arrow
Recycling in Australia: Chemical recycling expands amid plastic waste challenges

Recycling in Australia: Chemical recycling expands amid plastic waste challenges

Australia’s chemical recycling is in its early stages but increasingly gaining in popularity as a complementary solution to mechanical recycling, according to Toby Manners, CEO of GPT Circular, a plastic waste management company based in Australia and Indonesia. To scale up these technologies, GPT Circular recently announced a “landmark” agreement with iQRenew, an advanced waste recovery company. The partnership aims to foster a new set of specification criteria for soft plastics in advanced chemical recycling in the country. Packaging Insights speaks to Manners about the country’s waste management performance, and how the partnership aims to transform locally collected soft plastics into high-quality recycled materials and tackle contamination in plastic recycling. 
Connected packaging technologies: Advancing consumer engagement and waste management
Connected packaging technologies: Advancing consumer engagement and waste management
Connected packaging is transforming brand-consumer engagement through interactive experiences, real-time product tracking, and AI-driven personalization. We speak to industry players Appetite Creative, Polytag, and Markem-Imaje about how adopting connected packaging can be a cost-effective way for brands to stay on top of the latest market trends. “Connected packaging has emerged as a powerful tool for brands seeking deeper consumer engagement. Our research reveals that 66.7% of survey respondents recognize its ability to foster customer loyalty through personalization. By transforming packaging into an interactive touchpoint, brands can create tailored experiences that resonate with individual consumers,” Jenny Stanley, managing director at Appetite Creative, tells Packaging Insights.
Design studio Milk: Business development manager talks alternative material integration through creative design
Design studio Milk: Business development manager talks alternative material integration through creative design
Packaging design needs to adapt to new materials, according to Eleonore Eisath, lead innovation lab and business development manager at Milk. The challenges inherent to such solutions can often be overcome through new design choices, offering elevated, engaging looks. However, Eisath highlights that new material integration can be challenging, as packaging machinery might not be able to handle alternative materials.To support packagers in optimizing their portfolio and overcoming these challenges, food packaging agency Milk has introduced a booklet on eco-friendly food packaging materials — an open-source resource designed to drive innovation and environmental sustainability in the packaging industry. The design studio’s recent release, titled MILK. Material Lab Booklet, aims to provide a comprehensive guide compiling insights on environmentally conscious materials and practical solutions.
Connected engagement
Connected engagement
Innova Market Insights data indicates that the use of QR codes on F&B packaging is on the rise, with a 32% global growth in product launches featuring QR codes from 2020 to 2024 (CAGR). Brands are increasingly leveraging this technology to enhance consumer engagement, provide transparency, and deliver digital experiences directly through the packaging.
Returnity CEO: The future of sustainable and reusable packaging
Returnity CEO: The future of sustainable and reusable packaging

Michael Newman, CEO at Returnity, talks about scaling reusable shipping and delivery packaging. Returnity recently launched the Last Box, a fully recyclable shipping box made entirely from PP. We discuss the necessity for supply chain collaboration and overcoming cost and efficiency challenges and advancing environmentally sustainable logistics for future growth. 

Packaging Innovations 2025 review: UK industry prepares for EPR
Packaging Innovations 2025 review: UK industry prepares for EPR
Packaging Innovations 2025 in Birmingham, UK, witnessed over 400 exhibitors showcase their latest solutions designed to meet the growing demand for packaging that addresses the UK’s incoming EPR regulation. The “fiberization” and plastic monomaterial shifts were prevalent on the show floor, while compostable and reusable systems also featured. We look back at some of the key companies and innovations from this year’s event.

