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Stronger circular economy with European Green Deal

The proposals of the EU Packaging Regulation are the subject of much discussion. We spoke exclusively to Constantia Flexibles on the subject.

Since November 2022 at the latest, the packaging industry has been intensively discussing the topic of sustainability and particularly recyclable packaging. Of course, this trending topic has been around for a long time and has become an integral part of any corporate strategy. However, the EU Commission's proposals for the Green Deal and the Packaging and Packaging Management Regulation (PPWR) have thrown the industry into turmoil. 

Even though the Commission's proposal has generally met with an open ear and received a great deal of approval, companies are now facing major changes. packaging journal spoke exclusively with representatives of Constantia Flexibles about the topic and how it is being handled within the company.

Achim Grefenstein is head of research and development activities at Constantia Flexibles. As a trained mechanical engineer and plastics technician, he also teaches plastics processing and recycling at RWTH Aachen University. As Chairman of the Packaging Division of European Plastic Converter (EUPC), he is closely involved in the discussions in Brussels.
Achim Grefenstein heads up research and development activities at Constantia Flexibles. As a qualified mechanical engineer and plastics technician, he also teaches plastics processing and recycling at RWTH Aachen University. As Chairman of the Packaging Division of European Plastic Converter (EUPC), he is closely involved in the discussions in Brussels. (Image: Constantia Flexibles)

The EU Commission's proposal has caused some discussion. What do you hear from the industry and from your own company? What are the problems with the regulation?

Achim Grefenstein -- The industry is fundamentally positive about the issue because it helps to strengthen the circular economy. And the industry also sees it as positive that we are talking about regulation, i.e. standardised European guidelines. A patchwork quilt would not help anyone. Where it becomes a little more critical is the issue of recyclate utilisation quotas for plastics. Of the materials that Constantia Flexibles uses, only the plastics with mandatory recyclate utilisation quotas are affected.

And this leads to technical limitations in the mechanical recycling of polyolefin food packaging. The only way out is chemical recycling, and as converters we can only hope that our suppliers, i.e. the chemical industry, fulfil their promises, because otherwise we will eventually have no recyclates for our products, which would be tantamount to a de facto ban. The unavoidable production waste, so-called post-industrial recyclate, which is also produced by new technologies, is unfortunately not included in the calculation today. In earlier drafts, the addition of PIR was also permitted. That would have strengthened our innovative strength. On the subject of recyclable, where we are fully behind it for almost all applications, there are only a few niches where biodegradable can be an exception. Therefore, the fact that biodegradable should focus on special niche applications is to be welcomed in principle.

Martina Wagner - We welcome the EU Commission's ambitious proposal in the form of a regulation that can help to reduce Europe's ecological footprint. For us, it is important that it also leads to harmonisation. We currently have different requirements in Europe with regard to recyclability, but also when it comes to labelling packaging. We are therefore delighted that this regulation has the potential to create harmonised standards and thus support the free movement of goods. We believe that an important step has been taken with the draft regulation, although there is a need for further clarification in some areas. It is essential to create clarity here so that, on the one hand, there is planning certainty, but also so that there is a clear direction for development, i.e. clear design for recycling guidelines. In order to meet realistic timelines, there must be time for the development of innovations in addition to the continuous improvement of product design. And the appropriate infrastructure is also needed to collect, sort and recycle this packaging. In order to achieve the requirement proposed in the regulation that packaging is recycled at scale by 2035, the infrastructure needs to be expanded further.

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How do you see the dialogue between business and politics? What role does it play and is it going well?

Achim Grefenstein -- Like many other companies in the sector, we are in contact with our local representatives as part of the German Association of Plastics Processing Industry's initiative. We invite them to our factories and have noticed that they are very open to constructive suggestions. What I have learnt from meetings in Brussels, where the national associations have reported on how their national governments view the PPWR issue, is a little problematic. Unfortunately, not all European countries are in favour of regulation. Some are still in favour of a directive. And there are others who say that they are in favour of regulation, but would like to add individual things at national level. However, all of this will destroy our single market and should be avoided at all costs. Nothing against high ambitions, but please don't go it alone at national level! We have observed that the world is quite prepared to follow Europe as a pioneer. But not individual countries in order to position ourselves as an export hit.
As Group Sustainability Manager at Constantia Flexibles, Martina Wagner deals intensively with the topic of sustainability. Her department is responsible for the calculation of life cycle assessments, the recyclability assessment and the company's sustainability reporting.
As Group Sustainability Manager at Constantia Flexibles, Martina Wagner deals intensively with the topic of sustainability. Her department is responsible for the calculation of life cycle assessments, the recyclability assessment and the company's sustainability reporting. (Image: Constantia Flexibles)

Let's focus on the end consumer: what is important to you in terms of communicating sustainability?

Martina Wagner -- We see packaging as a high-tech product that has to fulfil many important functions, such as food safety and product protection. And an intact product that reaches the end customer contributes to sustainability. Our approach at Constantia Flexibles is to communicate transparently and honestly on the subject of sustainability. Our approach is fact-based. We work with external platforms that give us good ratings and also communicate transparently about the status of our performance with regard to our sustainability goals. At product level, we have been using our own peer-reviewed model to assess our products based on life cycle assessment criteria since 2015. And based on this, we work with our customers to find the best solution in each case, as there are different options depending on the requirements of the product and there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Achim Grefenstein - I would like to add to this: You can't fulfil everything with just one material. At Constantia Flexibles, we pursue a 360-degree material approach. This means that we will continue to work with all materials - aluminium, plastic and paper. However, we will no longer combine them with each other, but instead design them to be recyclable for either the aluminium, plastic or paper stream. Of course, this also requires a close dialogue with customers and partners along the value chain. 

Are there any other changes for the packaging and plastics industry that you see in the coming years?

Achim Grefenstein -- Monomaterial and consistent design for recycling will come, there's no question about it. We and many of our market competitors - and not only in the flexible packaging sector, but also in the rigid packaging sector - have very good solutions. The availability of high-quality recyclates will be the key. We must have enough high-quality recyclates that are also produced with a high degree of efficiency, which means that the losses in this cycle must be minimised. And that can only be achieved with good design for recycling. But we have even higher loss rates in chemical recycling in particular. We will not be able to avoid replenishing the lost quantities with either bio-based feedstock or plastics made from CO2. This is a trend that we are seeing throughout the chemical industry.

http://www.cflex.com

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