More and more packaging is made from post-consumer recycled waste. We are
already used to bottles made of discarded plastic and packaging made of recycled
paper or pulp. More recently, there has been news about food-grade packaging
manufactured from chemically recycled mixed plastic
waste
for such renowned brands as Magnum ice cream, Knorr powdered stock and
Zott Italian mozzarella.
Personal care and healthcare products are also being sold in consumer packaging
made from discarded plastic. Soon, Tupperware will come out with a reusable
drinking mug and
straw;
and Royal Philips is showcasing a prototype of its “Avent” baby bottle,
all made from chemically recycled polymers.
For packaged goods companies, the motivation to use secondary packaging material
is driven by a shift in consumer awareness and a rapidly changing regulatory
environment.
While in the United States, recycling rates for scrap
plastic
are at 8 percent and sinking, quite the opposite trend can be observed on the
other side of the Atlantic. A circular economy, including ambitious waste and
recycling laws, will in fact be the number one priority of the “European Green
Deal.”
EU policymakers assert that all plastics packaging placed on the EU market
need to be designed to be either reusable or recyclable — and in a
cost-effective way. The goal is to push companies to use 10 million tonnes of
recycled plastics in their packaging by 2025 — quadrupling the current demand.
In the UK, the government has proposed a tax on the production and import of
plastic packaging with less than 30 percent recycled content as from April 2022.
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In response to regulatory pressure, 70 business organisations in February 2019
submitted voluntary pledges to produce or use more recycled plastics, with the
aim to increase the market for recycled plastics by at least 60 percent by 2025.
Six of the world's biggest users of packaging committed to increase the use of
recycled plastic in packaging fivefold, going from an average 4 percent
recyclates in 2018 to 22 percent in 2025.
Towards a new normal
These combined efforts go in line with the trend that consumers are increasingly
concerned at their role in contributing to the plastic crisis. They are starting
to take the environmental impact of their purchasing decisions into account and
are motivated to engage in recycling because they care for the planet.
In its April 2019 Omnibus
study
of more than 21,000 US households,
Nielsen found that products that
are environmentally friendly and use recycled packaging resonate most strongly
with consumers overall. According to a survey by
GFK,
consumers expect manufacturers to take the first action and help them consume
more
responsibly
by providing them more eco-friendly products. Finally, a DS
Smith survey
in July 2019 reveals that nine in ten respondents would choose a product
packaged in less plastic when offered a choice between two goods of the same
quality.
These recent findings indicate a significant market potential. Since the buying
public perceives product and packaging more and more as an entity, they see it
as contradictory — or even as an act of greenwashing — if a product that is
declared to be sustainable comes over-packaged or in unsustainable packaging.
From this perspective, products with recycled packaging are considered in line
with consumer expectations and part of the mainstream market, rather than a
“green” niche.
Make or break
While some companies are more compliance-driven, others are taking a lead with
circular business models in hope of reaping the benefits of cost savings,
increasing brand valorisation and — eventually — increased market share. For
these pioneers and their customers, packaging must be fully circular — a tough
challenge, considering the low market price of virgin plastics. An example for
this forward-looking approach is Werner & Mertz, a producer of eco-friendly
cleaning agents and sanitary products for both private and professional users in
Europe, the US and Japan. The company is best known for its
Frosch product line; according to
Reader’s Digest, it is the “most trusted consumer brand” today in the
household cleaner category in Germany.
Since 2014, the company uses 100 percent recyclate for its packaging, mainly
bottles made of PET and HDPE. Pursuing cradle-to-cradle principles, plastic is
taken from domestic waste streams and kept in a closed material and production
loop. To make it work, Werner & Mertz initiated the “Recyclate Initiative,”
taking on board the key partners of its supply chain. The company uses a modern
laser technology developed to fine-sort PET granules and flakes in a way that
only transparent particles remain. The subsequent extrusion process eliminates
residual impurities resulting in recyclate that is turned into transparent
plastic bottles. Compared to PET made of crude oil, this process requires
two-thirds less energy, cutting CO2 emissions by half.
