Plastic can be sustainable, especially cardboard-plastic combinations, says Greiner Packaging exec

21 Oct 2019 --- Greiner Packaging, a prominent European plastic packaging manufacturer, is offering increasingly circular solutions to its customers, including more sustainable cardboard-plastic tear-off combinations, recycled PET (rPET) bottles, agro-based plastics and bioplastics. PackagingInsights speaks to Konrad Wasserbauer, Director Circular Economy for Greiner Packaging, about these latest solutions and the supplier’s ambitions to drive its circularity to new heights.

Greiner Packaging took the opportunity to present an upgraded version of its K3 cups, a cardboard-plastic combination with individually recyclable components, at FachPack 2019 last month. To make it even easier for consumers to separate the cardboard and plastic, Greiner Packaging teamed up with cardboard packaging and labeling firm Offsetdruckerei Schwarzach to develop a patent-pending tear-off system, which makes recycling even more intuitive.

“We strongly believe that cardboard-plastic solutions are a very sustainable packaging solution and interesting facts prove this to be true. Experts analyzed our K3 packaging and found that a 500 ml thermoformed K3 cup with a diameter of 95 mm contains 33 percent less plastic than a direct printed cup of the same size,” Wasserbauer says.The cardboard sleeves on K3 cups can also be produced from grass paper.

“Also, a K3 cup has a lower impact on the environment when it comes to its carbon footprint compared to conventional packaging solutions containing only plastic. A 500 ml K3 cup, for example, causes 17 percent less CO2 than a direct printed cup of the same size.”

Digital watermarks can be added to the packaging too. Despite these markings being almost invisible, they can still be identified by cameras in waste sorting facilities, making them easier to recycle at the facilities themselves.

Where requested by the customer, the cardboard sleeves on K3 packaging can also be produced from grass paper.

rPET: Higher and higher
As part of its circular strategy, Greiner Packaging is steadily looking for high-quality material streams and establishing partnerships with suppliers that guarantee customers a constant availability of recycled material for their products.

“We already proved that we are a trustworthy supplier of products containing recycled materials,” Wasserbauer continues. “One of our goals is to include at least 35 percent of recycled material in our non-food products, but of course, the more recycled content the better.”

Within food products, one recent notable solution is German food company Jütro’s range of squeeze bottles for ketchup and sauces, which are made from 30 percent rPET.The new tear-off system makes it even easier to separate the cardboard wrap and the plastic cup.

However, the use of increasingly higher levels of rPET does not come without its issues. Wasserbauer pinpoints the availability of the material and the lack of consumer acceptance for “greyish” packs as particular challenges.

“Products containing recycled content are often a different color (greyish or greenish) and not as bright as products consisting of virgin material. Companies from the whole value chain must inform consumers of the benefits and characteristics of more sustainable packaging. If consumers accept products containing recycled material, knowing it may differ in appearance but be better for the environment, our customers may be more willing to make use of recycled materials,” he explains.

“Plastic can be sustainable”
Plastic cutlery often has a poor reputation, although the trend toward more and more prepackaged meals and convenience foods is driving a boom in its use, Greiner Packaging reports.

At FachPack, the supplier exhibited cutlery solutions made of polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), as well as partially biobased and industrially degradable materials. Also on display were a series of prototypes made of PET, cardboard and wood that could effectively replace conventional solutions in the years to come.

However, Wasserbauer stresses that plastic packaging can be sustainable and that it is important to consider the net environmental impact of individual packs before jumping to material alternatives.The new Jütro bottles for ketchup and sauces are made of 30 percent rPET.

“We find it important that stakeholders from the whole value chain work together in educating consumers to convince them that plastic packaging is much better than its current reputation suggests. Barrier technologies used in plastics packaging help to prevent food waste, for example.”

Greiner Packaging indicates that its “tried-and-tested” barrier technologies are increasingly in demand among customers, given the vital importance of combating food waste by ensuring that products enjoy longer shelf-lives. In this respect, the European supplier is considered a pioneer in the industry with its inert barrier technology (IBT) and multi-barrier technology (MBT) giving customers different options that allow food to be stored for longer – even without the use of preservatives.

“Together with our innovation teams, we are focusing on smart packaging solutions. One step is to use digital watermarks that contain some product or packaging information. We are always eager to develop new forms of innovative packaging and will be sure to present some new solutions at the Interpack trade show in Düsseldorf, Germany, in May,” Wasserbauer concludes.

By Joshua Poole