President’s Word

The importance of packaging in the COVID-19 journey and beyond

Pierre Pienaar*

We, in the packaging industry, remain in the spotlight and I foresee this continuing. We need to rise to the challenge. We certainly have raised the bar in packaging to meet the demands that COVID-19 has placed on us. I passionately believe that the global packaging industry will continue to do so. More so than ever before, WPO member countries have worked together to ensure a global approach has been taken to effectively meet the needs of this demand.

Consumers are fearful of being exposed to and catching COVID-19, which is currently a driving force behind safe packaging. The response to this has been that companies and brands have had to adapt to meet consumer’s new demands. Not only consumers are washing their hands more frequently and using more sanitiser than they have ever used before, but they are also increasing their use of household disinfectants and cleaners. Purchasing behaviour for many consumers has changed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Packaging for the food market continues to see growth in the home delivery sector. This new life choice has seen a rise in the production of insulated packaging to keep frozen goods safe for home deliveries. As restaurants have re-opened, the need for take away containers has skyrocketed.  Some countries have reflected an increase in demand of more than 200% for some lines of meat, seafood, and poultry. This is because of more people staying home and cooking for themselves rather than going out to eat. This change has led to a greater demand for appropriate meat trays that have been produced in safe, COVID-free environments.

Before COVID-19, companies were progressing quickly toward their sustainability goals. However, the coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected a multitude of industries around the world, especially the packaging industry. Packaging companies produced innovative technologies that were friendly to the environment, reusable, and biodegradable. But concerns about the hygiene and safety of reusable packaging temporarily halted the packaging industry’s progress towards a sustainable and circular supply chain.

Following the pandemic, packaging companies will need to rebalance sustainability goals that incorporate heightened hygiene, normalise e-commerce, and take product costs into consideration. The impact of the pandemic will have a positive effect on performance because these new trends will highlight customers’ needs across the industry.

The challenge for the packaging industry, therefore, remains two-fold. The first focus should always be on aiming to produce safe, reliable, reusable or recyclable, sustainable packaging. The second, but equally important focus, must be on insisting local governments cooperate with us as material manufacturers, or converters to create a robust, successful recycling infrastructure that can process all the fantastically exciting new innovations in sustainable packaging.

There remains confusion among consumers regarding the disposal of packaging, especially plastics; and those who are keen to clean up our planet often have nowhere to go to manage their waste packaging. As consumers expect more protective packaging than ever before, we need to become serious about finding solutions to this even greater pandemic impact on packaging.

Countries around the world started banning single-use plastics, including Colombia, parts of the United States, China, Zimbabwe, Albania, Cameroon, Romania, and a number of other countries. Companies were announcing targets that they planned to meet by a certain year in the effort to become as sustainable as possible. Unfortunately, when COVID-19 began, consumers became concerned that a person could get the virus by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose, or another person. The virus seems to be able to survive on cardboard for about 24 hours, and on plastic for up to three days. Even though the exact danger was unknown, sustainability programs decreased or paused in the early months of the pandemic. Several countries and US states have paused and lifted bans on single-use plastics and have even banned reusable bags temporarily.

Supermarkets saw an increase in single-use plastics for wrapping products. This was the immediate safety response that places initiated for the health and safety of people across the globe. The amount of plastic waste generated in Thailand has surged by 15% with COVID-19, despite the country’s ban on plastic bags that was introduced in January 2020.

The United Kingdom was on its way to legislate banning the sale of plastic drinking straws, plastic-stemmed cotton buds, and plastic stirrers. UK Environment Minister confirmed that this will be delayed, since discarding single-use plastic products that may carry virus droplets is safer. Originally, the regulations were laid in March and set to come into force in April. In the USA, some states been calling for delays on plastic bags, fearing that reusable bags carry the virus. This pushback increased demand for products like bottled water and disposable sanitisers.

Education in packaging knowledge is key to our future success. Attending webinars or offering and training programs to ensure they keep up with the latest trends and expectations, is an excellent start. The WPO can help you with such training courses. 

I believe that post this pandemic, the public perception of packaging, particularly plastic and sustainability issues, will have altered as they realise the value of packaging. I really hope the ongoing drive to remove plastic altogether and of seeing plastic as the problem, rather than the solution. We need to a push for improved waste management infrastructure around the world. COVID-19 has perhaps done the poor plastic victim a significant favour. Hopefully a new focus and knowledge will lead to new innovations for better collection, for recycling and reuse of plastic materials.

*Pierre Pienaar is President of WPO

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WPO – World Packaging Organization
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@WorldPackOrg1
World Packaging Organization

From the Editor

The biggest challenge for sustainability: communication!

By Liliam Benzi*

For more information visit United Nations page www.oneplanetnetwork.org/consumer-information-scp/product-sustainability-information-hub

One of the biggest challenges for sustainability is to communicate with the final consumer properly, clearly and with transparency, educating him about his importance as an actor in the circular economy model. If the consumer is not properly educated and engajed in the process, all efforts of the value chain will loose most of its impact.

