Trade Show review PETplanet Insider Vol. 25 No. 06/24 www.petpla.net 30 The future of sustainable packaging solutions European Food & Beverage Plastic Packaging Summit The European Food & Beverage Plastic Packaging Conference presented by ACI Europe took place in Porto, Portugal, from May 15 to 16. Around 50 participants from the packaging and beverage industry discussed the future of sustainable packaging solutions. Paul Davidson, Challenge Director Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging, UK Research & Innovation, hosted the event and presented the topics of legislation (PPWD), chemical recycling, refilling and reuse, collection and sorting technology and material development. These are the highlights of the first conference day: Graham Houlder, Founder and Managing Director of Sloop Consulting/ Ceflex, presented the Ceflex project, which aims to collect all flexible packaging so that over 80 per cent of the materials that are recycled are returned to the economic cycle and can be used by sustainable end markets to replace new materials. Adela Putinelu, Head of Policy and Sustainability at Plastic Energy spoke about chemical recycling. She discussed the advantages of the complementarity between chemical and mechanical recycling. She listed the following advantages for chemical recycling: It increases the recyclability of mixed, flexible post-consumer plastic waste and thus displaces the production of virgin material. She emphasised that the quality and properties are similar to virgin plastics and that no separation by polymer type is required beforehand. The chemical recycling process also allows contaminated food packaging to be recycled and new recyclates to be produced for food-contact, and contactsensitive plastic packaging. She said that Plastic Energy already has two recycling plants operating in Spain since 2016 and 2017, where a recycled hydrocarbon oil called Tacoil is sold to petrochemical companies for further processing into monomers and recycled plastic. She summarised that ambitious PPWR regulations provide incentives to transform the market, but that enforcement and implementation are crucial. She sees a global agreement on plastics as a unique opportunity to harmonise rules and reverse the trend of plastic pollution on a global scale. Maria Vera-Duran, Project Manager of the Industry’s Confederation (EuRIC), reported on the new PPWD in 2024, emphasising the minimum content of recycled material in plastic packaging. Recycled content must be derived from post-consumer plastic waste that has been collected in the Union in accordance with the PPWD, the national SUPD implementing legislation and the WFD; or has been collected in a third country to standards equivalent to those provided for this in the EU; She highlighted the importance of this mirror clause to level the playing field between European recyclers and importers of recycled plastic. By December 31, 2026, the sustainability criteria for plastic recycling technologies and EU equivalence of rules for plastic waste collected or recycled outside the Union should be achieved. She also spoke about the eco-modulation of EPR fees. The EPR fees can be (voluntarily) modulated on the basis of the percentage of recycled content in packaging. The modulation should take into account sustainability criteria and environmental costs of recycling technologies. With regard to bio-based content, she explained that the European Commission will review the status of the development of bio-based plastic packaging three years after the EiF. If necessary, it will present a legislative proposal that includes sustainability requirements, targets for the increased use of bio-based plastics and the possibility of achieving the RC targets if recycling technologies are not available. Ana Gascon, WWW Director in Europe at the Coca Cola Company, reported on Coca Cola’s “World Without Waste” strategy. Ana said that the world has a packaging problem. As one of the largest beverage producers in the world, Coca Cola has a responsibility to help solve this problem and is willing to be part of the solution. That’s why Coca Cola will make 100% of its packaging recyclable by 2025 and use 50% recycled material in its packaging by 2030. Ana told that by 2030, at least 25% of the volume of Coca Cola’s beverages will be sold in refillable or reusable packaging. And on the way to a world without waste, the company wants to collect and recycle one bottle or can for every bottle or can sold by 2030 - regardless of where it comes from. In addition to the 3 Rs, reduce, reuse and recycle, Coca Cola’s focus in Europe is to work with the rest of the industry to promote 16 operational DRSs in Europe by the end of 2024, and the rest foreseen in the pipeline for DRS is the collection system that guarantees the best collection rates and the best quality of feedstock. Ana summarised 3 main take-aways. Firstly, the opportunities: A lot of progress has been made, but there is still a lot of room for improvement in each pillar. Ecoinnovation and R&D are a must for continuous improvement to create a more sustainable packaging. The second fact Ana sees are the challenges: There is a great need for co-operation between all actors involved: we are all in the same boat! She emphasied that Coca Cola wants to support a systemic chance based on the principles of the circular economy. For this to happen, all stakeholders are needed: companies, governments, customers, consumers, media, non-governmental organisations. www.ceflex.eu www.euric.org www.plasticenergy.com www.coca-colacompany.com www.acieu.net
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