The Sustainable Benefits of Flexible Packaging Materials
News 14 Oct 2021
What Are Flexible Packaging Materials?
Flexible packaging in its simplest form can be defined as packaging which doesn’t have a fixed shape and is designed to hold items including: products, solids, powder, liquids and creams. The construction of flexible packaging may be paper, film, foil, plastic or a combination of these materials.
There is a shift across brands of all sizes who are avoiding glass and plastic and replacing these materials with flexible packaging materials, such as lightweight pouches and sealed bags which are easier for consumers to handle. A key reason for this shift is due to the introduction of plastic tax which is coming into play from 1st April 2022, as businesses look to replace packaging which were previously ruled by rigid plastic containers with flexible alternatives. Plastic Packaging Tax will be a tax on plastic packaging manufactured in, or imported into the UK, where the plastic used in its manufacture contains less than 30% recycled plastic. If you are seeking alternative materials to plastic, then you should check out our EcoPack product which offers heat-seal and moisture barrier and is certified for direct food contact. You can also read more about plastic tax in our ‘How to prepare for plastic tax blog’.
Consumer Trends
There are a host of key consumer trends which are important to flexible packaging and illustrates the increase in demand for this type of packaging:
- Portability / convenience – reclose features, zipper and ease of opening
- Safety – product protection through heat / moisture seals and lack of breakage
- Value – multiple sizes and price points; used on a wide range of products from low cost to high end products
- Compostability – maximise recyclability and reduce environmental impact
Flexible Packaging Sustainability Benefits
Flexible packaging provides a number of sustainability benefits throughout the entire life cycle of the materials, for example:
|
Stage |
Benefit |
Description |
|
Manufacturing |
Lightweight / source reduction |
Flexible packaging usually weighs much less than other materials, providing source reduction |
|
Transportation |
Lightweight as it can be shipped on a reel |
Flexible materials are usually shipped on a reel which facilitates a large number of packages being shipped on a lorry and reduces the number of lorries required |
|
Consumer Usage |
Extended shelf life |
Value-added flexible packaging for food often contains a barrier layer which extends the shelf life of food, reducing food waste |
|
End of Life |
Reduced materials to landfill |
As flexibles are very light vs. other package formats, even with no recycling of multi-material films, they still have less material sent to landfill vs. other formats. |
|
Overall |
Life cycle approach |
A measure of material efficiency is how much of a product sold to the consumer consists of product and how much packaging by weight. Flexible packaging almost always has a higher product-to-package ratio than other packaging formats. |
What Applications Can you Use EcoPack for?
Due to the nature of flexible packaging, and in particular our EcoPack product, it can be used for a wide-variety of applications including:
- Horizontal and vertical flow wraps – perfect for confectionery and food markets
- Sandwich skillets
- Labels
- Board lamination
- Pouch and bag applications – perfect for protein powders, foods or cosmetics
- Flexible packaging solutions
If you’d like to learn more about the opportunities EcoPack presents your business then please get in touch with our team or call us directly on 01505 707 700 to learn more.