Sustainability Challenges With Multi-material Packaging

The existing recycling infrastructure often struggles to effectively handle and process multi-material packaging. © olga_demina – stock.adobe.com

Recyclability Fosters Brand and Consumer Accountability

By Steve Brownett-Gale, Marketing Lead at Lifestyle Packaging

Multi-layered packaging, prevalent across diverse industries, now comprises up to 20% of plastic packaging according to a recent MDPI report, and poses a formidable challenge to recycling efforts. This issue not only hampers environmental protection endeavors, but can also tarnish consumer perception and brand integrity.

So, what are the hurdles hindering the recycling of multi-material packaging? And why is it crucial for brands to take responsibility and implement effective recycling initiatives?

The complexity of multi-material packaging

Multi-material packaging refers to the concept of packaging that is composed of two or more materials to form a unified solution. These materials, chosen for their distinct properties like barrier protection and aesthetics, cater to varied packaging needs across sectors such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food and beverage. Examples include stand-up pouches, combining plastic and foil for durability, and flexible options like bags, incorporating plastic, foil, and paper layers for versatility.

Multi-material packaging offers several advantages:

Enhanced Product Protection: By amalgamating materials with complementary properties, it provides superior strength, flexibility, and barrier capabilities, ensuring product safety during handling, transport, and storage.

Extended Shelf Life: Combining materials with moisture barrier properties aids in preserving perishable items for prolonged durations.

Branding Opportunities: Its flexibility in design enables brands to align packaging with their identity, enhancing shelf appeal.

Regulatory Compliance: Compliance with safety and labeling standards is often facilitated through multi-material packaging, ensuring legal adherence.

Functional Versatility: Tailoring packaging to include features like resealable closures and accessible openings enhances user experience and convenience.

However, there are several disadvantages:

Recycling Difficulties: The complexity of multiple materials impedes efficient recycling, straining recycling facilities’ ability to separate and process components effectively.

Consumer Confusion: Varying disposal methods for different materials, compounded by unclear labeling, confound consumers, leading to improper disposal.

Waste Generation: Inadequate recycling contributes to mounting waste, exacerbating ecological concerns as non-recyclable packaging ends up in landfills or incineration facilities.

Higher Production Costs: Designing and manufacturing multi-material packaging is more intricate, costly, and time-consuming than single-material alternatives, impacting profits and pricing strategies.

Multi-material packaging, while common, often contributes to pollution and resource depletion due to its intricate composition and limited recyclability. However, organizations can mitigate these impacts by assuming active responsibility by reducing their ecological footprint and prioritizing reusable materials to curb waste production, thereby enhancing environmental protection.

Assessing the role of multi-material packaging in recycling practices

The current state of multi-material packaging within the recycling landscape presents significant challenges. A recent report published by the University of Manchester revealed that the existing recycling infrastructure struggles to effectively handle and process multi-material packaging, highlighting a pressing need for system-wide upgrades and standardization.

Fragmentation persists across frameworks due to regional disparities in collection systems, processing facilities, and the final destination of recycled materials. While some regions boast well-established local recycling programs with curbside collection services, others lag behind.

Packaging contamination exacerbates the issue during collection and transportation, compounded by consumer errors in sorting and disposal, with a staggering 84%  of households inadvertently contaminating their recycling streams according to a report published by WRAP. Consequently, the quality and value of recycled materials diminish, amplifying processing costs.

Sorting and processing multi-material packaging pose significant hurdles, particularly when certain materials are incompatible with existing recycling methods and systems. The complexity of multi-layered packaging compounds the challenge, as it complicates material separation, even for seemingly identical materials. These complications contribute to higher recycling costs and lower recycling rates.

Despite these obstacles, gradual improvements are underway. Advancements in recycling technology, such as optical sorting and artificial intelligence, hold promise for enhancing long-term process efficiency by enabling more precise material sorting and increasing automation.

Concurrently, consumer awareness and engagement in recycling are on the rise. With 84% actively seeking recycling instructions on product packaging and a 94% understanding of recycling symbols according to a recent study commissioned by Amcor. These findings are reason for  optimism for improved recycling efforts and effectiveness in the future.

Corporate accountability in developing sustainable packaging

Businesses also play a pivotal role in spearheading sustainability and recycling efforts, primarily to safeguard brand reputation. The growing influence of consumer attitudes toward environmental concerns is evident, with 84% of survey respondents  in a report published by RoundUp.org expressing that poor environmental practices can lead to brand alienation.

Responding to this shift, cosmetics retailer Lush has successfully reduced packaging waste by offering packaging-free products and embracing sustainable alternatives like fabric. Companies showcasing a dedication to corporate responsibility and sustainability are better poised to cultivate consumer loyalty and maintain a positive brand image.

Moreover, proactive engagement in sustainability initiatives enables companies to comply with evolving regulatory requirements, mitigating risks of compliance violations and ensuring long-term business viability. Sustainable packaging practices also bolster supply chain efficiency by trimming material costs, optimizing packaging dimensions, and minimizing transport emissions, fostering overall supply chain resilience.

To further embed recyclability into multi-material packaging design, brands can employ several strategies.This includes meticulous material selection, favoring materials with wide recyclability and minimal environmental impact, such as glass, aluminium, paperboard, and select plastics accepted by recycling facilities.

Additionally, streamlining packaging design with recyclability in mind, by minimizing complex structures and opting for easily separatable components, facilitates material recovery during recycling processes.Furthermore, collaboration with suppliers, manufacturers, and recyclers enables optimization of packaging design and recycling initiatives, identifying improvement opportunities and implementing sustainability best practices.

Continuous assessment and evaluation of recycling and sustainability performance metrics, such as material usage, carbon footprint, and recycling rates, empower companies to set accurate improvement targets and refine packaging designs continuously.

Strategies for enhancing recycling initiatives

Businesses can enhance multi-material recycling initiatives by focusing on increasing consumer awareness of environmental issues and promoting transparency through education on effective waste management practices. Transparent communication about packaging materials, recycling processes, and practices fosters trust with consumers, ensuring that their expectations are met.

Partnering with recycling companies enables businesses to leverage expertise and resources, supporting the development and expansion of recycling infrastructure and sorting technologies for enhanced efficiency. Collaboration opportunities allow organizations to financially contribute to infrastructure investments, such as equipment upgrades and expanding processing capacity, thereby improving operational efficiency.

Partnerships also facilitate knowledge sharing and innovation, keeping businesses informed about emerging recycling practices. Standardising packaging materials simplifies the sorting process, enabling recyclers to efficiently sort and separate materials, reducing contamination and boosting material recovery rates.

Material standardization not only aids recyclers but also enhances consumer awareness and understanding of recycling requirements, encouraging consumer participation. Additionally, leveraging the latest technologies in sorting and processing multi-material packaging enables more accurate identification and separation of materials, even for complex packaging solutions.

This technological advancement increases recycling rates and material purity, thereby reducing waste. Innovative machinery offers advanced methods for recovering valuable materials from multi-layered packaging that traditional tools may not salvage, further enhancing recycling efforts.

About the Author

Steve Brownett-Gale is a marketing professional with a career spanning both communications and products in B2B and B2C markets across Manufacturing and Services sectors. At Lifestyle Packaging, in his role as marketing lead, Steve is responsible for positioning the company as a world-leading supplier of innovative and ground-breaking packaging devices in the cosmetic, wellness, and alternative health industries, as well as offering a unique and disruptive supply chain model. Learn more at https://www.lifestylepackaging.com/