In packaging, “sustainable” does not always mean recyclable. Fibre-based materials may appear eco-friendly, yet adhesives, coatings and composites can hinder recycling. With new regulations adding pressure, recyclability depends on smart design, material choices and reliable testing from the outset, says adhesives specialist Henkel.
Image: Henkel
The circular economy has become the guiding principle for a more sustainable packaging industry in which fibre-based products such as paper and paperboard are growing in importance. They are bio-based, widely available and characterised by high recycling rates. However, they are not necessarily the best solution. The lack of barrier properties – for example, to moisture, grease or oxygen – restricts their potential uses, while material combinations that include plastic or aluminum coatings to protect the product may reduce recyclability. Companies face the challenge of finding packaging solutions that are both feasible and compliant with the EU’s increasingly stringent sustainability requirements.
Challenges and opportunities of recyclability
For some time now, recyclability has no longer been just an environmental argument. What started as a voluntary sustainability target is now becoming a regulatory requirement.
The EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is setting clear standards. Packaging is being assigned to recyclability performance grades (A, B or C). From 2030, packaging must be at least 70 per cent recyclable in order to be placed on the market, increasing to 80 percent by 2038. As yet, there is no clear definition of how to calculate these percentages, which is causing uncertainty for companies. However, what is clear is that early adopters of these requirements will not only avoid regulatory risks but also gain a critical competitive advantage. This is significant because pressure from the market is growing alongside the legislative requirements.
Retailers like DM, Aldi and Tesco have already introduced their own requirements for the recyclability of packaging. At the same time, the capital market rewards sustainable packaging solutions. Companies that demonstrate a high level of recyclability can improve their ESG rating, facilitating their access to investment and increasing their attractiveness to customers who give specific preference to sustainable products.
The highest level of recyclability serves little purpose if packaging that is recyclable in theory ends up on the wrong recycling pathway or is not disposed of properly by the consumer. Nevertheless, it is the task of packaging manufacturers to design their products to be compatible with existing recycling processes.
In light of these challenges, reliable methods for testing recyclability are becoming increasingly important. These methods should already be applied in the early phase of development because this is where decisions are made about which adhesives and coatings to use – and whether these could later be an obstacle to circularity.
Recycling starts with the formulation: testing adhesives and coatings
Adhesives and coatings are essential components of packaging. They ensure stability, can reduce the weight of the packaging material and give fiber-based materials in particular the necessary barrier properties to external influences. However, what might be good for the quality of the packaged product may quickly become a disruptive factor in the recycling stream.
“Recyclability is not the product of chance. It must be deliberately planned and tested,” stresses Philippe Blank, head of Circular Economy at Henkel. “In particular, adhesives and coatings must be developed so that they satisfy functional requirements but can also be easily removed from the fiber stream or seamlessly integrated into new paper products.”
Many conventional adhesives and coatings are hard to separate from the paper fibers during recycling. Functional coatings are one example. Although a plastic film or aluminium coating improve the durability and robustness of packaging, they may also prevent paper fibers from dissolving fully during the recycling process.
To overcome this challenge, adhesive manufacturers like Henkel Adhesive Technologies are working on recycling-compatible adhesives and coatings that ensure protection and stability without impacting the fiber yield during recycling.
Special formulations enable functional coatings to be produced that are easier to remove during the recycling process. The recyclability of these formulations is tested under laboratory conditions in the Henkel Packaging Recyclab in Düsseldorf, Henkel’s dedicated test laboratory for fiber-based packaging materials, thus facilitating their targeted further development.
Test laboratories, assessments and certification: the path from theory to practice
Test methods are complex, time-consuming and often not standardised. Different markets and industries rely on different methods and the recycling infrastructure also varies widely. In Europe, the Cepi/4evergreen test methodology has become the norm for the laboratory testing of fiber-based packaging. Among other things, this method specifies a maximum reject rate of 20 percent.
Another option is the CHI test method developed by the cyclos-HTP Institute (CHI). This goes one step further by additionally testing the sortability of packaging and analysing fiber disintegration times – in line with PPWR requirements for a realistic assessment of recyclability.
Thanks to a collaboration between Henkel and CHI, the Henkel Packaging Recyclab in Düsseldorf can test packaging using both the Cepi and CHI methodologies. The results can then be verified by CHI with a certificate for the European market. To this end, CHI deploys an independent publicly acknowledged and sworn-in expert to ensure the legal validity of this certificate. Quick tests are also particularly interesting for companies, as they require little effort and deliver an indication during the early development phase as to whether packaging will satisfy regulatory requirements.
Strategies for packaging manufacturers: sustainability starts with the design
Sustainable packaging is not the product of chance but the result of a carefully planned strategy. If it can be ensured during the development phase that packaging can be returned to the material cycle, the likelihood increases that it also satisfies legal requirements and the conditions of the recycling infrastructure. The principle of design for recycling is based on close collaboration between the industry’s stakeholders – from packaging manufacturers and brand owners to recycling businesses.
At the same time, companies like Henkel are driving the research and development of new materials in order to optimise sustainable packaging solutions. They are working to refine adhesives and the barrier layers to replace plastic films, making them easier to separate during the recycling process.
Recyclability is an economic and regulatory necessity
The pressure for change is growing and the future of the packaging industry is inextricably linked with the recyclability of its products. Packaging that cannot be recycled will be increasingly banned from the market, whether due to legal requirements by major retail chains or in response to growing consumer expectations.
Companies that are early adopters of the PPWR and the principle of design for recycling will not only ensure their competitive advantage but will also avoid penalty payments in the long term and exclusion from the market from 2030 due to non-conformity with the provisions of the European Packaging Regulation.
Collaboration with specialist test laboratories like the Henkel Packaging Recyclab or the cyclos-HTP Institute (CHI) gives companies the opportunity to have the recyclability of their packaging tested in accordance with recognised standards, thus facilitating its targeted optimisation.
A detailed whitepaper on fibre-based packaging and its recycling capacities cane be downloaded here.
