Page 42 - Packaging News May-June 2021

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FOOD PACKAGING www.packagingnews.com.au | May-June 2021
Driving forward recyclability and
What are the two most significant global challenges for the next century and beyond? John Shipley, business unit director, KM Packaging argues that minimising carbon emissions and reducing food waste are right up there. And flexible packaging has a huge role in enabling our governments to deliver on both.
FLEXIBLE packaging is lightweight, resource-efficient, and plays an essential role throughout the sup- ply chain, ensuring products are well-protected, presented, and preserved.
Suppose you were to substitute flexible packaging with any alter- native material, such as glass, metal, paper, or board. In that case, you will invariably increase the resources required (energy and water) and increase CO2 emissions, including the impact during transportation of
their greater weight and volume. Sadly, at this time, most flexible packaging is not collected and recycled at the kerbside and there is only limited and restricted non-kerbside collection, resulting in significant residual “value” literally going to waste in
landfill.
This issue presents both challenges
and opportunities for our industry as we all work towards the 2025 National Packaging Targets of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), of which KM Packaging is a proud member.
FOUR KEY AREAS
As I see it, four key areas require the most attention to drive forward recy- clability and sustainability of flexi- ble packaging.
First is the need for more informed design choices, including material, coatings, size, shape, inks, and adhe- sives. The second is to increase the
scope and range of materials that are collected. Third, we need to see a more significant investment in the sorting and recycling infrastructure and technology. Finally, underpin- ning all of this should be an educa- tion program to overcome some of the myths around plastics and chal- lenge some of the greenwashing that is confusing consumers.
Regarding design, one solution is to simplify the structure used, for example, by moving from mixed polymer laminate structures to eas- ier-to-recycle mono plastics. This approach addresses multi-layered, multi-polymer packaging that is most difficult to recycle.
However, we must be careful – using less complex structures can result in reduced functionality and an increase in food waste. Rather, the
focus should be on optimising structures for better long- term recyclability and sustainability, with- out jeopardising
shelf life.
BOOSTING COLLECTION
Of course, to be able to recycle, material needs to be collected in the first place. Progress is being
made to increase the recovery of some flexible packaging and the REDcycle program, of which KM Packaging is also a member, is notable.
The scheme allows consumers to return some of their packaging to be recycled, using collection bins at par- ticipating retail stores. However, this scheme includes only polyolefins, such as PE and PP, or laminations with a minimum of 70 per cent PE or PP content.
Consumers need to use and under- stand the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) to self-sort their packag- ing, as well as negotiate the confusion that often surrounds other soft plas- tics, such as PVC, nylon and bioplas- tics. With a lack of kerbside collection and mainstream composting infra- structure, bioplastics run the risk of being either landfilled, or worse still, contaminating the recycling stream.
Polyolefins make up more than 80 per cent of post-consumer flexible packaging, so focusing attention here makes perfect sense, but we should not stop there.
PROGRESS ON PET
Although a relatively small part of overall flexibles by volume, heat-seal- able lidding film based PET falls into the harder-to-recycle category, and is currently only accepted through REDcycle where they account for less than 30 per cent of the overall weight of the film.
PET has some really important func- tional attributes, not present in poly- olefins. Its qualities include high heat resistance, high oxygen barrier, strength, and direct food contact safety at elevated (conventional oven) tem- peratures, which make it the ideal material choice for lidding frozen, chilled, and ambient ready-meals, and convenience product trays.
Additionally, PET can be recycled directly back into food packaging, a truly circular approach. This is already widely done with rigid containers, such as PET drink bottles, rPET and
In ready meal packaging, PET lidding films are an important
part of the sustainable story.