This was one of the matters discussed during the Sustainability Forum organized by WPO member in Brazil, ABRE (www.abre.org.br), focused on ‘Positive Packaging’. In general terms, most of the 60 speakers agreeded that “consumers are fundamental to the success of any sustainable circular action, specially the ones related to recycling”.

The consumer is the starting point to guarantee life to the post consumption packaging. But to be this actor in the chain, he must receive correct information and be educated about the ‘basic’: separation, preparation and correct destination of the waste. And as much as possible, he must recognize the journey of the materials to be part of their history and feel as an important agent and, if possible, as a protagonist in the process.

To Beatriz Carneiro, manager of UN (United Nations) Environment Program, the importance of a clear and effective communication with consumers must be the center of the actions. To make this work easier, UN created, as part of its ‘Information Program to Consumer’, an information hub about products´ sustainability. This is a way to orientate consumers to choose better and in a more sustainable way their products and service.

The page - www.oneplanetnetwork.org/consumer-information-scp/product-sustainability-information-hub - joins initiatives, tools and projects that guide to an efficient communication. There is also the ‘Road Testing of the Guidelines for Providing Product Sustainability Information’ that allows to test the sustainability of products from friendly guidelines and inspirational cases.

The main purpose it to guarantee network to the ‘Information Program to Consumer’. But the platform is also a powerful tool to comprehend the fundamental and inspirational principles.

These fundamental principles - reliability, transparency, relevance, accessibility and clarity – aim to avoid green washing. It is important to ‘leave the speach’ and go to the practice; to show the sustainability of products and packaging, proving the results, always based on science and studies.

A detailed vision of the fundamental principles found in UN platform, shows that:

• Reliability has the power of creating claims in a reliable way.
• Transparency satisfies the consumers´ needs for information without leaving anything out.
• Relevance is about improvements in relevant areas to the product.
• Acessibility is to reach the consumer with information.
• Clarity is to turn the information useful to the consumer.

It is also important to send these information through various channels, online and/or offline. But is it possible to UN to evaluate how this communication is being done globally? As mentioned by Beatriz: ”No, but we try to be pro active offering the society as much information as possible, besides cases that illustrate the good practices and self evaluation tools”.

And is it all settle? Certainly not and it should not be. Sustainability does not have an end; it is a continuous evolution process which target is not to keep life today, but to guarantee the surviving of humanity.

The best definition of positive packaging is exactly this: actions that guarantee the human life in the planet; enchantress experiences with an obvious positive – and well communicated - impact to the consumers, always attached to the relevant questions.

*Liliam Benzi is WPO Press & Communication Liaison Officer and runs its own Communication & Strategy company for the packaging industry, LDB Comunicação Empresarial.

[email protected]
(+ 55 11) 99989-1597
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Liliam Benzi

Message from General Secretary

A new team member

As you receive new emails from WPO Secretariat, you'll notice a new name. I am Nathália Antoniazzi and just joined WPO team in the role of Secretary, reporting directly to General Secretary, Johannes Bergmair and to all Executive team.

I am Brazilian, but live in Austria, where I work and study for a Master degree in ‘Packaging Technology and Sustainability’ at the FH Campus Wien. Like most of you, I share a passion for packaging; packaging connects all the continents of the globe through products that are transported from one place to another, feeding communities and even taking a little bit of hope to the most distant places.

Despite the numerous benefits that packaging gives us, I am also aware of the impacts it can have on environment. For this reason, I see great importance in the work of all packaging associations around the world with the World Packaging Organization.

I truly believe that through the work of these organizations, packaging will be desmystified in the eyes of the population and will become increasingly sustainable, contributing to the planet Earth to move towards sustainable development.

Since now I count on the collaboration of all members so that we have a good progress in the activities of the Secretariat. Whenever you need information, I will be available through the email [email protected].

And last but not least, WPO has a new address! On June 13 we officially announce our new location in Vienna: Canovagasse 7/1/14 1010.

So if you are sending us correspondence by post, please update our address data. Thanks for all and as spoecial thank to Fiona Kogler, who assists us in the finance department, for her excellent organization in moving the WPO headquarters.

Nathália Antoniazzi
WPO Secretariat
[email protected]

Johannes Bergmair
WPO General Secretary
[email protected]

Around the World

Competition for the best packaging in Ukraine

WPO member the Club Packers of Ukraine (www.upakjour.com.ua or www.packinfo.com.ua) and the Kyiv International Contract Fair, decided to proceed with the traditional best packaging and label competitions with the support of Windmöller & Hölscher, Heidelberg Printing Machines Ukraine, the Ukrainian Packaging and Environmental Coalition, and the packaging associations of Poland and Latvia.

21 companies and 07 universities and academies, from 11 cities from all over Ukraine, took part in the competitions. They sent 54 samples of packaging and 15 samples of labels to the competitions.

