ZWE examines aspects and challenges of sustainable packaging in three reports

Reports by Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) and partners examine decarbonization pathways of beverage containers, urge rethinking single-use glass and transition towards reuse, and investigates the economic viability of reusable food packaging

France to launch glass deposit system

French government has announced plans to establish glass deposit system; aims to phase out single-use plastics by 2040; incentivizes reusable glass with dedicated fund of 50 million Euro

2022 FPF Workshop: From ideas to action

In the afternoon of the Food Packaging Forum’s annual workshop, speakers discuss changing narratives to make information actionable, share behind-the-scenes of a reuse system running for over 80 years; panels discuss visions, obstacles for a sustainable food system

Switzerland: 25% of PVC lid gaskets exceed plasticizer migration limits

Swiss national campaign analyses 109 oily food samples packaged in glass jars on the compliance of migration of plasticizers from their lid gaskets; comparison with European campaigns conducted a decade ago shows similar proportion of non-compliant samples with non-polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-gasket; urges food businesses to pay more attention to the suitability of their products lids

Assessing the circularity of single-use glass

Zero Waste Europe and Eunomia investigate the circularity of single-use container glass in Germany, France, the UK and US; Germany has the highest collection rates for glass and the highest proportion of recycled glass in containers; US is the lowest due to lack of collection facilities and mixed collection of glass with other packaging types; collecting glass separately and by color is the most effective way to increase circularity

Associations report European packaging recycling rates

Industry associations report recycling rates of packaging materials in Europe; average collection rate of glass bottles and jars hit 80% in 2020; paper packaging recycling over 80%; paper recycling rates close to theoretical maximum; plastic recycling has not increased despite increased demand by beverage companies; two-thirds of plastic-packaging pledges in Europe failed, supporting the change away from single-use likely necessary

Colombia issues resolution on glass and ceramic FCMs

Technical regulation sets specific migration limits for lead and cadmium from glass and ceramic food contact materials (FCMs); provides guides on which products are within scope, limits vary with article type and size

New tool for scoring food packaging: UP Scorecard

Understanding Packaging (UP) Scorecard evaluates and compares impacts of foodware and food packaging; beta version of the tool published, new features and expanded product coverage planned; developed by a multistakeholder collaboration including the Food Packaging Forum

FPF publishes five fact sheets on food packaging materials

Food Packaging Forum (FPF) releases new fact sheets on plastic, paper and board, metal, glass, and multimaterial food packaging; address material properties, applications, chemical migration, end-of-life, and recyclability

Health Canada guide on glazed ceramics, glassware regulations

Government agency Health Canada publishes updated industry guide providing relevant information, examples, migration limits, designs for warnings labels; emphasizes that undecorated glassware and ceramics out of scope of regulation