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EPR reshapes Latin American packaging from performance to circularity

EPRs in Latin America are shifting packaging design focus beyond branding and performance, toward including design that centers on end-of-life circularity. Across Latin America, many countries have adopted national EPR laws that assign producers responsibility for packaging waste. The legislation is forcing brands to take responsibility for all packaging materials placed on the market — and any subsequent environmental impact it may have. 
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E-commerce packaging balances compliance, cost & consumer experience
E-commerce packaging is no longer a post-production afterthought, flag industry players. It has evolved into a field requiring alignment across chemistry, material engineering, reverse logistics, regulatory compliance, and digital infrastructure. Packaging Insights speaks to Aicomp, Henkel, Re-Zip, and Turn Green about how the e-commerce packaging industry is exploring the intersection of process integration, sensory branding, economics, and total system compliance. 
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FSSC warns packaging reduction can drive food waste if protection fails
Material reduction innovations are growing across the F&B industry as regulations and sustainability targets attempt to reduce packaging waste. However, Antoinette Maake, technical officer at Foundation FSSC, warns that only when essential food-protection and usability functions remain “fully effective,” can material reduction contribute to environmental benefits.  Foundation FSSC (Food Safety System Certification) is an independent non-profit organization based in the Netherlands that manages the FSSC 22000 Scheme for food safety certification.
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Next-gen packaging reshapes bakery aisle
Innova Market Insights data indicates that bakery packaging launches grew at a CAGR of 4% from July 2021 to June 2026. Flat pouches were the leading format, with plastic remaining the top packaging material and carton gaining momentum. Recyclable was the leading sustainability claim, while responsible source claims continued to gain ground.
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Circular by design: unlocking sustainable packaging solutions
Meeting the global challenge of plastic waste and building a low-carbon and circular economy requires innovation, investment and collaboration. Read the LyondellBasell (LYB) white paper to explore how smart packaging design can help optimize packaging performance, reduce material complexity, improve recyclability and support circularity goals.This Technical Paper is brought to you by LyondellBasell.
Pack Expo 2026 Sealed Air video thumbnail: exhibition booth at a packaging trade show, featuring staff, visitors, packaging equipment, and Cryovac and BubbleWrap branding.
Pack Expo 2026: Sealed Air showcases protective packaging range and equipment

Sealed Air’s Jenna Barbour, director of marketing and communications, and Adam Boyle, specialty foam portfolio manager, gave us a booth tour. The experts showcased the company’s 70% PCR inflatable bubble packaging and 50% PCR air pillows, alongside solutions for the electronics and defense sectors.

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EU delays PPWR labeling rules to Q2 2027, plans consultation
woman looks a label on bottle in shop
The European Commission (EC) has pushed back the implementation of the updated labeling rules under the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) to the second quarter of 2027, while confirming that the adoption process will include a public consultation. “The PPWR lays down EU-wide rules on labels for packaging and for waste receptacles, including to help consumers sort packaging waste; identify reusable packaging, and packaging covered by deposit return systems (DRS); and indicate recycled and bio-based content,” the EC states. 
Aldi and Pact boost recycled content to 50% in household packaging
A line of bottles for household products
Pact Group and Aldi have launched a recycled household plastic packaging initiative in Australia. Each year, over 19 million laundry and household cleaning bottles aim to be produced using up to 50% Australian recycled plastic. The initiative is set to use almost 800 metric tons of locally recycled plastic resin annually. Plastic collected through curbside recycling bins, including empty milk, laundry, shampoo, and detergent bottles, will be processed into recycled resin at the Pact-operated Circular Plastics Australia recycling facility in Melbourne. The resin will later be manufactured into laundry and cleaning product bottles for Aldi. 
Swaay raises €2M to scale direct-to-shape printing for beverage cans
two cans
Swaay Technologies (Swaay), an Irish industrial technology company, has closed an equity investment round of more than €2 million (US$ 2.24 million), led by Business Venture Partners (BVP) with participation from members of the BVP Investor Club. Swaay is building a full-stack platform to assist beverage co-packers and producers in adopting direct-to-shape (DTS) technology. This round is set to fund Swaay’s commercial rollout of its distributed DTS digital print platform for aluminum cans. 
Pack Expo 2026: EU and Canada move faster than US on GS1 Sunrise 2027
A woman scanning a QR code
The GS1 Sunrise 2027 transition from traditional 1D codes to new 2D codes, like QR and GS1 DataMatrix, is set to come into global fruition next year. However, according to packaging industry experts at Pack Expo International 2026 in Chicago, US, the changeover is taking place faster in the EU and Canada than in the US, where industry interest remains low. According to GS1, the transition can bring about supply chain improvements such as traceability for product protection and corporate responsibility at end of life, and provide brands with new consumer engagement opportunities. 
Envases taps Tata Steel Carbon Lite to cut packaging Scope 3 emissions
range of metal pots, cans, bowls
Tata Steel Netherlands has equipped Envases, a global metal packaging manufacturer, with its reduced Carbon Lite steel offering for packaging.  While Tata Steel’s Carbon Lite is not a new steel grade, it now includes a mass-balanced offering that is said to enable brands to lower the CO2 footprint associated with steel packaging.  “With Carbon Lite, the CO2 emission intensity of the steel associated with the packaging can be reduced by a maximum of 85%. For fillers and brands that pack a lot in steel cans, the impact can be substantial,” Marnix Böggemann, marketing manager for Packaging at Tata Steel, tells Packaging Insights. 
Chicken-fed salmon raises sustainability concerns as producers rethink fish feed
Salmon farming at sea.

