Solidus records €11M investment in European converting facilities amid manufacturing challenges

25 Sep 2023 --- Paper-based packaging specialist Solidus has released its first sustainability report, recording an investment of approximately €11 million (US$11.7 million) across its converting plants in the Netherlands, Spain and the UK since January 2023 for a new line of retail and foodservice packaging under the name Futurline.

The sustainability report was launched to highlight the business’ achievements, recent investments and future goals. The retail and foodservice packaging investments include modified atmosphere packaging trays, punnets and skin packaging.

The report’s publication coincides with the appointment of Jesse Rep as the new head of Sustainability at Solidus to accelerate the company’s circular solutions.

Solidus’ packaging products are fully recyclable at end-of-life and made from solid board – which reduces 80% of the plastic content found in other solutions. Its recyclability lowers the packaging’s carbon footprint.

“It’s important that we design packaging materials that can be recycled at scale at the end of their life,” Rep tells Packaging Insights.

“In the next ten years, we will see stronger collaboration in the packaging value chain to increase its circularity further, both up and downstream. We’ll also see more companies ensuring that packaging materials get recycled at scale at the end-of-life stage.”

Fiber for recycling
In the report, Solidus highlights its €5.6 million (US$5.96 million) investment to reduce chemical oxygen demand (COD) emissions at two of its mills in Bad Nieuweschans and Coevorden, the Netherlands. The business has removed 85% of COD by installing anaerobic reactors at these locations.

Solidus is working on reducing its COD emissions when creating its packaging solutions.Solidus is a member of the cross-industry alliance 4Evergreen, with over 100 members committed to the 90% recycling target by 2030 for fiber-based packaging.

“Recycling packaging materials reduces the demand for virgin resources, which reduces the environmental impact associated with extracting and processing these raw materials. It also reduces the waste sent to landfills or incineration and the associated energy demand and GHG emissions, as recycling generally requires less energy than producing virgin raw materials,” asserts Rep.

“Creating packaging materials that can be recycled multiple times is possible, and the fiber-based packaging industry has the right infrastructure to support this.”

Ninety percent of Solidus’ fiber raw material is recycled paper and reused to produce packaging materials. The fibers can be recycled at least 25 times without losing mechanical or structural integrity, according to the company.

“The extent to which packagers are implementing recyclable packaging options varies widely. Several large brands and retailers are taking the lead and making strong [environmental] sustainability commitments around improving the recyclability of their packaging,” explains Rep.

“Additionally, some regions have stricter regulations and established recycling infrastructure, which can encourage businesses to adopt more recyclable packaging options.”

Solidus asserts that nearly 85% of fiber-based packaging in Europe is recycled – the highest rate of any packaging material.

Integrating circular packaging
Rep gives the example of packaging circularity with Solidus’ partnership with a large European supermarket chain, where the company collects their used packaging materials and recycles them into new packaging material for their supermarkets.The majority of fiber-based packaging is recycled in Europe.

“These types of value chain collaborations are vital to increasing packaging circularity to continue the material value of fibers,” says the head of Sustainability at Solidus.

“[In the future] companies will integrate circularity as part of their packaging design and development, maximizing the value of packaging materials, and will work toward zero product process waste. The market and regulators’ demands will drive the need for circular packaging materials that reduce climate impact and packaging waste.”

Cost effects
Rep explains that ecological packaging can increase brand reputation to environmentally conscious consumers, putting them top of mind over brands that don’t prioritize ecological solutions – potentially increasing sales for the brand.

“In general, [environmentally] sustainable materials often use fewer resources. For example, using recycled paper instead of virgin paper can be more cost-efficient. Also, [environmentally] sustainable packaging materials that have circularity integrated into their design have lower disposal costs when they are accepted for recycling.”

However, the cost benefits in certain situations do not always mean that more environmental packaging materials lead to lower costs. Rep asserts that businesses need to take a long-term perspective and consider how important the environmental sustainability of packaging materials will be in the next 5-10 years.

“Regulators, consumers and environmental NGOs are shaping that landscape and businesses that foresee these developments will lead the market. The choice of more [environmentally] sustainable packaging materials will not always be an easy one. There can be performance issues where more sustainable packaging materials may not perform as well as traditional materials regarding strength or barrier properties.”

“This learning curve and partnership collaboration can be challenging, but I am convinced the challenges should not deter efforts to adopt [environmentally] sustainable packaging materials more widely. Many companies like Solidus are actively working to overcome these challenges through innovation and collaboration with suppliers, regulators and consumers to make [environmentally] sustainable packaging a viable and successful choice for the future,” Rep concludes.

By Sabine Waldeck

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