As part of the Global Sustainability Study 2022, conducted by Simon-Kucher & Partners, the German population was surveyed on the topic of sustainability. More precisely: on the influence of sustainability on their purchasing decisions.

According to the survey, 58 percent of respondents select services and products according to this criterion. This attitude will continue to prevail in the coming years, according to a forecast from the survey results.

For the younger generation, production conditions and environmental compatibility are already basic requirements when selecting goods. This does not only concern the goods themselves. When selecting a food product, attention is paid to its origin, its purity and its genuineness.

But that's by no means everything: When buying, packaging recycling is also important. The two go hand in hand - no one wants to buy regional, fairly produced products and at the same time produce vast amounts of packaging waste.

When we talk about sustainability, we always mean both content and shell.

Packaging as a purchasing argument

First, a look at the companies: On the producers and their responsibility, on the packaging industry and its possibilities. Why should a food producer invest in expensive packaging recycling?

Isn't it better that he invests the money in even greener food technology? - If you had asked this question 40 years ago to a business expert, the answer would have been: "Optimize the product, packaging is a secondary matter."

Today, the answer is different. Economy and ecology have grown together. Eco sells - all along the line. You know yourself how critically the topic of packaging waste is discussed. In Germany, 78 kg of packaging was produced for every inhabitant in 2020!

Microplastics threaten to throw the marine ecosystem out of balance. You know that, and so does everyone else. And that's why packaging recycling has become a purchasing criterion for you and many others.

Companies are therefore well advised to invest in "decent" packaging. Because the packaging is the first thing you see of the product.

It sets an example - for waste and irresponsibility; or for conscience and intelligent, contemporary solutions. Packaging sells not only through its design.

They sell by their make, by their composition. So next, let's take a look at what's possible in packaging recycling today.

Good and bad packaging

NABU had the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (ifeu) examine commercially available packaging materials for their environmental compatibility.

The worst performers in the study were metals and disposable glass - even when they can be recycled as packaging. Plastic, on the other hand, is not always bad, because recyclable polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) score well in the eco-balance.

Metals and disposable glass scored worst in a study of the environmental impact of packaging materials.

So it's not at all easy to make a quick judgment about the sustainability of a package. Let's take as an example those packages that look environmentally friendly at first glance.

The Munich Chamber of Industry and Commerce lists products whose wrappings make packaging recycling difficult because of multi-material compounds. Bagged soups in a cardboard box - great, you think, the manufacturer has deliberately dispensed with plastic.

But as we all know, the devil is in the details: The bags in the carton are made of a combination of paper, plastic and aluminum. Clearly, the manufacturer wants to protect its food in this way; but paper and plastic are lost in packaging recycling and have to be incinerated.

In this case, it would be better to have a clear division into paper box as outer cover and alumina-coated bags made of PE or PP for the soups. This gives you the opportunity to separate plastic and paper for packaging recycling cleanly and easily.

The problem with printing inks

When it comes to packaging recycling, there are sometimes problems that you wouldn't even think of as a layperson. For example, the large plastic bottles of liquid detergent.

There are usually large, printed labels on them. These partially detach from the bottle in the sorting plant or do not detach at all. The printing inks discolor the plastic substrate during melting. This can then only be used for dark recyclates during packaging recycling.

As a solution to the problem of unwanted coloring, the experts propose detergents in stand-up pouches with removable label bands. Here, as with all the other suggestions, it is up to the packaging industry to provide solutions that are practical for everyday use.

The band on the detergent must be tight and secure. But at the latest in the sorting plant, it should be easy to remove from the bag. The packaging experts are working on this. Every well-implemented idea is a step toward a waste-free future.

