The Sustainable Packaging Virtual Conference organised by Waste & Recycling MEA brought together industry experts from various sectors including plastics packaging and recycling. Panelists at the roundtable session titled “Plastics Spotlight: Addressing concerns and overcoming the challenges in plastics packaging,” represented different links in the supply chain and they examined the challenges and opportunities, how EPR can be leveraged to help improve recycling rates, new packaging trends and models that are gaining significance, how the industry is responding to the new models and materials, and much more.

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) , which as a concept is now gaining significance in many countries, how can this aspect be leveraged to help improve recycling rates and reduce landfilling of valuable resources, asked Bhagyashree Jain, Founder & CEO, The Disposal Company who moderated the panel discussion.

Joachim Quoden, Managing Director, EXPRA - Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance, Belgium said EPR requires producers to be responsible for packaging they place on the market. In general, they are joining forces, founding a producer responsibility organisation (PRO) because “they understand that this is a job that should be done jointly,” and that’s the background of the Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance members as well, he said. There are 29 PROs in 27 countries at present. “And we are trying to close the identified gaps of resources in the circle of packaging,” he stated. To begin with, usually there is a financial gap, because the collection and sorting is in general more expensive than the recyclers are willing to pay for, said Quoden. “So, this is one of the gaps we are trying to close. But there are also structural and know-how gaps. Our members work with all the stakeholders, with local authorities, the informal sector and so on to establish a collection infrastructure. Where the infrastructure already exists, they work to improve it; so, we are building step by step a complete circle.”

As for the game changers for transformation in plastics recycling in the packaging industry, he said, in the past the focus was on fulfilling a minimum recycling target. Over the years, the industry and all those in the value chain have understood they need to try to close the loop on packaging so as to keep as much packaging material as possible in the economic circle, and that’s what is happening in close to 40 countries around the world already, he noted.

Touching upon Himalaya Drug Company’s approach, Jitender Puri, Manager Packaging Development, The Himalaya Drug Company FZCO, said the company has its sustainability targets and that “we believe in transparency in informing the consumer what exactly we are aiming for and what the company stands for.” Enumerating the principles adapted by the company, he said they were focusing on ways to reduce their present requirements. Around the world, he said about 311 million tonnes of plastics is being produced, of which close to 78 million tonnes is being used in the packaging domain. Of this, only about 14 per cent actually goes into the recycling stream, while 14 per cent gets incinerated for energy transformation, 32 per cent of plastics leaks into oceans, landfills and so on. “So, we believe it is important to first reduce the load of the entire packaging system, thinking of ways to reduce the plastic which we currently consume,” Puri emphasised. For instance, where they were consuming about 25 tonnes of plastics in specific domains of their products, they were now considerably reducing it by about 15 per cent, he said. “We are looking at ways to reuse the materials where possible, and also minimise single-use plastics.”

Moreover, consumers are becoming more conscious of environmental impacts and are looking for products and packaging that contain less amounts of plastic, yet deliver value in terms of look, feel and quality, so extra frills being offered at present as part of new product introductions need to be reduced, he elaborated, adding that their company is looking to recycle plastic where possible and put them back into the stream so it will help reduce their overall carbon footprint globally.

On EPR, he said many factors need to be taken into consideration. A lot of resources are required and the collection of the material itself is pretty challenging. “When you invest in that kind of process, ultimately you have to either pay from your pocket, reduce your margins or pass it on to the consumer. So, we need to address how much the consumer would be willing to pay, and it could also vary based on the market and geography,” said Puri, adding that some geographies “are pretty challenging” wherein the consumers are not willing to spend more money on the products. In other markets, “you can charge a premium because consumers are much more educated and more aware of their environmental responsibilities.”

Challenges

The challenges and issues that need to be overcome to achieve circularity in the sector were highlighted at the conference. One of the main challenges is having access to the feedstock in order to be able to recycle it, so, reducing the leaks, raising awareness, being able to segregate at source and having proper collection systems are key, said Ronald Richa, General Manager Plastic Recycling – Repeet, Veolia Middle East. “These are important points to be considered in order to be able to achieve circularity, and we are working hard on each and every aspect to achieve it.”

The company has launched several initiatives in this regard in the Middle East and globally, he said. There needs to be a joint effort to achieve the goals and they are working hand in hand with partners and other stakeholders, be it the brands, consumers or local authorities, he added. “The good thing about EPR schemes is that they bring to the same table, different actors from various industry segments to put in a combined effort in terms of financial, technical efforts, etc. to achieve circularity. This means having access to feedstock, to good quality and enough material so we can recycle it.”

