Bags, pouches and sacks come in a wide variety of sizes, designs and materials. They are indispensable in everyday life: for packaging food and non-food products, for waste disposal and in many other areas. The decisive factor is the material properties, which should match the intended use. We have become accustomed to the practical helpers - but what about their environmental friendliness?

Flexible pouch packaging - what is it?

According to the definition, pouch packaging is flexible packaging made of various materials that do not have a carrying device. Colloquially, these are referred to as bags. The variety of designs is enormous, a classification can be made according to various criteria:

• intended content
• Function
• Material properties
• Bag shape
• Closure
• Optics at the point of sale (PoS)

To consider their sustainability aspect, let's take a look at the materials used for manufacturing and their properties. Here, too, the range is enormous:

Foil bag:

• Polyester bags - temperature resistant and aroma tight
• Polyethylene bags - protect from water vapor and acid, weldable and sealable.
• Polypropylene bags - transparent, sealable, dimensionally stable.
• Cellophane bags (cellophane) - proven, biodegradable and recyclable
• Composite bag - paper and plastic layer, neither permeable to light nor oxygen, particularly aroma-tight

Paper bags:

• Kraft paper bags - durable, food safe, recyclable and compostable
• Soda paper bag (parchment substitute) - kraft paper made of sulfate pulp, suitable for fatty food products.

You are certainly familiar with most of the flexible pouch packaging mentioned as flat or bottom pouches: while Flat pouch has no bottom at all, but may have a side or bottom gusset to increase capacity, bottom pouches are stable when filled. Here, too, there are many details to consider, but these do not affect us in our examination of environmental compatibility.

The fact is: flexible pouch packaging is uncomplicated because it consists of little material. But that's exactly what matters.

You can find even more information about sustainable packaging in our blog! We use sustainable plastics for our pouch packaging, for example.

Increasingly critical consumer attitude - what does the industry offer?

The many small "plastic bags" we use in our daily lives are increasingly viewed critically. In view of the growing waste problem, this is also understandable. The only question is whether the introduction of new laws, such as the obligation to introduce reusable packaging for to-go food and beverages, is really expedient.

The goal should be a true circular economy. This would, in turn, place the onus on packaging manufacturers to offer recyclable items and to use recyclates (plastics that have already been disposed of once and used to manufacture new products) in their production.

However, some approaches look promising: Instead of the conventional material mix of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene (PE), which is difficult to reprocess, pouch packaging can also be produced from polyethylene or polypropylene (PP), for example. On the other hand, high-barrier films could also be recycled, provided the barrier is made of water-soluble polymer. These film layers ensure that the films can be used for packaging food. They reduce the permeability of UV rays and oxygen, so that foodstuffs have a longer shelf life and their flavors and appearance are protected.

The special feature of a water-soluble polymer barrier: After use, the film can be shredded and thoroughly washed. This dissolves the barrier layer, the polyethylene flakes float and the polyamide (PA) sinks to the bottom. The grades separated in this way can now be recycled.

Compostable plastic flexible pouch packaging - a dead end?

The issue of compostable plastics, as promised on some flexible pouch packaging, is increasingly becoming a point of contention. The current state of studies shows the contradictions: There is no guarantee that all plastics declared as home compostable will really decompose completely.

If you buy this supposedly environmentally friendly alternative and put it in the compost, plastic ends up in the soil - this was the conclusion reached by a scientific team from London's University College as part of a major study involving British consumers. Another result of the study: Many of the plastic packaging examined are either misleading or insufficiently labeled, so that they are ultimately disposed of incorrectly.

The results of the survey are clear - and not without reason plastic pollution is considered one of the most important challenges of our time: To date, only around 9 percent of plastics are recycled globally, 50 percent end up directly as waste in landfills, 22 percent end up uncontrolled in nature and 19 percent are incinerated. So-called bioplastics account for only about 1 percent of the total volume.

Yet the idea of compostable plastics sounds promising at first: plastics that they decompose into their natural components in the course of composting, leaving no visible or toxic residues. This could be the solution to the enormous problem, especially for small or heavily contaminated plastic waste, which usually cannot be recycled.

