In June, the 2024 Environmental Packaging Awards brought to a close a two-day event dedicated to all things environmental packaging. Attended by brands, retailers, designers, logistics companies – in fact anyone involved in the business of packaging –Environmental Packaging Live was a showcase of innovation and sustainability in the packaging industry.
Why Is This Business Event Of Interest To Us As Consumers?
Well, it’s largely thanks to consumers that brands and retailers are making their packaging more sustainable; for many, this means switching from plastic to paper and card packaging.
The recent Two Sides Trend Tracker survey revealed the strength of feeling from consumers that is driving brands and retailers to look for more sustainable alternatives for their packaging. Here are some example statistics from that survey:
- 55% prefer paper packaging for being better for the environment.
- 41% would consider avoiding a retailer if they were not actively trying to reduce their use of single-use, non-recyclable packaging.
- 59% prefer products ordered online to be delivered in paper packaging.
Plastic packaging is notoriously difficult to recycle at home in the UK where some plastics are collected by councils and some aren’t. Knowing which plastics can go in the recycling at home, which need to be taken to a collection point, or which cannot be recycled at all, can be a minefield.
As well as being highly sustainable, packaging made from paper-based materials is easy for us to recycle at home in our kerbside collections. So, the switch from plastic to paper is a double-win for consumers who want to do the right thing.
Some of the award-winning entries were examples of paper-based packaging that has replaced plastic or other materials that are challenging or nigh on impossible to recycle. We’ve listed some of them below:
Environmental Packaging Awards Winners
Category: Chilled or Frozen
Product name: Climapack, by Rajapack
Description: Packaging for delivery of chilled or frozen foods
Made from a simple cardboard box lined with two sheets of Climaliner insulated paper with a honeycomb structure. It can be used for transporting ambient, chilled and frozen foods. Used in combination with gel packs, the manufacturer claims it can maintain the temperature for 35 hours, three hours longer that a box made from Expanded Polystyrene (EPS). The box and the paper liners are fully recyclable in kerbside recycling.
Where might you see it? Home delivery of chilled foods and meal kits.
Category: Fresh Fruit and Vegetables
Product name: Proactive Recyclable RP-1000 series paper, by ProAmpac
Description: Paper-based pouches for frozen foods, such as vegetables or ready meals. This packaging is a sustainable replacement for conventional frozen food packaging. These versatile pouches can also be used for packaging dry foods. The packaging can also be torn open, so there’s no need to reach for a pair of scissors. The pouches can be placed in kerb-side paper recycling.
Where might you see it? In supermarket freezer cabinets.
Category: Household Goods
Product name: Retail Packaging for Door Handles, by Antalis for Yale/Assa Abloy
Description: Paper-based retail packaging for Yale door handles, made from FSC certified board. In addition to being fully recyclable in domestic paper recycling, the packaging is easy open. It replaces plastic ‘clam shell’ packaging of the kind that is fiendishly difficult to open without scissors – and which tends to leave painfully sharp edges to catch hands on.
Where might you see it? Hanging on display in your local hardware or DIY shop.
Category: Household Goods
Product name: Flowers Hydration Pot, by The Sherwood group for Bunches
Description: Sustainable packaging for Bunches, an online flower shop. Made from cardboard with a coating that prevents leaks, this clever product replaces plastic pots used to keep bunches of flowers hydrated in transit. As well as saving 5.4 tonnes of plastic the company would normally use during the course of a year, the cardboard box is fully recyclable in kerb-side paper recycling.
Two other winners were the new, fully recyclable Pringles tube packaging and PepsiCo for their new Snack a Jacks packaging. You can find more information on these here.