Food Ingredients First

Farmed salmon are being fed chicken by-products as Norway’s feed industry turns to alternatives to marine ingredients. The move revives concerns about consumer acceptance and whether the shift delivers environmental benefits or transfers pressure onto other animals. Poultry-derived ingredients offer a locally available protein source that can support salmon growth and reduce reliance on fishmeal, according to Margareth Øverland, professor of aquaculture nutrition at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. However, Eurogroup for Animals questions their sustainability credentials and warns that ingredient substitution cannot resolve the wider problems of intensive salmon farming. 
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Packaging & Technology News
Sealed Air, Coveris & Dole rethink food packaging to cut...
Global supply chains are seeking to reduce waste and carbon emissions as regulations aim to tackle rising GHG emissions. Increasingly, the packaging industry is combining developments in material science with smarter logistics to improve how food is protected, preserved, and transported. Packaging Insights speaks to Sealed Air, Coveris, and Dole about how innovative materials, optimized engineering, and circular supply chain strategies are transforming food preservation without compromising product quality or sustainability goals. 
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Packaging & Technology News
Pack Expo 2026 live: Siemens showcases AI-powered digital...
Siemens is presenting its digital twin robotic solution, made in collaboration with PepsiCo and Nvidia, that uses AI to improve the speed and efficiency of packaging and bottling lines, at the ongoing Pack Expo International 2026 exhibition in Chicago, US (Oct 18–21).  The partnership combines Siemens’ digital twin and industrial AI technologies with Nvidia’s AI and visualization capabilities to create high-fidelity virtual models of PepsiCo’s manufacturing and warehouse operations. 
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Packaging & Technology News
Pack Expo 2026 live: Waites sensors tackle downtime and...
Waites Sensor Technologies, a global predictive maintenance company, has launched its established condition monitoring system featuring wireless sensors, machine learning, and analyst services for conveyor systems at Pack Expo International 2026 in Chicago, US (Oct 18–21). Waites Conveyance aims to help fulfillment centers, retail distribution networks, 3PL providers, parcel, and sortation facilities, as well as other conveyor-intensive operations, like those in the packaging industry, with distribution, fulfillment, and logistics operations to reduce unplanned downtime. 

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Trends in AI use for packaging manufacturingOct2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates that more manufacturers are launching products in new packaging formats. The growing number of formats, materials, and sustainability requirements is creating mor...

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Bioplastics expand across packaging formats Oct 2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates that 30% of consumers globally have chosen biodegradable packaging to be more sustainable in the past year. In response, bioplastics are appearing across diverse packaging formats, from compostable coffee and tea capsules to pouches, trays, cartons, and bottle wrappers, with innovation focusing on renewable materials, compostability, and end-of-life solutions.

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Next-gen packaging reshapes bakery aisleOct 2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates that bakery packaging launches grew at a CAGR of 4% from July 2021 to June 2026. Flat pouches were the leading format, with plastic remaining the top packaging material and carton gaining momentum. Recyclable was the leading sustainability claim, while responsible source claims continued to gain ground.

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Pack Expo 2026 Sealed Air video thumbnail: exhibition booth at a packaging trade show, featuring staff, visitors, packaging equipment, and Cryovac and BubbleWrap branding.
Video03:59
Pack Expo 2026: Sealed Air showcases protective packaging range and equipment

Sealed Air’s Jenna Barbour, director of marketing and communications, and Adam Boyle, specialty foam portfolio manager, gave us a booth tour. The experts showcased the company’s 70% PCR inflatable bubble packaging and 50% PCR air pillows, alongside solutions for the electronics and defense...

Justin Garski, Rockwell Automation
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Pack Expo 2026: Rockwell Automation on AI’s role in tackling production labor shortages
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Pack Expo 2026: Syntegon CEO on packaging machinery trends
Pack Expo 2026 LyondellBasell Industries video thumbnail: Smiling businessman in a circular portrait overlaid on a busy convention center with attendees walking and riding escalators
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Pack Expo 2026 live: LyondellBasell talks packaging trends & EPRs across US states
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