Certain types of packaging protect products with literally every fibre of their being. Cardboard is one of them – and it comes with an extensive range of sturdy packaging options for consumer goods. To ensure that this cellulose-based material remains sustainable, it has to meet a multitude of requirements.
If you have ever picked up a six-pack of soda or beer from a retail shelf with two or three fingers, you have no doubt been startled by its weight. The cardboard package does a great job of holding the bottles securely in place. Strongly bonded, long fibres give this type of cardboard everything it needs to hold its shape.
Fibre materials such as cellulose, wood pulp and waste paper make up 95 percent of paperboard, which manufacturers bind with glue and structure in many different ways. The result is a range of different grammages – or weight per square metre – that can be used either as boxes, bottle sleeves or even moving boxes.
Made for recycling: With its exceptional resilience and use of natural raw materials, it would make little ecological sense not to reuse this high-performance packaging material multiple times. To produce recycled cardboard, the fibres are shredded and mixed with water to create a homogeneous pulp. After de-inking, the fibre mass is poured onto the screen of the cardboard machine for shaping.
It may sound like a straightforward process, but it isn’t. Only cardboard that has been largely untreated can be recycled efficiently. If cardboard has a PE or aluminium coating, for example, separation becomes complex – with poorer results than without the additional layers. In baked goods, for example, a thin layer of PE is often applied to the packaging material to prevent unsightly grease residues.
There are simple, streamlined packaging solutions, on the other hand, that not only offer recycling advantages but also comply with the PPWR. The EU regulation promotes the production and use of packaging made from single materials – as they are more likely to help meet ambitious recycling targets. According to the PPWR, 70 per cent of all packaging waste in the European single market needs to be recycled by 2030.
The ambitious PPWR is bearing fruit. A positive trend is reflected across Europe, as indicated by a Pro Carton survey. With a recycling rate of 83.2 per cent, fibre-based packaging materials have established themselves as frontrunners in the recycling sector.
News Courtesy: Spnews
