Plastic

Considerastions when using plastic packaging

Advantages

• Plastic packaging materials ensure that products are protected and kept fresh. As a result, fewer products are discarded. 
• The relatively low mass of plastic packaging materials has a positive effect on their environmental impact. Resulting in: limited amount of material used and low energy consumption during transport.
• Plastic packaging materials are generally delivered in granular form or as a roll. They are usually given their 3D shape during the packaging process. As a result, the supply and storage of the materials is often highly efficient.
• The barrier properties and the chemical resistance of plastics are limited, which is sufficient for many types of products (but not for all products). New variants with specific properties, both multi-layer materials and monomaterials, are constantly being developed.
• The mechanical protection can usually be designed as part of the structure of the packaging and most plastics are not or hardly breakable.

Drawbacks

• Because of the multitude of packaging types and types of plastic in existence, the collection and recycling of plastics are complex processes.
• Plastic packaging materials that end up as litter form a problem because of the material's poor biodegradability.
   

Raw materials

All common types of plastic were originally made from fossil-based raw materials, i.e. oil. There are various ways to make the plastic packaging chain more sustainable.

Using recycled plastics is one way to make the plastic packaging chain more sustainable. Recycled plastics can be used for the production of new packaging materials or products. Because of food safety, packaging materials for food are subject to certain limitations. If more than 95% (this percentage is valid for PET) of the recyclate consists of food packaging and it is treated in such a way that all contaminants are eliminated, it can be reused for the production of food packaging.

Companies that produce recycled plastic that will come into contact with food products may only use approved materials and processes that are authorised by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Critical aspects of a material's approval are the quality of the plastic that is to be recycled and the “cleansing ability” of the recycling process itself. At the moment, virtually the only plastic that is available in food-grade quality is recycled PET.

The use of biobased (non-fossil) resources is another major aspect of the realisation of the plastic industry's circular ambitions. These days, some plastics can be made from biobased raw materials, which is processed into bio-PE, bio-PP and bio-PET. Chemical building blocks that are chemically identical to their petrochemical counterparts (so-called “drop-ins") can be used in the existing industrial infrastructure to produce partially or fully biobased materials. One example is bio-PE, which is made from sugar cane and used in HDPE bottles.

Furthermore, there are examples of new chemicals and materials derived from renewable resources that possess unique properties which are generally difficult or impossible to produce using petrochemical resources, e.g. lactic acid. New products and markets develop around these building blocks. These new materials therefore have other properties as well; some types, such as PLA and starch, are compostable. PLA is used for the production of trays and films and starch is used in plastic bags. Some new materials, such as PEF, are not compostable. The properties of PEF are comparable to those of PET, although the two are not identical and can therefore not be mixed. PEF is still under development, but it is theoretically suitable for the production of plastic bottles.
 

Applications

Foils, films and bags
The majority of the volume of plastic packaging materials consists of foils and films for the industrial, construction and horticultural sectors, as well as many other fields. These flexible packaging materials are made from LDPE, HDPE and PP. They consist of flat film, stretch film, film for food products: in other words, all types of film that can be used to cover or package products. Many of these films are used to produce various types of bags, ranging from small bags and industrial-sized bags to carrier bags and household waste bags, either processed or unprocessed.

Rigid plastic packaging materials
Rigid or dimensionally stable plastic packaging materials include bottles, trays, jars, jerry cans, crates and pallets. Bottles and trays are often made from PET, blown bottles and jerry cans are usually made from HDPE and crates and pallets consist of HDPE or PP. Rigid plastic packaging materials are generally easy to sort and recycle, provided that they meet a number of requirements.

Laminates
Laminate or “multi-layers” are composite materials made of different layers of plastic, sometimes combined with aluminium and/or paper. Each layer of material has its own specific properties, including barrier properties, printability or sealability.
 

Situation in various countries

Netherlands

• In the Netherlands, 523 kiloton of plastic packaging materials are put on the market every year, approximately 52% of which is eventually recycled (Source: Afvalfonds Verpakkingen, 2018). 
• The Dutch government's ambition is to make the Netherlands fully circular by the year 2050. This means that virtually all plastics must be either reused or recycled by that time.
• In the Netherlands, four companies have registered their reuse process for plastics with the EFSA: Mossinkhof Plastics Zeewolde B.V., Snelcore B.V and Cumapol Emmen B.V. for the processing of PET and Schoeller Allibert B.V. for the processing of PP and PE.

Belgium

• In Belgium, 348 kiloton of plastic packaging waste is produced every year, approximately 43% of which is recycled. (Source: Essenscia, 2019)
• On average, Belgian plastics processors use 6% (post-consumer) recycled material in their production processes.