Plastic revolutionised the packaging sector by extending the shelf life of fresh food, enabling essential health applications, contributing to lighter and safer shipping, and reducing emissions.
Its success as a packaging material comes from a combination of flexibility, strength, lightness, stability, impermeability and ease of sterilisation, among others. And as technology drives advances in innovation, plastic packaging is becoming more circular.
Plastic packaging is essential in the food supply chain as it reduces food waste and ensures product quality. From protecting fresh produce to preserving its taste and nutritional value, its versatility is unmatched. Lightweight bottles for drinks, trays for fruit, vegetables, and meats, and tubs for dairy spreads and ice creams are all good examples.
In parallel, the rise of reusable containers signals a dynamic industry responding to sustainability demands. In many instances, reusing and refilling product applications are effective ways of saving resources and improving the environmental footprint of our lifestyles.
How packaging prevents food wasteFood contact packaging See how recycled yoghurt pots have been developedPlastic packaging protects against contaminants such as germs along the supply chain from manufacture, distribution, and storage to use in a healthcare environment. Tamper-proof closures provide additional protection and security and maintain the safety and integrity of sterile goods.
Plastics and healthcarePeople want packaging with clear identification and labelling, which is easy to open and use. Plastic packaging is evolving to solve that issue. Soon, innovations like printable RFID (radio-frequency identification) chips on packaging will be able to provide important information on the quality and status of products or how to recycle.
Another approach called HolyGrail uses digital watermarks on packaging that contain details specific to that product. Imperceptible to the naked eye, the watermarks are picked up by a high-resolution camera during the sorting process. Based on the packaging attributes, e.g. food or non-food, or material used, it is sorted more effectively, and higher recycling rates can be achieved.
Explore HolyGrail 2.0Learn about recycled packaging solutionsSpecially designed plastic packaging for transport plays a vital role in helping to move products through the supply chain efficiently. From protective wrappings to reusable boxes, packaging helps to secure the goods during transportation so they arrive safely and undamaged.
The increasing adoption of light weighting – where the amount of materials used in packaging is reduced – means lighter loads and fewer lorries are needed to ship the same number of products. This approach helps reduce fuel for transportation, decrease emissions, and lower shipping costs.
While many plastics are collected, sorted and recycled, there is still much to do in this area. A holistic approach is still needed to stop plastics pollution. One built on sustainable plastic production and consumption with waste prevention, reuse, reduction and repair, and the development of a circular economy.
The European Commission’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) proposal could serve as a catalyst to transform the plastics packaging industry. Steps such as ensuring the recyclability of all plastics packaging, increasing the uptake of circular plastics and kick-starting reuse in many packaging applications will be essential.
Our response to the PPWRRecycled content targets for contact-sensitive plastic packaging will require a significant contribution from chemical recycling, which is a key building block of the circular economy.
VIRGINIA JANSSENS – Managing Director of Plastics Europe
The Global Plastics Treaty has highlighted the urgency for a circular plastics economy – one that incorporates a whole life cycle approach. From initial design to distribution, a circular economy of plastics can be defined as a system in which all plastic applications are reused, recycled, and responsibly managed during and after use, lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
Our position on the GPTPlastics are a product of human innovation as they are lightweight, durable, decay resistant, inexpensive and moldable. Unfortunately, this innovation comes at a price.
Plastic packaging is extremely wasteful and impacts earth’s ecosystems, on which we depend. Due to poor product design and lack of political infrastructure, the majority of plastic waste is sent to landfills or disposed of into the environment. 9.2 billion tons of plastic have been produced, of which only 9 percent has been recycled properly.
Because plastic isn’t biodegradable, every piece of plastic ever made is still on this planet. Whether it breaks down into microplastics or not, plastic that is either dumped or washed into the oceans are consumed by marine animals.
Corporations are supplying the rapidly growing populations with single-use plastic. The graph to the right shows the projected four-fold increase in plastic production tonnage by 2050.
Plastic packaging is one of the greatest generators to plastic pollution, for its shortest life-span. Here is a snapshot of plastic waste generation by sector, in 2015.