TAGS: Sustainability and Bioplastics Metal Replacement
The sixth edition of MeetingPack, the two-day event organized every two years by AIMPLAS and AINIA at the Valencia Conference Center, closed on 22nd April.
It provided more than 300 professionals with information on the challenges of barrier packaging from the perspective of environmental sustainability. According to the thirty specialist speakers in the field, responding to these challenges is more necessary than ever, given the current legislative and socioeconomic context.
In addition, the two winners of MP2024 Awards were presented: Rotorprint for high barrier, aluminum-free, recyclable coffee packaging, and Plastipak for the first 100% plastic aerosol, which is also metal-free and recyclable.
Rotorprint and Plastipak, Winners of the MP2024 Awards
Rotorprint and Plastipak received MP2024 Awards in the categories of flexible packaging solutions (films) and rigid packaging solutions (trays/bottles), respectively. Rotorprint’s development is high-barrier, recyclable coffee packaging, and Plastipak’s is the first aerosol on the market made entirely of plastic materials, including the valve. It is also metal-free and 100% recyclable.
In this second edition of the awards, the finalists in the category of flexible barrier packaging solutions (films) were:
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Enplater, for its APET rigid film made from 100% recycled food-safe material;
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Innovative Film Solutions, for its biodegradable and recyclable BOPP films; and
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Rotorprint, the winner of the award
The finalists in the category of rigid packaging solutions (trays/bottles) were:
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J. Garcia Carrión for its Pure-Pak® eSense solution, an aluminum-free carton for its vegetable drinks, gazpachos and salmorejos;
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Grupo Lantero for the circularity of its yoghurt containers made from post-consumer PS; and
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Plastipak, the winner of the award
The award winners were announced at the congress dinner and were recognized for their innovations in the field of sustainability.
Session on Importance of Barrier Properties and Packaging Recyclability
In the opening speech of the conference, José María Fernández, Circular Economy director of Ihobe, the Basque Government's public environmental management company, explained how Directive (EU) 2024/825 aims to combat greenwashing and prevent misleading advertising of sustainable packaging solutions. The directive will ensure that claims regarding a product’s sustainability are supported by scientific evidence such as life cycle analysis or its carbon footprint. The goal is to ensure that sustainability becomes a true competitive factor for companies, not just a marketing tool.
The first session of the first thematic section addressed innovative materials for the production of sustainable packaging. The focus was the importance of barrier properties and packaging recyclability. In this session, moderated by Víctor Borrás, marketing manager of Knauf, Kuraray presented recyclable mono-material and barrier solutions. Also, UBE provided recyclable solutions based on PA/PE for applications requiring transparency, gloss, barrier properties and puncture resistance while achieving reduced thicknesses, among other advantages. In addition,
Total Corbion presented PLA as an alternative material with less environmental impact compared to other materials; meanwhile, Toppan presented high barrier materials using a mono-material strategy with AlOx/SiOx coatings.
In the second session, on sustainability in flexible barrier packaging, moderated by Pere Becerra, Demo Center manager, Comexi. The difficulty was discussed of recycling traditional multilayer solutions (coextrusion and lamination) with high barrier performance, sealability and mechanical properties. ComexiRotorprint, Sealed Air, Sp-Group and Grupo Lantero presented their ecodesign strategies to address this issue. They also presented solutions to avoid over-packaging and reduce packaging weight.
Also highlighted was the need to focus on maintaining the functional characteristics of packaging so as not to increase food waste. The importance of improving the mechanical properties of materials and validating the behavior of packaging structures in machinery when adjusting the speed and applying automatic seals was also highlighted. The examples discussed included mono-material solutions with a barrier percentage to maintain recyclability in accordance with RecyClass and Cyclos.
Recyclable and Compostable Packaging Solutions
Sustainability in rigid barrier packaging was the main topic of the third session, which was moderated by RAORSA. In this session, recyclable and compostable solutions were presented. These include Acesur’s project to add cellulose fibers from olive oil waste to PLA to manufacture oil bottles; and Faerch’s development of
recycling PET trays to manufacture PET trays. To highlight the importance of applying packaging design while taking into account recyclability, Danone presented an improvement in its YoPro range of black packaging that makes it detectable on recycling lines so it can be separated for recycling.
