Huhtamaki and WasteAid CEOs: “Recycling is more important than compostability”

16 Nov 2021 --- According to Huhtamaki CEO Charles Héaulmé, recyclable packaging is more beneficial to the expanding circular economy than compostable alternatives.

“Recycling is more important than compostability,” Héaulmé shared at a recent virtual press conference PackagingInsights attended. “It is absolutely the priority to work on recycling and recyclability. Of course, if that’s not the solution, then compostability is a second priority.”

Press conference co-host and WasteAid CEO Ceris Turner-Bailes also highlights her waste management organization aims to assist global populations in deriving socioeconomic value from waste. “But compostables don’t give us that option.”

Meanwhile, she flags how the now-concluded United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) failed to put waste management on the environmental agenda.

An indirect circular economy
Héaulmé asserts: “Intuitively, people often believe compostability is better [for the environment] because if the material disappears [in the earth], you don’t have potential littering.”

But compostability takes packaging materials out of the closed loop, he argues, linearly directing them to the earth. Although “not entirely zero value,” soil fertilization only offers an indirect link to a circular economy.

Moreover, Héaulmé flags compostability is a “very complex scientific [process], even more than the word itself suggests.”

Héaulmé asserts: “Intuitively, people often believe compostability is better [for the environment].”“Depending on the [environment], the materials are disposed of but you may have particles you can’t see anymore that still contaminate the soil. You have to be very careful,” he underscores.

On the flip side, Tipa’s vice president of technology Dr. Eli Lancry argued in a recent interview with PackagingInsights that although recycling may theoretically keep plastic within a circular economy, practically it fails to do so. 

“Recycling levels for flexible packaging hover around 6%, even in the most advanced markets, such as the UK. The rest is being sent to incineration or landfill,” he flagged.

Recycling’s social value
At least in theory, recycling offers a new life cycle for plastics, as well as economic and social values.

“Part of our mission [at WasteAid] is for populations to derive value from their waste through recycling,” Turner-Bailes emphasizes.

WasteAid has run projects recycling plastic bags into paving tiles in Cameroon, for example. It is also collecting, cleaning and chipping down plastic and returning it to the supply chain. 

“On top of that, recycling provides a social benefit because it creates work,” adds Héaulmé. “There are jobs like that in any country. Economic viability is key. There won’t be subsidies forever.” WasteAid’s programs in Cameroon and Gambia support trainees in turning plastic waste into useful products like paving tiles (Credit: WasteAid).

COP26 overlooks waste management
Considering waste management’s critical socioeconomic and environmental benefits, WasteAid is “not happy” the topic has been “overlooked” at the two week COP26 conference, which concluded last week.

“Waste management has been overlooked on climate change and international development agendas. That’s part of the reason WasteAid invested its limited resources and efforts into attending COP26 because we absolutely wanted to speak more about it and add stress to this issue for COP27.” 

Waste management has slipped delegates’ attention as the issue is “hugely complex,” says Turner-Bailes. Data collection and progress measurement can complicate circular economy progress.

“What” versus “how” questions
Conferences like COP26 and others attract “tremendously positive” attention and high ambitions, notes Héaulmé. “But it’s all about ‘what’ questions: What is our ambition? What do we want to raise as an ambition for the future?” he prompts.

He argues there is too little discussion about the “how” question. “It’s easy to set the target and say ‘we need to do this.’ But how do we implement it? I think that’s where all the stakeholders have to appreciate the value of what is done by single companies or NGOs like WasteAid.” 

Overall, investing in waste management practices should be “low hanging fruit,” as simple solutions could eradicate up to 10% of black carbon emissions in low- and middle-income countries. 

By Anni Schleicher