Avebe PerfectaFILM banner promoting PFAS-free oil and grease resistance for paper and board, with granola bars and download CTA.
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Global plastic waste trade amplifies microplastic pollution, research finds

A recent review, published in npj Emerging Contaminants, argues that the mismanagement of global plastic waste, which includes packaging, contributes to microplastic pollution risks and environmental inequality. The study asserts that up to 60% of global waste trade is mismanaged, with 26% eventually fragmenting into microplastics over the course of a decade. The researchers propose a science-policy framework that links waste trade governance and monitoring to microplastic reduction strategies. 
woman taking blood glucose levels
Home treatments drive smarter, sustainable pharmaceutical packaging
Pharmaceutical packaging is responding to an increase in at-home medical treatments, like GLP-1s, insulin medication, and biologics. Meanwhile, consumer concern about product tampering and contamination is pushing brands to consider smart solutions for traceability, while regulations are challenging brands to balance circularity with product protection. Packaging Insights speaks to Ampacet, Peak Nano, and Plastic Ingenuity to explore how these trends are shaping current pharmaceutical and health care packaging developments. 
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Avery Dennison: Smart labels becoming “media channels” to consumers
Smart technologies like QR codes and radio frequency identification (RFID) are transforming labels from passive features on packaging to points of contact with consumers, but only if brands commit to a long-term digital content strategy, says Noam Assael, CPG business ventures director, Material Group, EMENA, at Avery Dennison. Packaging Insights sits down with Assael to discuss how upcoming consumer interactions, regulations, and data collection are converging to demand more from labels. Increasingly, labels are part of a consumer’s experience with a product, while also enhancing traceability and validation of product credentials. 
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Trends in snack pack launches
Innova Market Insights data indicates that snack launches grew at a +8% CAGR from July 2021 to June 2026. Flat pouches accounted for 50% of these launches, aligning with consumer preferences for purchasing salty snacks in pouches. Cup packaging formats showed the fastest growth, while plastic was the dominant packaging material.
Avebe technical paper on PFAS-free oil and grease barriers for fibre-based food packaging
Out with PFAS On with performance. How do you develop an oil and grease barrier that works beyond the laboratory?
Removing PFAS changes more than the coating chemistry. This technical paper sets out five principles for designing fibre-based barriers, from choosing the right base paper and forming a continuous film to testing performance under production and end-use conditions. Explore the principles alongside examples from Avebe’s development work.This Technical Paper is brought to you by Royal Avebe.
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UFlex expands aseptic pack production capacity with Egypt facility
Ashwani K. Sharma, president and CEO of UFlex’s Aseptic Packaging Business, Asepto, talks about the new facility it is opening in Egypt to add 12 billion to its annual aseptic pack production capacity. It also aims to improve service for customers across Africa, the Middle East, and the EU.
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Ecosurety and UWE Bristol trial reusable cup scheme without deposit or app
Cafe staff fills up reusable cup
Ecosurety is trialing Lendable, a reusable cups scheme that does not rely on a deposit or a phone application, at the University of the West of England (UWE) Bristol, UK. The trial sets out to determine if removing such additional steps typically associated with deposit systems would result in higher participation.  Users can return the 80 purple reusable cups to dedicated purple collection bins at UWE Bristol’s Frenchay Campus. Participating locations include Costa Coffee, Subway, and the Students’ Union bar. 
London Packaging Week 2026 live: Sabert Europe launches catalog with expanded...
Sabert Europe's foodservice packaging offerings
Sabert Corporation Europe has released its catalog, revealing its “most comprehensive portfolio to date,” following the integration of Colpac. The company is showcasing the portfolio at London Packaging Week in the UK (16–17 September). “Releasing this catalog demonstrates how much Sabert Corporation Europe has evolved,” says Alex Noake, senior VP and managing director for Sabert Europe. “The acquisition of Colpac one year ago, together with our expanded product portfolio and continued investment in innovation, means we can now offer customers a far more complete packaging solution than ever before.” 
Medicos Group advances circular beauty packaging with reusable vial applicator...
Bottles and jars and droppers
Medicos Group, a packaging solution provider based in France, has developed the packaging for Phyto Paris’ Phytocyane Intensive+ treatment, featuring a box containing 12 tubular glass single-dose vials. Each vial is fitted with a polypropylene (PP) cap and accompanied by a single “ergonomic, removable, reusable, and unisex PP applicator.” According to the group, the routine involves removing the vial cap, fitting the applicator, and applying the formula to the scalp, parting by parting.
Packaging machinery manufacturers respond to sustainability requirements
Machine operator
Sustainability credentials have become a must for the packaging sector, affecting machinery manufacturers as well. As a result, packaging machine companies are creating tools that promise low-impact product preservation, low costs, and smooth production processes. Packaging Insights continues its conversation with Markem-Imaje, Multivac, Sidel, Syntegon, and UFlex to explore the packaging machinery factors they see as most impactful to the industry’s sustainability efforts.Sumeet Arora, senior VP, Engineering Business Marketing at UFlex, explains that as sustainability pressures from consumers and regulations transform the packaging industry, machinery manufacturers are also playing a role in supporting this transition.
AI-powered packaging innovation uses sensors to reduce food waste
A supermarket cashier weighing or handling yellow produce at a checkout counter.
Researchers from Kyushu University, Japan, have developed a framework for “future-ready food packaging” designed around a closed loop of recognition, judgment, actuation, and feedback. The innovation aims to detect what’s happening inside the packaging in real time and translate that into information for producers and consumers. The study, published in Trends in Food Science & Technology, combines three research areas said to have developed in isolation — intelligent sensing, self-healing materials, and AI-driven prediction — into a single, coherent system.
Fi Asia Indonesia 2026 live: Ingredion turns to ingredient systems to balance...
The Ingredion booth at Fi Asia Indonesia 2026.

