With the ongoing development of the United Nations Treaty on Plastic Pollution, governments from over 170 nations are working toward policy measures to combat the negative environmental impacts of hard-to-recycle plastics. The introduction of bans, levies, and increased disposal fees for EPS packaging materials will continue to be on trend for the foreseeable future, especially in regions lacking recycling infrastructure. Corrugated packaging solutions are 100% recyclable and 100% compostable, making them the ideal packaging material. What’s more, Mondi’s corrugated packaging solutions includes a wide portfolio of corrugated boxes made of recycled fibres. Paper-based packaging boasts an impressive 82.5% recycling rate in Europe, outperforming the combined recycling rates of all other packaging materials.7 The recycling value of corrugated packaging has enormous potential worldwide. Paper fibre can be recycled with good quality many times, keeping fibres in circulation.8,9

In its quest for supporting a healthy planet, Walgreens committed to four goals for its branded products, by 2030: reduce plastic packaging by 30%, make all packaging recyclable, increase recycled content in packaging and eliminate problematic single-use packaging. Significant steps have been taken toward making all packaging recyclable, and part of the progress has come in an unexpected place—nail polish remover bottle caps. “By switching from black plastic caps to white plastic caps in just these seven Walgreens brand products, we’re able to improve the recyclability of a projected 13 tons of plastic,” says Andrew Horn, senior manager of sustainability operations. “Many recycling facilities use mechanical vision systems, essentially robots with cameras for eyes, to sort packaging that comes in. They have a difficult time correctly identifying black plastic. So, too often, they’ll put it in the waste stream or just inaccurately sort it into the wrong recycling stream.”

The lightweight bag has been developed to reduce the carbon footprint of packaging for fumed silica, which is used as a performance additive in various industrial and consumer applications. Evonik started investigating more sustainable packaging in 2022 and worked closely with Mondi to find an innovative solution. The collaboration resulted in a two-ply pre-made paper-based bag, removing a plastic-coated paper layer from the previous packaging. This means that less paper and plastic is used, resulting in an overall weight reduction of the packaging by 30%, compared to the previous solution. The new paper bag also has a lower carbon footprint which was assessed in Mondi’s in-house life cycle-based PIA (Product Impact Assessment) tool. Following intensive tests conducted by Evonik, the suitability and product protection of the new bags were proven, and the bags are now launched to the market. The new bag was created using Mondi’s high porosity kraft paper, which offers superior strength, durability and stretch. Mondi applies a small amount of spot coating to the bag, enabling Evonik to securely seal it after filling. The new bag is recyclable according to the CEPI v.3 test method and 4evergreen’s fibre-based packaging recyclability evaluation protocol1.