Environmentally friendly materials for packaging

You've understood by now: Packaging recycling depends on many factors. Nevertheless, there are materials that are more environmentally friendly, more resource-efficient and more sustainable than others. Let's take a look at them:

• Wood
• Plant starch
• Grass
• Hemp
• Cellophane
• rPET
  
  

1. Wood (as a basic material for paper and cardboard): Wood is important in the packaging industry primarily as a basic material for paper, cardboard and corrugated board. It is a renewable, CO2-neutral raw material that can be easily recycled. Important: The origin from sustainably managed forests.
2. Plant starch: The source of plant starch is starch-containing plants such as corn or potatoes. This starch is used to produce plastics that are indistinguishable from petroleum-based materials. Plastics made from plant starch are compostable.
3. Grass: Grass is a Survival and growth artists. You know that at least since
   
   the past super-dry summers, when your lawn in front of the house looked like the Gobi desert - and yet in the spring the fresh green blades came to light. Grass is a regional, fast growing raw materialfrom which the packaging industry Paper and Cardboard is produced. An ideal base material for packaging recycling.
4. Hemp: Hemp is an amazing plant in many ways. You hardly need any fertilizer for it, you can watch it grow and you can use it almost completely. For example, the packaging industry makes thermal fleeces from hemp. These take advantage of hemp's insulating, moisture-regulating properties. Hemp products are compostable.
5. Cellophane: Have you ever held a bag made of cellophane in your hand? - Clear case of plastic, you would say. Wrong! Cellophane is based on cellulose, it is a "renewable" plastic. Its breathability makes it suitable for storing food. That's why it's also good for making cling film.
6. rPET: This is recycled polyethylene terephthalate. This plastic from the polyester group is obtained from melted PET waste (beverage bottles, but also any other PET packaging). Packaging recycling chops the PET containers and subjects them to thorough cleaning. It then melts down the PET flakes and processes them into a granulate.

 

This raw material is amazingly versatile. It can be used to make plastic packaging, food and beverage containers, components for electrical appliances, bags, clothing and much more.

 

Outside wow, inside wow

You want to take responsibility - you buy products from the region. You check the manufacturing conditions, the ingredients. But you don't just buy the product, you also buy the packaging it comes in. That's why you also have justified demands on the packaging: it should fit the product, it should be appealing and practical - and it should not leave behind any waste.

If you had to choose between two products, one with top marks for packaging recycling, the other so-so, you'd go for the former. Recyclability has become a selling point - just as important as manufacturing processes, product content and packaging design.

These sustainable purchasing criteria have long since reached the packaging industry. Their research departments are tirelessly searching for ever more resource-efficient options.

Good packaging recycling: a matter for everyone

Waste separation is a science in itself. As a conscientious person, you have certainly stood in front of the yellow bag many times: To put in or not to put in, that is the question.

Since 2019, the Packaging Act has stipulated the upcycling of packaging waste. The target for this year (2022) is a recycling rate of 63 percent. As we have already mentioned, some material mixtures are problematic in packaging recycling.

As a consumer, it's best to steer clear of them if you want to increase recycling rates. For example, a yogurt composed of a plastic container, a cardboard sleeve and an aluminum lid.

Hand on heart: most people throw something like this completely into the yellow bag. In the automatic sorting system, the cup travels through the channel for aluminum. Plastic and cardboard are lost for recycling.

Equally difficult: dark packaging, PET bottles with shrink films, large labels and coatings, water-insoluble adhesives. Tetra Paks with their plastic pouring spouts and plastic-coated aluminum are also difficult to separate and usually end up in the incinerator.

Packaging recycling is a matter for everyone. It can't be any other way, because everyone benefits. For you as a buyer, separating recyclable packaging material must not become a science.

Experience teaches that if it is too tedious to separate materials from each other, or if it is too complicated to know what to dispose of where, then the packaging will most likely end up in the wrong trash.

Your participation is important for packaging recycling, there's no question about that. But it's the packaging industry's job to accommodate customers in the process.

We are interested in your attitude towards sustainability! Feel free to contact us to talk about it!

Conclusion

Good packaging recycling has become a purchasing argument. This message has reached the packaging industry. Modern packaging fits the product, protects it optimally, and draws attention to its qualities with an appealing design.

Good packaging has long had to meet these requirements. What's new is that the packaging should flow sustainably into the product cycle. Only then will it help to reduce the mountains of waste on our planet.

Packaging recycling depends on your cooperation. But separating recyclables from residual waste must not become a science. That's why the packaging industry is developing materials that separate well.

In addition, easy-to-understand instructions for separating waste are listed on the packaging. Producers, packaging designers and consumers are all pulling in the same direction: together we are keeping the recycling cycles flowing.