A flexible and collaborative approach to keep packaging circular

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It is widely recognised that flexible packaging plays a key role in helping to reduce food waste by keeping items fresh and extending shelf life. However, it also poses a critical environmental challenge.

In a 2020 report, industry association Plastic Recyclers Europe (PRE) found that 15 million metric tonnes (Mt) of flexible films are produced annually within the EU alone - but only 23% are collected and recycled. The remaining volume will likely end up in landfill, be incinerated, or find its way into the natural environment, polluting waterways and impacting natural wildlife.

However, it is possible to create a closed-loop for flexible plastic that allows plastic waste to be continuously recycled into safe, food-grade packaging, ultimately contributing to waste elimination.

Closing the loop

Traditionally, plastic waste is processed through mechanical recycling techniques, whereby it is washed and separated by colour and polymer type, re-melted and formed into pellets. These pellets are then made into new plastic products through melting and moulding. This form of recycling does have a key role to play in creating a circular economy for plastics, offering a good solution for the recycling of high-purity mixed-use plastics.

However, in the mechanical recycling process, plastics cannot be recycled indefinitely - nor into the same application, as they lose characteristics and performance due to degradation with each melt process. Mechanical recycling typically cannot take flexible packaging such as laminated or barrier films and in many countries, these types of plastics are not usually collected curbside for recycling.

Also read: 20 companies produce 55% of global plastic waste, research reveals

This is where advanced recycling – also known as chemical recycling - can be key to closing the loop, addressing the plastic waste that is too complex to be mechanically recycled. The process converts this plastic into pyrolysis oil, which is then used to produce polymers that have identical properties to virgin-based polymers and allows plastics to be recycled repeatedly, with no loss of structural properties or characteristics. In short, it creates quality, recycled and recyclable products.

Advanced recycling ultimately can help our industry move towards a more sustainable model by taking used plastic which could previously have been considered waste and turning it into valuable products. Keeping used plastics within the value chain can also reduce carbon emissions when comparing advanced recycling to plastics diverted away from incineration and by reducing the use of fossil resources.

Unwrapping the issue

Alongside Sealed Air and Plastic Energy, SABIC recently completed a trial project with UK supermarket chain Tesco to demonstrate for the first time that flexible plastic can be continuously recycled and reused using advanced recycling methods.

The goal of this project was to increase the recyclability rate of flexible packaging, thus avoiding the conventional approaches of handling end of life plastics that when not disposed of correctly, can be detrimental to our environment.

Also read: Saudi Aramco CEO: China's energy security is "highest priority" for 50 years

The pilot was an example of the players from across the supply chain collaborating effectively to prove that, thanks to the advent of advanced recycling techniques, the closed-loop concept for the plastics supply chain is possible.

Tesco had extremely positive engagement in the project from the outset from their customers who saw the benefit of having somewhere to bring their flexible films and packaging. In the end, consumer participation was so great that Tesco received back much more material than they were originally expecting. So much so that they have now taken steps to roll out soft plastic recycling points in 171 of their stores, with plans to extend this to all of their large stores nationwide.

Breaking through the roadblocks

Despite the progress made, advanced recycling technology is still in its infancy and there are a number of steps required to make the process truly scalable and a more competitive option compared to plastic from fossil feedstock.

Firstly, it is reliant on having the right infrastructure in place. This includes the structure to both collect and process post-consumer used materials, including soft flexible packaging like films.

As Jonathon Durnford, Vice President, Strategic Sustainability at Sealed Air, puts it: "Collaborations like this one show how a truly circular economy is achievable for multilayer plastic packaging films. These thin barrier films provide a lower carbon footprint by reducing both product waste as well as light-weighting the plastic content of the packaging. 

"As we successfully recycle more films, this will further reduce the carbon footprint by creating a lower carbon end of life solution. Today's limited advanced recycling infrastructure is a concern so we urgently need to see more investments and capacity expansion. We hope that this collaboration will build confidence and encourage more infrastructure investment in truly circular solutions."

Also read: An innovative solution to the problem of plastic waste

In order to achieve a competitive and positive cost-performance ratio when compared to virgin plastic, we also need to scale up the technology whilst improving their feedstock flexibility, yield and energy performance.

Finally, consumers also have an important role to play in closing the loop. The success of our pilot project with Tesco, Sealed Air and Plastic Energy was dependent on collecting the waste plastics that had been voluntarily returned by customers via collection points at ten Tesco stores across the country.

If we can encourage a broader change in consumer perception, we can help them view plastics as a material that is on loan from the circular value chain. But in order to empower consumers in this way, recycling must be made easier and infrastructures improved.

If we can successfully support and grow consumer understanding of the intrinsic value of plastics, and cultivate demand for certified circular products, it will help our industry move away from a transactional model and encourage legislation that reflects the invaluable contribution that can be driven by this new, critical transformation of the value chain.

Building a sustainable future

Pilots like ours are vital in demonstrating, that the processes are feasible and that more recycling infrastructure development is needed to recycle these flexible plastics on a larger scale. It also demonstrates the importance of collaboration in achieving a circular economy for the plastics value chain.

Looking to the future, Carlos Monreal, founder and CEO of Plastic Energy, said: “It is important for governments to recognise chemical recycling as part of the solution for a more sustainable future. This, combined with providing incentives for using recycled content and developing infrastructure, can lead to an increase of recycling rates. We expect society to continue to demand more sustainable packaging and products from brands, so this will also lead to further demand for recycled plastics.

“We expect that post-pandemic, sustainability will continue to become increasingly important to consumers, thus validating the need for more value-chain partnerships for the circularity of packaging.”

As we move forward, the priority must be for governments and regulators to collaborate with players across our industry both to create the right policy conditions and support the development of a plastic recycling infrastructure that can contribute to closing the loop on used plastic a mainstream reality.

- The author, Mark Vester, is Global Leader of Circular Economy at chemical manufacturing company SABIC, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabian state-owned oil and gas company Saudi Aramco, and Chair of the Steering Board at Polyolefin Circular Economy Platform (PCEP), a European joint industry value chain initiative, founded by two plastics industry associations EuPC and PlasticsEurope.

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