This is a quick guide to plastics and flexible packaging. After reading this, you will learn about the common plastics used in flexible packaging. You will also become familiar with the terms used to discuss flexible plastic packaging.
The primary purpose of any packaging is to protect the packed products. Packaging protects food from dirt, mold, bacteria, and air, keeping it safe from contamination and spoilage. It also affects product quality by protecting them from dents, breaks, and damage, ensuring they remain safe and usable.
Plastic as a Packaging Material
Plastic is not one material but a family of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials and their combinations. In Europe, plastic is being used in packaging (~40%), building & construction (~20%), automotive (~10%), electrical & electronic (~6%), household, leisure & sports (~4%) agriculture (~3%) and other applications (~17%). (Source: PlasticsEurope 2018)
Plastics are versatile materials that are easy to process, use in various applications and recycle. If a plastic does not have the correct properties, additives can be added to alter its properties. This will make it suitable for a particular use.
Plastics are often produced as by-products of the crude oil refining process. Some plastics can also come from renewable resources like sugar cane based polyethylene.
Plastic as a packaging material has become so popular thanks to its technical versatility and formability. It offers superior protection for food products, at the same time being extremely light weight and cost efficient.
Plastic packaging helps reduce food waste and greenhouse gas emissions. This makes it easier to feed everyone in the world today. Plastic packaging can easily be recycled to make new plastic products. However, it is usually not used for food packaging because of safety rules.
Bioplastics terminology
Biodegradable plastics:
Biodegradability means that a material can break down naturally. This is an biological anaerobic or aerobic decay process that produces carbon dioxide, methane, biomass, and minerals; depending on the environment. Biodegradable plastics can be either biobased or fossil based.
There is more than one standard used for measuring and communicating biodegradability. A common standard for plastic products and packaging is EN 13432. It shows they can be composted and processed in industrial composting plants.
This means that the product will break down at least 90% in less than six months at temperatures up to 52 degrees celsius. Biodegradability is often achieved by adding additives to the plastic to make it degrade faster.
Biobased plastics:
Biobased plastics are made from renewable resources. An example of this is a sugar cane based polyethylene. Its physical properties are similar with traditional fossil-based polyethylene, which means it can be used in the the same applications and recycled as a raw material for new plastic products. Biobased plastics are not directly biodegradable.
Bioplastics:
Bioplastics is a term that can be used when talking about either biobased or biodegradable plastics. This term does not yet give any details about the plastic’s raw material base or whether it can break down naturally.
Flexible Plastic Packaging
The most commonly used plastics in flexible packaging applications are low density and high density polyethylene (PE-LD and PE-HD) and polypropylene (PP). Flexible packaging is a flexible plastic film that can be printed and turned into products like bags. Flexible packaging includes items such as bread bags, carrier bags, beverage bottle labels, and tissue wraps. In contrast, bottles are made of rigid plastic.
Environmental Aspects of Flexible Packaging
Flexible plastic packaging is a light weight, recyclable solution for protecting packed products such as food. Food waste is one of the biggest environmental and social issues of our generation. We are fighting to stop climate change and hunger in developing countries, but we also waste a lot of food.
- The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) reports that 3% of food in Europe spoils before it gets to consumers. The number in the developing countries was as high as 50% (2011).
- If food wasn’t packed in plastic, energy use would double. Greenhouse gas emissions would triple. The weight of food packaging would increase four times compared to now. (Denkstatt study 2011)
- In the US, it takes around 10 kilocalories of fossil fuels to produce 1 kilocalorie of food. Reducing plastic packaging could lead to more food waste, which would greatly worsen environmental issues.
- EU Fusions 2012 estimates that food waste costs around 143 billion euros in Europe.
- The European Union and the UN aim to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030. They plan to achieve this through their circular economy and sustainable development initiatives.
- Less food waste automatically means less packaging.
- Packing food carefully helps reduce food waste and the environmental impact of the food industry. It also has a positive effect on transportation, stores, homes, and waste disposal.
Recyclability
Recycling plastics and flexible packaging creates new plastic products and packaging, which reduces waste and promotes sustainability. According to PlasticsEurope (2018), more than 40% of plastic packaging waste in Europe gets recycled.
Recycling plastic packaging means turning collected waste into new materials, not burning them for energy. Currently the most commonly and commercially used recycling method is the mechanical recycling process.
The waste is sorted by plastic type using near infrared (NIR) technology. After sorting, it is shredded, cleaned, and melted. Finally, the melted plastic is formed into recycled plastic pellets. One of our supplier says recycling plastics uses only 15% of the energy needed to make new plastics.
This recycling method requires precise conditions to recycle packaging materials effectively. Therefore, it can be a challenge at times due the different types and combinations of plastics.
Requirements for Recyclability
- A further utilisation of clear and unprinted materials is easier than of coloured and printed films. Even as technology advances, current technology struggles to recognize black packaging materials. We suggest reconsidering using black packaging to avoid issues with recognition.
- Preferably made from one single material, like plastic. If you need different materials, like plastic and paper, they should be easy for consumers to separate at home.
- Preferably made from only one type of plastic rather than combining multiple plastic types. When using different types of plastics together, it’s important to know how to recycle them. Each combination may require different recycling methods.
Chemical recycling is another method for recycling plastics. It processes collected waste at a monomer level and breaks it down into basic materials. This makes it possible to recycle packaging that is usually difficult or impossible to reuse.
This recycling method is still being developed with hopes that it can be used commercially in the future.
Recycling and the Circular Economy
Recycling and the circulation of plastics are a necessity when moving towards a circular economy and more sustainable societies. Recycling reduces the environmental effects as well as the need for virgin and often fossil-based raw materials. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland conducted a life cycle analysis of a recycled carrier bag. They found that it was better to recycle plastics when possible rather than burning it for energy.
Amerplast is one of the leading users of recycled raw materials in its carrier bag and non-food packaging production. The use of recycled raw materials and circular economy packaging solutions are part of Amerplast’s AmerGreen sustainable solutions program.
Contact us
