Paper Technology International 2020 - Journal - Page 99

PAPERTECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL
Maybe this observation is too Eurocentric and only from a
quite specific standpoint, but I am convinced that the end consumer
will lead finally to a way more restrictive, as well as smart, use of
packaging solutions.
If we want to pass on an earth worth living on we have to
change our habits – quickly! I do not want to say that everything we
have done in the past is not an option for the future, existing means
of packaging e.g. based on polyolefins, if properly collected and
recycled will have their place in the future too. But we still have too
many solutions in place which are either not suitable for recycling
– and here I want to be more precise, real recycling, and not only
downcycling, or do not have functioning collecting systems in place,
or indeed in many cases lacking the awareness of the consumer on
how to deal with their used packaging materials.
Furthermore, we are still using solutions which may look
from a technical point of view very smart (commercially feasible)
and convenient but are unacceptable from a health or environmental
perspective, e.g. per or poly fluorinated products
A complex topic with no black and white answers some
might say! Of course, a multilayer multi-material packaging
solution is providing from a technical and commercial point of
view some benefits, high functionality with superb performance
or light weighting. As an example, a PE-PET-PE solution may be
addressed, however if you think about the recyclability of such a
product there are no feasible solutions in place currently. Critics may
say that pyrolysis of such a material mix is possible to create a new
“raw” material which can be used for new grades of packaging, but
is this recycling? I would say it is rather downcycling than recycling.
The required investments and the needed process energy
may be addressed here as well. Light weighting as a, for sure, valid
argument is also often used to justify “plastic”-based solutions, but
will you really be able to load one palette more in the truck due to
lighter packaging material in comparison to fiber-based alternatives?
Figures 3: Packaging needs to be an environmentally friendly
and sustainable product.
To the understanding of knowledgeable experts, the nature
of the SUP is heading in the wrong direction! On the one hand
nature based products like chemically modified natural polymers
are stigmatized as being “plastic”; on the other hand the given
recyclability of polymer-based solutions for paper and board
packaging systems is not addressed as being more environmental
friendly due to its recyclability by the currently available
infrastructure! There is no legal differentiation of a multi-layer, multimaterial derived from 100% crude oil and a paper and board product
with a thin layer of non-renewable but fully recyclable functional
product. Even worse, if this required functionality is coming from
natural resources, as for example a modified starch, which has to
be considered as fully biodegradable, the general idea of evolving
packaging solutions towards being more environmentally friendly is
compromised.
Last, but by no means least, the design of packaging
materials and required performance has to be challenged, the
performance coming with some plastics is not always required!
An application-orientated design with the target in mind to
find the most environmentally friendly means of packaging should
always be sought, without compromising the foremost task of
packaging – to protect the packed goods!
I am convinced that the answer lies in a smart combination
of the production equipment of the paper and board producer,
together with those of the converter and printer, coupled with the
application methods of coating, printing, or spraying. Functional
chemistry, such as classical polymers, specific products for paper
and board, and finally the design being honed for every product, will
surely lead to a far more environmentally friendly and sustainable
product.
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