Food Ingredients First

Ingredion is putting ingredient systems at the center of its Southeast Asian formulation strategy, as manufacturers seek to reduce sugar and salt without losing indulgent textures or pushing up costs. At Fi Asia Indonesia 2026 (Sep 16–18), the company is demonstrating how combinations of ingredients can help meet these competing demands, from sauces and beverages to crispy coatings. Speaking to Food Ingredients First on the show floor, Raymond Deidrick, vice president and general manager for Texture and Healthful Solutions for ASEAN and Texture Solutions food lead for APAC, says the conversation is increasingly moving beyond individual ingredients toward their role within the complete recipe. “We see less single ingredients and a lot more combinations of ingredients to produce the desired results,” he says. “This implies a shift toward ingredient systems.” 
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Packaging & Technology News
Quebec’s modernized DRS expands as beverage container...
The Quebec Beverage Container Recycling Association (QBCRA), the government-designated deposit-return system (DRS) management body, highlights its efforts to modernize and expand the Canadian province’s deposit-refund network, which it says is witnessing “steady growth.” The association indicates that public support for the DRS is contributing to the advancement of Quebec’s circular economy, with Consignaction, the official DRS brand in the Canadian province, speeding up its efforts to roll out the network and make the service more accessible. Jean-François Lefort, VP of Strategy at QBCRA, tells Packaging Insights: “The government has mandated us to achieve a 90% recovery rate by 2032 for the approximately 5 billion redeemable beverage containers marketed annually in Quebec.”
Avebe technical paper on PFAS-free oil and grease barriers for fibre-based food packaging
Technical paper
Out with PFAS On with performance. How do you develop an...
Removing PFAS changes more than the coating chemistry. This technical paper sets out five principles for designing fibre-based barriers, from choosing the right base paper and forming a continuous film to testing performance under production and end-use conditions. Explore the principles alongside examples from Avebe’s development work.This Technical Paper is brought to you by Royal Avebe.
McDonalds server holding tray with food
Packaging & Technology News
McDonald’s Netherlands risks €3.75M penalty over single-use...
McDonald’s Netherlands was determined to have violated Dutch single-use plastics (SUP) rules, introduced to implement the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD), following an investigation from the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT). The ILT found that the fast food giant has been offering single-use cups for on-site consumption, despite the Dutch Regulation on Single-Use Plastic Products (RKEG) mandating that either reusable cups must be offered for dine-in eating or single-use cups be collected for recycling. 

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Flexible plastics innovationSep2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates that consumers globally associate plastic with portability and ease of storage, highlighting key attributes of flexible plastic packaging. These attributes are re...

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Product innovation

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Caps & closures reimagined Sep 2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates that product launches have increased over the past two years, with reclosable claims showing particularly strong growth, reaching a +15% CAGR from July 2021 to June 2026. As reclosability gains momentum, caps and closures are becoming an increasingly important area for packaging innovation.

Trend analysis

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Trends in snack pack launchesSep 2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates that snack launches grew at a +8% CAGR from July 2021 to June 2026. Flat pouches accounted for 50% of these launches, aligning with consumer preferences for purchasing salty snacks in pouches. Cup packaging formats showed the fastest growth, while plastic was the dominant packaging material.

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Video17:07
UFlex expands aseptic pack production capacity with Egypt facility

Ashwani K. Sharma, president and CEO of UFlex’s Aseptic Packaging Business, Asepto, talks about the new facility it is opening in Egypt to add 12 billion to its annual aseptic pack production capacity. It also aims to improve service for customers across Africa, the Middle East, and the EU.

Portrait of a woman in a circular frame beside a pile of colorful discarded plastic bottles for recycling.
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Industrial Physics underscores pack testing as rPET and lightweighting reshape performance
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Yangi scales dry-forming fiber technology for plastic MAP food tray replacement
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Smart Robotics showcases AI-driven Smart Palletizer 2.0
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