On the second day of the Food Packaging Forum’s annual workshop, speakers discuss the investments necessary to understand complex food and packaging supply chains and the benefits of taking the time to do so; assessing plastic circularity through a more honest assessment of the post-consumer life of plastics; the ongoing work of European Commission’s food contact materials policy revision
September 23, 2021
Measures to limit chemical migration from recycled paperboard
Review identifies and discusses three approaches to limit chemical migration from recycled paperboard to make it acceptable for food applications; considers internal bags with an incorporated barrier, barrier layers, and functional sorbents added to the board; study on migration from paper cups identifies exposures to vanadium and fluoride
September 15, 2021
California overhauling packaging recyclability labeling
First in US regulation to only allow recyclability labels on packaging if > 60% of the population has access to suitable recycling facilities; bill supported by local recyclers to reduce recycling contamination; Governor expected to sign into law by October 10, 2021
August 31, 2021
Report on residential access to recycling in the US
Sustainable Packaging Coalition publishes updated report on the availability of residential recycling in the United States for 32 types of packaging materials; steel food cans, aluminum beverage cans, corrugated cardboard, paperboard, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles accepted by > 84% of facilities surveyed; foil and rigid polystyrene (PS) had fewest recycling options; access to recycling declined since 2016
August 23, 2021
Recycling food-grade plastics in the EU
Recycling Today reports on the challenges of supplying food-grade recycled plastics even as commitments increase; European Commission registers Citizens’ Initiative to create plastic bottle deposit and extended producer responsibility system in EU; World Wildlife Fund Germany investigates packaging system to find ways to increase circularity, encourages reuse over recycling
August 17, 2021
Study characterizes chemicals present within recycled products
Scientific study characterizes chemicals contained in 210 consumer products made of recycled or virgin material regarding identity, functional use, structural class, and origin and prioritizes chemicals; 65% of chemicals with greater concentrations in recycled materials, along with a higher number of flame retardants, biocides, dyes, and fragrances in recycled materials
July 29, 2021
Reuters: advanced recycling projects prove not viable at scale
News agency reports advanced and chemical recycling projects from large multinational companies “flop”; projects launched in the last few years by Royal Dutch Shell, Unilever, and Delta Airlines to convert plastic waste into fuel reported to have all been dropped due to lack of economic viability
July 27, 2021
Recent reports on creating more circular food packaging
World Economic Forum (WEF) releases report on the Future of Reusable Consumption Models; aims to clarify “an alternative plastic waste-reduction model… beyond the recycling of waste”; Upstream publishes design principles for reusable packaging materials; The Consumer Goods Forum publishes nine “Golden Design Rules” for plastic packaging to increase recyclability