Latest headlines

View more
Environmental NGOs question Eurostat’s recycling data on Bulgaria
landfill
A new report by Zero Waste Europe and its Bulgaria-based member Za Zemiata, an environmental NGO, has found large discrepancies between Eurostat’s recycling figures for Bulgaria and data reports from local municipalities. While Eurostat finds Bulgaria’s recycling performance to be above the EU average, Za Zemiata highlights its short falls.According to Eurostat’s latest statistics, Bulgaria’s recycling rate stood at 50.6% in 2019, placing it above the EU average. However, data from Za Zemiata suggests that many municipalities fall short of the EU’s 50% recycling target for municipal waste. Over half, 132 municipalities, reported recycling rates below 10% in 2019, and 43 recorded “practically zero.”
QR codes lead the way in Brazilian glass bottle traceability, finds study
A group of green glass bottles
A research team in Brazil has found that improved glass tracking technologies for beer bottles can improve consumer health, safety, and operational efficiency, with QR code systems demonstrating the most balanced advantages.The study, published in the International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, conducted an evaluation of three traceability technologies — laser marking, CO2 laser marking, and QR code systems — within the glass bottle industry, particularly in the beer sector. 
OMV begins chemical recycling operations in Austria
Worker at recycling plant holding bottle filled with pyrolysis oil.
OMV has started operating at its Austrian plastic waste recycling plant in Schwechat. The facility branded ReOil boasts an annual processing capacity of 16,000 metric tons of hard-to-recycle plastics, the equivalent of waste produced by the same number of households. Alfred Stern, chairman of the executive board and CEO at OMV: “The essential materials of the future need to become more sustainable and circular. OMV’s chemical recycling technology plays a pivotal role in driving growth in our Chemicals segment.” “The start-up of the new ReOil plant marks a significant milestone on our path toward achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest. Complementing mechanical recycling, ReOil processes plastic waste that would otherwise remain unrecyclable, reintegrating it into the value chain. Through our Strategy 2030, we are advancing circularity as a cornerstone of our responsible transformation.” 
Toppan Holdings subsidiary acquires majority stake in Italian BOPP film manufacturer
A warehouse full of rolls of material.
Toppan Holdings subsidiary Toppan Speciality Films in India has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 80% of the issued shares in Irplast, an Italian manufacturer of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films. The shares will be acquired from the current majority stakeholder, British investment fund Cheyne Strategic Value Credit.Irplast utilizes simultaneous biaxial orientation technology to enhance transparency, durability, and processability. The company’s solutions are said to contribute to improved recyclability and reduced environmental impact, making its products essential across various industries, including packaging and labels for food, personal care, and home care products.
Nextek and Coveris demonstrate mechanical recycling process for flexible films
PE PP Mechanical Recycling
Nextek and Coveris have partnered to demonstrate the transformation of PE and PP flexible films from packaging waste into food-grade resins and film with the COtooClean mechanical recycling process. Jointly, the companies have begun developing a “demonstration plant” in the UK to implement COtooClean at an industrial scale. The COtooClean technology was developed by Nextek, a tech consultancy specializing in recycling. It uses a waterless cleaning and decontamination process to produce food-grade recycled materials from post-consumer plastic film. The technology recently received the “Circular Solutions for Flexibles” award from the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW).
dsm-firmenich achieves a “step change” in cheese quality with coagulant enzyme for pizza applications
Multiethnic young people gathered around lunch table take pieces of delicious Italian cheese pizza

Food Ingredients First

Evolving customer requirements in the highly competitive and quality-driven cheese industry drove dsm-firmenich’s latest enzyme innovation that targets casein protein for enhanced yields and flavor, says Ardy van Erp, business director for Cheese at the company. The fermentation-based coagulant targets processing challenges such as stickiness for better meltability and functionality for consumer applications such as pizza cheese.
Highlighted features

Packaging focus

View more
technicalpaper

Biodegradable packagingMar2025

Innova Market Insights data reveals a 19% increase in F&B launches with Biodegradable Packaging from 2020 to 2024. Europe led with 41% of these launches, and Hot Drinks was the top category. Tea B...

Brought to you by:

Innova Market Insights

Product innovation

View more
product image

Connected engagement Mar 2025

Innova Market Insights data indicates that the use of QR codes on F&B packaging is on the rise, with a 32% global growth in product launches featuring QR codes from 2020 to 2024 (CAGR). Brands are increasingly leveraging this technology to enhance consumer engagement, provide transparency, and deliver digital experiences directly through the packaging.

Trend analysis

View more
analysis chart image

Fruit & Vegetable packagingMar 2025

Innova Market Insights data shows a rise in global fruit and vegetable product launches, with flat pouches being the leading packaging type. Among sustainable claims, "recyclable" was the most common, while carbon label claims saw notable growth.

Multimedia

View more
headline
Video16:02
Returnity CEO: The future of sustainable and reusable packaging

Michael Newman, CEO at Returnity, talks about scaling reusable shipping and delivery packaging. Returnity recently launched the Last Box, a fully recyclable shipping box made entirely from PP. We discuss the necessity for supply chain collaboration and overcoming cost and efficiency...

FormattedPicture
Video10:46
EU project MoeBios tackles bioplastic recycling hurdles
FormattedPicture
Video16:51
How to leverage EU regulation for US compostability strategies
FormattedPicture
Video02:45
Packaging Innovations 2025: Schur Star Systems presents pouch and bag filling line
Click Here
Subscribe to our newsletters
PlatformsFood Ingredients FirstNutrition InsightPackaging InsightsPersonal Care InsightsThe World of Food Ingredients
About usContact usAdvertisingPrivacy statementSitemap
Follow us
linkedinrss_header
Banner
trans