On 5 June, the European Commission published a Commission Notice providing further clarity about the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation in practice. We take a closer look at the document to understand its requirements in detail, including the current status of PFAS restrictions, the…
In this Innovation Spotlight, Dow outlines how its extrusion coating portfolio aims to support recyclability requirements and regulatory readiness, and how its collaboration with RDM Group demonstrates how lightweight polymer coatings can extend the use of fibre-based packaging into applications…
As Graham Houlder passes the CEFLEX baton to a new leadership team, and prepares to take well earned extended holiday, we reflect on the journey of the European value chain consortium building a circular economy in flexibles to date, lessons learned on collaboration, and the agenda priorities for…
With Christmas right around the corner, the looming concern of festive waste rears its ugly head again. Now is the time for the most prepared of gift-givers to wrap their presents or slip them into gift bags – potentially both. But is there a better way?
McDonald’s Japan has replaced its controversial paper straws with ‘strawless’ lids made from recycled PET, but consumers are still divided on the new solution’s practicality. Tim Sykes reflects on this demand for convenience, sometimes at the expense of sustainable progress, and what we can learn…
As reported by ABC, South Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority will enforce a ban on the iconic fish-shaped soy sauce containers sold in on-the-go sushi portions from September. This is the latest move in a line of crackdowns on plastic packaging components, and businesses found to…
Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic have rapidly switched from diabetes therapy to mass-market weight control, shrinking appetites – and sales volumes. As more people start to take GLP-1 drugs, eating and consumption habits will change, and the ripple effects on the packaging industry could be seismic.
Mondelēz, Mars, Nestlé, L’Oréal USA, and Walmart are among the big brands suspected of leaving the U.S. Plastics Pact in the past few weeks. What does this mean in practical terms? Tim Sykes, Packaging Europe’s brand director, investigates.
Sameer Singla, CEO of Archroma Packaging Technologies, discusses how innovation in chemistry can extend the properties of fibre-based packaging while retaining recyclability - and the strategic keys to realize this business opportunity.
For all the criticisms levied at the PPWR in its current form, the UK could learn a thing or two from its ambitious and collaborative effort to get things moving.
The final industrial scale tests of HolyGrail 2.0, the groundbreaking collaboration to investigate the impact of digital watermarking in improving efficiency of recycling, are completed. While the final results are being processed, we look back on the progress made by the project and ask what…
Unfortunately, my wrap-up of 2024 is not an especially cheerful one. Just as we close out the year with little to no significant progress made at COP29 or INC-5, we enter a new one under various governmental powers for whom sustainability is not a priority.
All the way back in 2017, the UK Recycling Association CEO branded the old-school Pringles can the “number one recycling villain”. What has changed since then?
