FachPack 2019: ProAmpac spotlights ProActive Sustainability for greener flexible packaging

25 Sep 2019 --- When it comes to sustainable packaging, there is one overarching contributor to those goals – flexible packaging. Meanwhile, collaborative innovation is integral in delivering sustainable solutions. This is according to global flexible packaging company ProAmpac, who spoke with PackagingInsights about its initiative ProActive Sustainability on the floor of FachPack 2019, currently being held in Nuremberg, Germany.

“Many consumer-packaged goods (CPG) companies have pledged to make packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025,” says ProAmpac CEO, Greg Tucker. “This is an enormous challenge and one that ProAmpac has been dedicated to with a company-wide initiative we call ProActive Sustainability. We’re delivering more sustainable flexible packaging options to our customers today and developing even more for the future.”

Within the ProActive Sustainability initiative, ProAmpac is highlighting its monomaterial polyethylene (PE) pouch that is recycle-ready. Within the ProActive Sustainability initiative, ProAmpac highlights its monomaterial polyethylene (PE) pouch.

Flexible packaging leading the way for sustainability?
According to Manuel Jaggi, Innovation Engineer at Ampac Flexibles, flexible packaging is a main contributor to sustainable packaging – especially when contrasting it with rigid options.

“The mass of materials used, as well as raw material, is reduced in flexible packaging, when compared to rigid options. Rigid PE bottles, for example, use more PE. Also when it comes to transportation, there are many savings with flexible packaging, especially if you compare flexible packaging to glass jars, for example,” he tells PackagingInsights at the show.

Indeed, Innova Market Insights pegged “Less is More” as one of its top packaging trends for the year. The trend denotes how innovation in lightweighting is proliferating across different packaging formats, largely driven by sustainability concerns. This can be seen in the increasing popularity of vacuum-packed paper trays (skinpacks) and lightweight beer kegs.

In a commercial example shared by the company, ProAmpac collaborated with L’Oréal to develop a more sustainable flexible package.

“For L’Oréal’s REDKEN Flash Lift Bonder, we replaced a rigid container with an internal bag and swapped a twist tie for a single flexible package that includes a distinctive pour spout. The new container requires less space and weighs less, resulting in a better product-to-package ratio,” explains Adam Grose, Chief Commercial Officer.

“The packaging was developed in record time, working with the customer – a program we call Collaborative Innovation. Recently, the packaging was honored as a Diamond Finalist for the Packaging Innovation Awards by Dow,” Grose says.

Recycling infrastructure barriers
A major hurdle facing flexible packaging is recycling. “The main barrier regarding the packaging itself is the composition of different materials that are used to have the exact properties of the packaging. While you may need aluminum foil to have a good barrier, you may also need polyester to have a good visual appearance. But this combination of materials cannot be recycled together, so you would need to separate them.”

“This is an industry challenge at the moment, but ProAmpac has developed solutions that are recyclable because we are using only one material. Our Recyclable structures are based on a Mono Material approach, using either only PE or PP”

Yet despite the ability to develop mono-material solutions, the lack of recycling infrastructure can still be a challenge. “From the packaging side, we are delivering and we have solutions ready. But now, it is also up to governments and the recycling industry to establish the infrastructure that can appropriately collect and recycle those newly developed packaging solutions,” he explains.

The necessity for more agile and aligned recycling systems has been highlighted by other industry players. The recently launched Circular Plastics Alliance (CPA), which aims to ensure that ten million metric tons of recycled plastics are used in EU products by 2025, also calls for the development of recycling technologies and infrastructure throughout the EU.

Similarly, Bruce Bratley, Founder and CEO of First Mile, notes that although a range of innovative packaging materials may be entering the market touting their full recyclability, the infrastructure isn’t always in place to recycle them.

ProActive Sustainability product groups
Beyond the solution shared with PackagingInsights, the company is offering sustainable packaging in four product groups as follows:A selection of flexible products at ProAmpac's FachPack stand.

ProActive Recyclable: Flexible packaging designed for store drop-off recycling through How2Recycle. Solutions include the new ProActive Recyclable R-1000 high-speed vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) and horizontal form-fill-seal (HFFS) rollstock.

In addition to rollstock, ProAmpac offers these recyclable options: paper refuse bags for the lawn and garden market; paper handled shopping bags; premade standup pouches; and a recyclable option for Signature Surfaces Paper Touch coating.

ProActive PCR: ProAmpac can incorporate US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) food-contact compliant post-consumer recycled (PCR) content into the sealant layer or print web of a package to meet sustainability goals. In June, the company introduced a high-barrier FDA compliant pouch with 25 percent PCR for JUSTIN’S Nut Butter Covered Nuts.

ProActive Renewable: Packaging made with bio-based resin. This year, ProAmpac developed packaging with the team from Scotts Miracle-Gro. The large format bag utilizes 25 percent bio-based material.

ProActive Compostable: Flexible Packaging made with materials that comply with the ASTM D6400 standard for industrial composting. “We have developed several multi-ply compostable structures with high-oxygen and moisture barrier properties, and these can be combined with a compostable reclosure and accept eco-friendly inks,” says Grose.

By Laxmi Haigh, with additional reporting from Joshua Poole and Anni Schleicher

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