WHAT IS PACKAGING WITH A FUTURE?

Packaging is important. It protects all the products that we consume every day. This protective function is not only good for the product, but also good for the environment, because products and goods that do not spoil or break do not have to be produced again. In this way, food waste can be prevented, for example. Additionally, we buy many liquid products every day, like beverages or detergents. These kinds of products cannot work at all without packaging. And not all packaging has the same impact. Packaging only has a future if it has the smallest possible ecological footprint.

No universal solutions

There is no “one” packaging with a future. All packaging materials both have advantages and disadvantages. This means that for each packaged product, it must be individually evaluated which packaging solution is the most sustainable. For all packaging materials, it is equally important to consider the entire ecological footprint. This must be the benchmark to decide whether a type of packaging has a future or not.

More than one life

Among other factors, packaging is sustainable if it can be reused or recycled again and again. One example is the classic PET bottle which can be recycled again after usage. The old bottle is turned into a new one. Even at an early stage of product design, it is important to ensure that packaging is recyclable. Recycling is efficient and preserves natural resources.

A world without packaging?

Packaging is subject to criticism. But a world without packaging is not imaginable or desirable. Packaging has become an indispensable part of our modern lives and fulfills numerous functions. It provides consumers with information, is important for transport and storage, extends the shelf life of products, and protects the goods we consume every day. Admittedly, a lot must change from usage to recycling to disposal. In the future, packaging must contribute to solving the challenges on the path to a circular economy. That is what we are working on. Together.

Together for the future

No one can solve the problems with packaging alone. It needs industry, politics and consumers. All actors play an important role. It is clear: we as an industry have our own contribution to make and we want to take responsibility. That is why we founded this platform. Together, we are tackling the challenge of developing, implementing and recycling sustainable packaging. Our goals: Not only to reduce, reuse, and recycle packaging, but to replace it with improved packaging. This way, packaging really does have a future. Without losses. Without environmental pollution.