In the fourth and final session, moderated by Jesús Pérez, director of the Innovative Packaging Cluster of the Valencian Community, the discussion focused on product packaging strategies to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and took a comprehensive look at meeting these goals, as well as Spanish Law 7/2022 and the Royal Decree on packaging.
During the round-table discussion with the participation of representatives from Calidad Pascual, Garcia Carrión, Hijos De Rivera S.A.U., Florette and Vicky Foods, some of the sustainability strategies applied by these companies were discussed. These include the reduction of materials and thicknesses, mono-materials, circularity, ecodesign, innovation, reuse and the use of renewable energies. The challenges addressed by the companies were also mentioned, such as the use of recycled material in food contact packaging and alternative materials with functional properties.
Also discussed was the importance of using ecodesign and life cycle analysis tools, and consumer information on how to apply appropriate end-of-life treatment to packaging, and selecting materials in terms of the product and the country of export. Finally, examples were provided of sustainable products that have been developed, such as a milk bottle made of
transparent PET and replacing the rings on six-packs of cans with an adhesive.
Using Casein as a Natural Oxygen Barrier Coating
The second day began with the fifth session of the conference, moderated by Enplater, on innovative materials for the production of sustainable packaging (II)/sustainability in barrier packaging, which addressed alternative solutions to conventional materials. AINA presented edible coatings that avoid food waste, generate zero waste and can contain prebiotics and probiotics.
Lactips presented its development for using casein as an oxygen barrier coating for application on paper to provide a natural solution to microplastics in this kind of paper packaging. Quimóvil presented water-based acrylic barrier coatings with barrier properties to meet the strategic challenge of more sustainable packaging. Finally, Novamont presented its development of compostable coffee capsules and cellulosic packaging with barrier properties. All these solutions are recyclable and compostable depending on the type (home or industrial composting).
Focus on Reusability of Packaging Solutions
In the sixth session (end of life: recycling and reuse), moderated by New Era, the focus was on reusable packaging solutions, sanitization systems, applicable legislation and new business models. Bumerang underlined the challenge of reusability in terms of making it easy for consumers to return packaging. The company stated that if users’ product experience is good, they will be more likely to return the packaging. The company is working on different solutions based on the type of customer. Veolia focused on recycled plastic as a vector for decarbonization and presented its global plastics recycling platform, which combines technical and commercial knowledge with a carbon and water footprint tool. Fych Technologies also participated in this session.
Latest Developments in Barrier-packaging Scenario
The seventh session provided a context for presenting the latest developments in barrier-packaging management, separation and recycling, and the application of legislation for recycled materials (plastics) for food contact. It was moderated by Heura Gestió Ambiental. AIMPLAS presented two reuse projects. The first was on reusable packaging for the cosmetics industry, connectivity and prototype validation. The second focused on a reusable bottle for cleaning products and a bag-in-box. TPL explained how it is working to improve sustainability by reducing thicknesses, replacing materials to achieve this reduction and using recycled material to manufacture film. As an example, TPL presented a PET-based film that is valid for all applications and can be recycled. Ecoembes presented a tool for predicting and modifying the impact of packaging in the design phase.
The event ended with a round-table discussion on packaging trends and needs in distribution and among consumers with the participation of Aces, Tal, Hispacoop and Carrefour, which shared their points of view on fulfilment of the 2030 goals, the challenges they face, how they are addressing these challenges and what is needed to help achieve these goals.
MeetingPack 2024 was supported by sponsoring companies RAORSA, Comexi, ENPLATER, Faerch, GRUPALIA, Innotech, Knauf Industries,
Kuraray,
Lubrizol,
Novamont, QUIMÓVIL, TOPPAN, SPG, SEALED AIR, TotalEnergies Corbion, Toyo Seikan Group Holdings Ltd, TPL and
UBE, with the collaboration of relevant entities and organizations in the packaging and food industries.
Source: AIMPLAS
