A common question among food and cosmetic producers is whether recyclability assessment on flexible packaging is feasible or not. Apart from Legislation EU 1616/2020 on recycled plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foods and Directive EU 62/1994 which mainly focuses on some essential requirements on packaging volume and weight, there is no specific, European regulation, as of now, regarding recyclability targets for the years to come. However, things will soon change as a regulation on packaging and packaging waste (so called PPWR) is currently on its way.
The New PPWR Regulation
EU proposal for a Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) was first issued on November of 2022 and its main purpose is to replace the current Directive EU 62/1994 and to implement substantial changes to the legislative framework for packaging waste, while also reducing the need to use natural resources and promoting closed-loop recycling.
The most important parts of this regulation, which is still under consultation, include:
- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): The regulation intends to enhance EPR obligations by unifying fundamental concepts of terms like ‘manufacturer,’ ‘importer,’ ‘producer,’ ‘supplier,’ etc.
- Packaging design: Further restrictions regarding the percentage of heavy metals in packaging and certain packaging formats, increase of packaging recyclability and recycled content, packaging minimization and required documentation.
- Compostable packaging: Implementing material recycling by compost without affecting the recyclability of other waste streams.
- Environmental labelling: Introduction of labelling requirements for packaging.
Read more details about the PPWR statements here.
How To Comply With The PPWR Regulation For Your Flexible Packaging
A question we usually get from the market is “What could we do today to design our flexible packaging for the circular economy and be ready for the upcoming years?”. Below, we answer this in 6 simple steps:
- Design a material which is more than 80 % recyclable and gets a C grade (Annex 1 of PPWR under consultation).
- As a general rule, note that the up-to-now guidelines (see points 4 and 5 below) converge to laminates consisting of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) or their combination.
- Barrier properties for oxygen, humidity or light can be obtained through metallization, EVOH layers or AlOx/SiOx coatings all at specific percentages.
- The above can be performed by consulting existing online tools and technical guidelines issued by European organizations like Recyclass, Cyclos, Interseroh.
- If the material is exported in the UK, French or Dutch market, follow the guidelines issued by national organizations OPRL, Citeo and KIDV
- After the material is produced, it can be sent to one of the aforementioned organizations and assessed according to recyclability guidelines set by each one of them.
Important Notes From Pack-Lab
Under no circumstances should a food producer sacrifice product shelf life to obtain a recyclable packaging material.
If this is done, consequences for the environment will be adverse, as food waste will substantially increase, requirement of additional transportation of new food products will be created and the CO2 emissions throughout the process will overall rise.
Furthermore, it is very common to face production challenges when a flexible material changes to a recyclable one. It is strongly recommended to consult both the technical experts of the material converter AND the packaging machine manufacturer to update any equipment on the production line, according to the new material’s specification. Any change on this field is a team-work and not a one-man-show according to our experience.
Is Recyclability Assessment Feasible?
By following the above consideration, recyclability assessment is in fact feasible at the moment and with the proper step-by-step designing and development, it can save a lot of time and waste from future challenges in the production process.
For further information about sustainability and flexible packaging, contact our team of experts and we will help you find the right solutions for your packaging products.
