Pioneering Conceptual Sustainability Solutions for Packaging Machines

Consumer demand for sustainably produced goods is growing, and many industrial enterprises are recognizing this requirement and developing new products in response.

This is true for producers of packaging equipment that work closely with their clients, including those in the food business, to develop innovative solutions.

“Many companies in the consumer goods industry, and especially in the food industry, started to set their sustainability goals years ago. Globally, the topic is gaining importance in all regions of the world,” Richard Clemens, Managing Director of the VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association, said at the VDMA press conference on the occasion of the interpack 2023 trade fair in Düsseldorf.

The expert cited reports from the market research firm Euromonitor International from 2022 that showed consumers were increasingly taking sustainability into account when making purchases. This is especially accurate when it comes to packaging.

According to Euromonitor, plastics in particular are causing a rise in the awareness of sustainable packaging. Consumers are also aware of how crucial plastics are to food safety at this time.

“The promotion of sustainable packaging is anchored in the circular economy, with a special focus on reducing plastic waste. Because 64% of consumer packaging is made of plastic (2021), this is an important goal,” Clemens added.

‘More Opportunities than Risks’

Europe is a world innovator in waste management and recycling, as well as a leader in plastics legislation. With the adoption of the circular economy package in 2018, the EU supported this. The European strategy for plastics in the circular economy, which goes by the slogan “reduce, reuse, recycle,” is a key component of this package. The revised EU Packaging Regulation draft, which is set to take effect in May 2024, was published in November 2022. The Packaging Regulation's mandate that all packaging be recyclable by 2030 is one of its main goals.

“In principle, we support the objectives of the new EU Packaging Regulation and welcome that it is changed from a directive to a regulation. This is because it will be valid for all EU Member States immediately after having come into force. It will thus replace the current 'patchwork' of specific packaging regulations in the EU member states,” said Clemens.

The new regulation calls for a decrease in the consumption of primary raw materials and an increase in the proportion of recycled plastics in packaging materials. It also holds for food packaging. Food packaging will contain 10% recycled material starting in 2030 and 50% recycled material starting in 2040.

“We are very critical of the mandatory use of recycled materials in food packaging because this packaging has a protective function for human health. Issues such as possible contamination, food safety, and hygiene must be taken into account here. Therefore, packaging with recycled content must comply with the EU regulations for food contact materials,” Clemens emphasized.

The selective limitations on certain packaging types and formats, such as those for fruit and vegetables and disposable packaging used in the hotel-restaurant-catering sector (HORECA), are another issue that the managing director of the trade group perceives.

“These bans have an impact on all links in the value chain, including mechanical engineering. Business models established over decades would face extinction due to blanket bans. From our point of view, this needs to be improved,” Clemens demanded.

In March 2023, the VDMA provided the European Commission (EC) with these and other arguments in the form of a VDMA Position Paper. The criticism is mostly directed at errors in specific provisions of the law; among other things, there are some instances where the overall eco-balance is not taken into account.

New Approaches to Packaging and Production

Businesses in the food processing and packaging machinery sectors provide the technologies needed for the necessary transformation processes that lead to more environmentally friendly consumption. This makes a big contribution to climate protection. In process technology, the major goals are to maximize the use of raw materials and cut back on the energy and water used in food production.

The ‘design-for-recycling’ packaging principles used by packaging machine makers assist their clients in putting their sustainability objectives into practice. The use of fewer materials and more mono-materials rather than multi-layer composites is a key area of concentration in this case.

If the intended items can be wrapped in a way that ensures their safety and shelf life, fiber-based packaging materials are likewise becoming more and more popular. There is research being done on bio-based packaging options.

“The companies in the packaging machinery sector have succeeded in recent years in enabling the implementation of sustainable packaging concepts through appropriate technical adaptations and newly developed machine solutions,” Clemens summed up.