Many consumers end their search for sustainable and recyclable packaging with paper and cardboard. But the list of packaging materials does not end with paper; plastics follow, and the number of alternatives is constantly growing. Fiber-based packaging is at the top of the list, and with a low plastic content, disposal in waste paper is possible. Reusable programs also offer sustainable solutions and are now not only used for glass products. They are also required by law for to-go products. Alongside innovative materials and reusable programs, recycling is the third pillar of a sustainable packaging industry. These three topics are the focus of the “SOLPACK 5.0” forum, which offers over 30 lectures and presentations on three days of the trade fair. Pacoon Managing Directors Peter Désilets and Volker Muche will moderate the event.
Reusable Solutions for Fresh Produce
On the first day of the trade fair, September 24, the focus will be on reusable packaging. It is no longer limited to liquid goods in glass packaging. Customers are also increasingly using reusable containers in the to-go segment and at fresh food counters for fruit, vegetables, salads, meat and sausages, says Peter Désilets. Oils, cosmetics and dry products are now also included. He expects a growing variety in the near future. When setting up a closed-loop system with digitalization, take-back, cleaning, billing and logistics, corresponding programs are increasingly being used. Désilets will present a space-saving reusable concept entitled “Reusable 2.0”, while André Pietzke will provide information about the start-up Dotch, a full-service program for organic oil bottles.
Selection for Innovative Fiber Materials
The development and use of innovative fiber materials, which will be the focus of the second day of the trade fair, play a decisive role in alternative packaging solutions today. Désilets sees various new raw materials, some of which are already being used in fiber packaging: Grass, bagasse, hemp and straw, rice straw and bamboo. He also sees potential in natural materials such as coffee, cocoa, tea and potato production residues. Several 100,000 tons are available here. Recyclability is crucial for the use of these materials, as are possible losses in fiber quality due to stippling, dark fibers, their length and strength. “Availability and volume also play a role. Agricultural residues from plants or production offer many interesting applications.“ Claudia Rivinius from STI will give an overview of the possibilities of virgin and recycled fibers at SOLPACK, while Franz Jäger from Pulp-Tec will provide information about bog plant fibers in molded pulp.
Foreign Materials Make Recycling More Difficult
Another way in which Pacoon is promoting a sustainable packaging industry is by focusing on the recycling of packaging at SOLPACK. Not least the EU regulations require that the recyclability of all packaging is tested. The tests focus on the examination of foreign materials in fiber-based packaging. These foreign materials include printing inks, which have to be removed by deinking, as well as metals, films and adhesives. Désilets points out that their removal is essential for high-quality recycling. The presentation by Axel Fischer from Ingede will focus on how this can be achieved and how paper products can be recycled.