The study: two years, thousands of participants and important experiments

There are now plastics that can be classified as biodegradable - but only in special industrial plants. The focus of the British study, however, was on flexible pouch packaging, which, according to the manufacturer's information, should decompose quickly and without residue in domestic compost, just like other waste. The " Great Compost Experiment" was designed to last two years, during which the scientists initially collected data:

1. online survey

Around 9,700 study participants were asked about their opinions and behavior with regard to compostable plastics:

• 85 percent wanted to buy products that came in packaging labeled as compostable or biodegradable.
• 84 percent also wanted to compost their waste at home.

2. self-experiment

1,648 participants were then prepared to start a trial with compostable plastics at home. For this purpose, they were provided with 50 photos of packaging materials - with the following result:

• Participants had difficulty understanding and correctly identifying the labels.
• This was particularly due to the fact that 46 percent of the packaging was not labeled as home compostable at all.
• 14 percent of the labels referred to industrial compostability.

Already at this point, the need for action becomes clear, because biodegradable plastic can only develop its effect if clarity is created here.

Composting result

Even more alarming, however, is the fact that plastic labeled as home compostable does not decompose at all as advertised: 60 percent of the plastics disposed of did not break down properly.

As part of the study conditions in the UK - during disposal in private households and garden compost - plastic particles entered the soil. This does not stop the contamination.

The logical conclusion: uncontrolled composting of biodegradable plastics is still inefficient - only the industrial alternative, which offers controlled biotechnological conditions, can lead to the desired result here.

Biodegradable plastics on the brink of extinction?

Against this background, it is only logical that the benefits of supposedly biodegradable plastics are increasingly doubted. The German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) is even of the opinion that packaging made from this plastic offers no advantages whatsoever compared to biobased or conventionally produced plastic.

Accordingly, there can only be two sensible alternatives: multiple use and recycling, provided the material is suitable for this. Even for disposable products that are classified as biodegradable, the verdict is negative. The reason: First of all, they generate a lot of waste that can be avoided with reusable products.

This in turn means that biodegradable plastics must not be disposed of in the organic waste gar bage can. They belong in the recycling garbage can just like other packaging materials. This even applies to collection bags for organic waste: these flexible packaging bags may not be disposed of in this way without corresponding certification in accordance with EN 13432 or EN 14995 and without the approval of your local waste disposal service for use in organic waste.

You want to know more about sustainability and our products? Then contact us, we look forward to hearing from you.

Recycling as a way out? Then please with uniform rules!

If the option of composting is eliminated for plastic bags and paper bags unsuitable for this purpose, then we need other ways of disposal. Recycling as part of a true circular economy would probably be the best option. Here, however, there are country-specific standards that currently stand in the way of a global approach: In particular, Germany is taking a special path with flexible pouch packaging made of composite material, which is used primarily in the food sector.

• Germany: Only 5 percent of the packaging material may be plastic, 95 percent paper.
• Austria: Here, the maximum percentage for recycling is 20 percent plastic, 80 percent paper.
• Italy: 30 percent plastic allowed and 70 percent paper.

The percentages refer to the weight of the material.

However, these flexible packaging bags require a plastic layer so that they can be used in the food sector - this is the only way to meet the requirements that no foreign substances, water or UV light can penetrate.

The bags from Palamo have an additional special feature: The printing is realized on the inside of the film, which is subsequently applied to the paper web. In this way, the ink is also optimally enclosed and cannot cause any contamination. At the same time, the imprint is well protected.

Conclusion: Flexible packaging bags and environmental protection - squaring the circle

Bags made entirely of paper and disposed of as waste paper do not have the desired properties - they let through grease as well as moisture and may only come into direct contact with food in exceptional cases.

Plastic bags, on the other hand, prove to be functional, but also more resistant than the manufacturers claim. The great misunderstanding about biodegradability or compostability is particularly evident from the colorful bags filled with dog excrement lying around in the forest: The dog excrement is neatly packaged and placed on the forest floor. Apart from the unsightly picture it creates, plastic ends up in the soil on the one hand, and natural decomposition processes of the contents are stopped on the other.

From this we can conclude that there is still a lot to be done to make flexible pouch packaging truly environmentally friendly. In many cases, however, this has nothing at all to do with the material itself: On the one hand, recycling processes, rules and information should be standardized in EU countries to create more clarity and more stringent procedures here. On the other hand, solutions are needed to optimize the disposal of recyclable materials.

The obligation to use reusable solutions can only be a partial step as long as there is no uniform take-back system. What can be expected from 2023? Consumers will pay a surcharge for many of the reusable containers and throw them in the trash because the return system is not organized - a pity.