common single-use plastic items found on European beaches, which account for 70% of all marine litter in the EU. In the United States, states such as California, Hawaii and New York have begun legislating to ban single-use plastic products including plastic bags, forks and food containers. In Asia, Indonesia and Thailand are among the first countries to call for measures banning single-use plastics.

Rather than waiting for government-driven legislative pressure, a Morgan Stanley research report says that from 2018 to 2019 alone, the number of US companies implementing a plastic strategy more than doubled year on year. This shows that under the future megatrend, companies are willing to give up relative profit to make changes toward environmental strategy and social responsibility goals; of course, the commercial benefits of sustainable packaging development may also be a major factor.

Plastic packaging alternatives are not flawless; sustainable use matters more

Data from Ranpak and Harris research shows that e-commerce customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany are willing to work with companies that use sustainable packaging. In fact, more than 70% of consumers in all these countries have such a preference, while more than 80% in the UK and France prefer sustainable packaging. Consumers’ fondness for sustainable packaging makes them more willing to see paper packaging rather than plastic protecting the items they buy.

However, one study estimates that the overall environmental cost of using plastic in the beverage industry is nearly four and a half times lower than replacing plastic with alternative materials such as aluminum, paper and glass. In other words, no alternative is perfect. The best approach with the least impact on beverage packaging is to consider the life cycle of plastic products — beverage packaging is brought to market in a sustainable way, and the packaging can be recycled and reused, resulting in the lowest overall environmental impact.

Influenced by sustainability, mono-material packaging is gaining attention

At present, multi-layer and laminated plastic packaging is widely used, but recycling it after use is very troublesome because films of different materials must be separated and then handled separately. Under pressure from ecological responsibility and local policies, major global brands have begun committing to mono-materials. In recent years, companies such as Borealis, Dow, ExxonMobil, Canada’s Nova Chemicals and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation have successively launched recyclable mono-material plastic films.

More countries and brand companies worldwide promoting the circular economy has become an important factor influencing the application of recyclable mono-material plastic packaging; this move aims to improve the efficiency of plastic recycling. The COVID-19 pandemic severely constrained global economic growth in 2020. But research earlier this year showed that flexible packaging consumption bucked the trend and grew in 2020, especially in Europe and North America.

Brand companies are paying more attention to the sustainability of their business models

Environment, Society and Governance, usually called ESG strategy, is listed as a key part of development for many companies because consumers and investors are increasingly eco-conscious.

By improving resource efficiency, companies can improve their scores and may gain more commercial value, including a stronger brand reputation, customer and employee loyalty, and access to capital.

With growing demand for environmental action and companies’ need to achieve both economic profit and sustainable development goals, it is safe to say that in the near future, developing greener, recyclable and sustainable plastic packaging materials will be the major trend in the packaging industry.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn), original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-378126.html