However, given the higher costs for collecting, sorting and recycling, the
implementation of a genuine cradle-to-cradle packaging model doesn’t come for
free. At the same time, the consumer expects the end product to be of
uncompromised quality, functionality and value for money — down to the
packaging. That is why Werner & Mertz had to make sure that their re-designed
PET bottles appeared unchanged — thus fully transparent — while maintaining the
product’s retail price.
“For us, it’s not about selling ‘green’ products at a premium but providing
sustainable consumer products of superior quality at a competitive price,”
explains Timothy Glaz, Head of Corporate Affairs. From his experience,
customers care about the fact that the product they are buying is eco-friendly
as a whole, and doesn’t have a negative impact on the environment — as
non-recyclable, hard-to-recycle, or virgin plastic might have. “This is what our
clients expect and this is what our brand stands for.”
The company wants to be part of the solution, rather than the plastic waste
problem. Consumers don’t necessarily want to learn about the recycling process
in technical detail. The positive effect this experience has on buying decisions
came to the fore when, in 2018, the company ran an on-site information campaign
in a local retail outlet, where shoppers could actually touch and feel the
recycled PE and PET plastic flakes the bottles are made from and learn how much
plastic waste they could help avoid. As a result, the company recorded a
substantial increase in sales in this particular outlet.
New regulatory stimuli ahead
To stimulate the demand for recyclates, and for circular packaging models to
become competitive, the relative market price for recycled compared to virgin
plastic would need to be brought down on a stable basis. On the consumer side,
there is the growing desire to take an active part in reducing the waste of
virgin resources and to grasp the positive impact of this behaviour on the
environment. Who wouldn’t appreciate to know that every ton of plastic bottles
recycled keeps 3.8 barrels of crude oil in the ground and eventually out of the
atmosphere? But the challenge remains in how to communicate the positive impact
of sustainable packaging in an effective and trustworthy manner, without it
being perceived as greenwashing. The trust in labels is low — due to their
proliferation, lack of comparability and doubts about their validity.
For this reason, product labelling is currently under review by the EU and we
can expect to see action to tighten the rules. A good starting point for this
would be the ongoing work by the European Commission on the Product
Environmental Footprint
(PEF)
method, which measures the life-cycle environmental performance and relevant
impacts of products, including CO2 footprint and the depletion of natural
resources. Official ecolabels based on a PEF would provide consumers with
comparable and trustworthy information on eco-performance; while digital-enabled
solutions such as QR codes, for example, could link to more specific details
online. And why not introduce an international label certifying the use of 100
percent secondary packaging material? This would be of interest not only for
consumers but also for “green” public procurement.
Sustainable packaging on the upswing
In the past, many circular initiatives had a supply-side focus. For the
transition into a circular economy to be successful, consumer demand also needs
to be understood. Active engagement in changing consumption patterns is
critical. Recent surveys confirm that more and more consumers perceive
sustainable packaging as positive, but feel poorly informed about the
recyclability of packaging in general. Knowing that a product comes in a
sustainable packaging with a lower environmental impact has a positive effect on
buying decisions and brand loyalty. It is appreciated as long as it doesn’t
affect the quality, functionality and price of the end product.
From that perspective, more sustainable packaging is no longer a choice for
brands, but a corporate necessity. For many companies, however, this is a tough
challenge, considering the low market price of virgin plastics. To facilitate
the uptake of recyclates in packaging at competitive prices, ways need to be
found to compensate, or help finance the costs of re-designing and high-quality
recycling. Whilst providing such incentives, a level playing field needs to be
maintained through ambitious recycling goals and tougher laws on waste and
packaging waste. This combination of incentives and a clear regulatory framework
will lead towards more circular packaging models.
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Michael Laermann is an independent consultant, editor and founder of Reason & Rhyme Communications in Brussels, specialized in designing integrated communications and sustainability strategies.
Published Jan 10, 2020 7am EST / 4am PST / 12pm GMT / 1pm CET