Currently, they are in a position to address the technical gap as well, said Richa. There are various recycling techniques including mechanical and chemical recycling, and the technology is evolving. “At present we are trying to find the right mix to be able to recycle and achieve high quality materials” to suit their client requirements, he said. Another important challenge is the economics of recycling, he stated, highlighting the different cost structures in various value chains, different requirements to collect, etc. The input costs and the cost of recycling vary. Then there is the question of premium and who would be ready to pay this premium. Everything needs to be efficient and sustainable from a business point of view.

The most important thing “is the value the industry has to create. And the only way for the circular economy to create value is to cope with all these challenges and achieve the economical equation whereby all the stakeholders will be able to achieve a certain value. And this is what we are doing,” said Richa, adding that they work closely with different stakeholders to achieve best results. “All the companies have made commitments in terms of including a certain amount of recycled plastic in certain products and so on. But, in terms of the economics, it is sometimes a bit complicated. And our role is to try to find the right balance between the circularity, the value and economic benefits it brings to the value chain.”

EPR does not restrict what the companies do about the postconsumer waste or the footprint that is out there. What are various companies (as part of EPR) doing to reduce their footprint or be more sustainable? “It is usually a very important part of the work of a producer responsibility organisation (PRO) as well, to work with brand owners and with packaging manufacturers and their suppliers to understand the options they have, and what will happen to their packaging at the end of life; and also how they can improve and make it easier for the recyclers, sorters and collectors and so on,” said Quoden.

While it may be difficult for manufacturers to work with others in EPR systems, there is not alternative, he commented. “If you don’t take the steps and the decisions, the legislator will do it; your customers will do it; your client will do it. So, use this opportunity together with all your partners to set the scene and solve it.” That’s his learning having worked for 30 years on EPR, he said. “If you wait for others, you will be moved out of the market. And we don’t want this; we want the companies to stay for a long time.”

Sustainable packaging trends

Abdul Rasheed, Regional Sales Manager, AMEA region, Taghleef Industries said at present it is perceived that a lot of plastic waste from the municipal stream goes to the landfill. As an intermediary company that develops the base film which is converted into the required packaging size for the brand owners, they develop and design innovative packaging solutions, and could also help improve the quality of the recyclates, he said. “First, we need to be able to get the material to recycle, but with regard to flexibles, it is a large challenge at present.” Even in advanced packaging scenarios like the US, only about four percent of the flexible packaging material gets recycled. But in general sustainability is at the core of flexible packaging taking into consideration the welfare of the customer, protection, extended shelf life, food safety and convenience. “So, we focus on all these fundamental aspects and design products that really add value to the recyclates.” For instance, currently in the flexible industry, packaging consists of multiple layers, so they provide in different parts of the world monomaterial solutions based on PP to replace the multi-material laminate that is not recyclable, he explained. “In terms of reducing, I feel flexible packaging itself helps reduce waste compared to many other formats of plastics. But still, we are working on downgauging, where you can probably reduce up to 25-30 percent of the plastic on a PET bottle label in terms of reducing thickness or even by cavitation. Taghleef believes we need regional solutions based on an understanding of the ground realities. Thus, in terms of reducing, we have innovative solutions.” As part of the company’s initiative to provide solutions that support the move from a linear to a more circular economy and as a result of continuous collaboration with other key industry partners, the company has introduced the reLIFE product range where they are giving life to used materials, said Rasheed. This includes packaging and labeling solutions with either PCR content or reprocessed by-product. The range of PCR-CHEM films are ISCC PLUS certified. But there are challenges because PCR resin is not easily available, he stressed. “We are doing whatever we can to improve the situation. Again, we have a lot of international experience, and we are bringing to the region whatever we can to contribute to the development in this area.”

As to whether companies need to focus on compostable or recyclable materials, Rasheed said, both were important, because “there is scope for both scenarios, but it all depends on the existing recycling infrastructure and what infrastructure is modifiable. Starting all over is not a sustainable solution, so we need to see what the scenario is and adopt the right solution. We do both in different parts of the world.”

Sustainability is a continuous journey, said Puri. “We need to always put the consumers at the centre. Whatever we do, ultimately, it is for meeting the consumer demand, be it through EPR, PCR, other technical developments, etc. So, we need to consider what exactly we can do to give them the value for the money they pay for the product. Alongside, we need to work together to provide solutions that are environmentally responsible as well, so it should be a win win scenario for all.”

Collaboration is vital to the sector’s development, said Richa. “Everything is about collaborating and finding the best solution,” be it an economical, technical, logistical or any other solution, he said. “In order to be able to build a circular economy, all of us have to work together, maybe under the same umbrella of some kind.” The move towards a circular economy is gaining pace in the Middle East as various authorities are fully involved in the process and a lot of policies are expected to be introduced soon. In the UAE, for instance, he said in order to implement the circular economy policies, everybody including the public and private sector companies and other stakeholders need to sit around the table “so we can achieve circularity” in the industry.