On April, with the help of the Polish Packaging Chamber, there was an online judging meeting, which included experts from Ukraine, Latvia and Poland; 17 packages and 3 labels were selected as winners. In the competition ‘Packaging of the Future’, the winners were 03 samples of packaging and 03 samples of labels developed by students of Ukrainian academies and universities.

Check all participants and winners at http://www.upakjour.com.ua/klub-pakuvalnik%D1%96v/konkursi/ukra%D1%97nska-z%D1%96rka-upakovki/

For more information, contact Veronika Khalaydzhi, President of Club Packagers of Ukraine, by e-mail [email protected].

The Hungarian edition of ‘Packaging Design for Recycling’ guide is being prepared

WPO member, Hungarian Association of Packaging and Materials Handling (HAPMH www.csaosz.hu) is organising a full-day conference about Packaging Design for Recycling” with the participation of international and Hungarian speakers. The conference is based in the translated version of the study prepared by WPO in collaboration with the ECR Community and the University of Applied Sciences in Vienna.

In the last two years, at the initiative of the European Commission, a number of restrictive environ-mental measures was introduced relating to packaging. HAPMH has placed great emphasis on interpreting these measures and presenting them in a comprehensible form to users.

The opening presentation is going to be held by WPO VP sustainability & Save Food, Nerida Kelton.

For more information contact Miklós Nagy, Secretary General of Hungarian Association of Packaging and Materials Handling, by e-mail [email protected].

WPO welcomes Alessandra Fazio as President of the Italian Packaging Institute

Alessandra Fazio is the newly elected president of the Italian Packaging Institute (www.istitutoimballaggio.org), a WPO member,for the period 2022-2024, voted unanimously during the annual Members' meeting, held on May. She takes the place of Anna Paola Cavanna who leaves the Institute with a significant growth in the number of members, a consolidated turnover, a renewed image and the general satisfaction of the membership base for her work.

Expression of the associative component of the brand owners, Alessandra Fazio holds the position of Head of Quality in Nestlé Italy, to which she arrives, after a path of increasing responsibility in multinational food companies, which began in the world of converters.

"Convinced of the management line of the past years, we will strive to continue programs and projects still in progress of the previous presidency, guaranteeing continuity of strategy", with these words, The strategic lines of her program are centered on three macro- topics: communication in the first place, training and scientific dissemination, and membership base. In Alessandra Fazio's project, communication passes through the enhancement of digital channels, strategic supply chain alliances and events that enhance the associative and group corporate image.

About training, she opens up to news such as funded projects and e-learning modalities for basic courses. Finally, for the associated target, it is proposed to launch a survey to highlight new needs, to evaluate research and scientific studies of transversal interest and to push on the accelerator of digitization.

WPO members at Hispack 2022

Graphispack (www.graphispack.org), from Spain and Cenem (www.cenem.cl), from Chile were the two WPO members present at Hispack and Graphispag 2022. Organized by Fira de Barcelona in May, the shows attracted 725 direct exhibitors from around 20 countries and more than 30,000 visitors, 11% from abroad.

Sustainability was the central theme of both events, which have showcased solutions in technology, processes and materials to reduce the environmental footprint of packaging, wrapping and printed products. The current context, marked by the ongoing legislative changes to promote the circular economy, with a particular effect on packaging, is accelerating the implementation of these innovations. Digitisation and process automation, as demonstrated by the machines and equipment on display, were also focused on improving eco-efficiency, as well as companies’ productivity and competitiveness.

ANZ PIDA 2022 finalists announced

The Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design Awards (PIDAs) announced the finalists across 12 categories. The fiercest competition is in the Sustainability category, with 23 innovations qualifying as finalists.

Coordinated by WPO member, AIP (Australian Institute of Packaging – www.aipack.com.au), the PIDAs are designed to recognise companies and individuals who are making a significant difference in their field across Australia and New Zealand. All 2022 PIDA winners will be automatically eligible for entry into the 2023 WorldStar Packaging Awards competition.

WPO at Envase/Alimentek 2022 in Argentina

WPO participated at Envase 2022, a very important packaging trade show in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with an institutional booth. Envase 2022, together with Alimentek 2022, is organized by WPO local member Instituto Argentino del Envase (IAE – www.packaging.com.ar) and is considered the most important event for the packaging industry in the region, joining companies and professionals from the whole packaging production and value chain.

Due to its importance to the local industry, Envase/Alimentek 2022 have the support of the Argentine government and the Chambers of Commerce of various countries. “Market is very anxious to the physical contact and to check all the innovation packaging industries have been preparing during these pandemic years”, celebrates Jorge Acevedo, General Manager of IAE. He confirmed the presence of more than 300 exhibiting companies; the show program also counts with seminars, special areas and business round tables.

WPO was represented at Envase 2022 by its Senior Vice President, Luciana Pellegrino, that is also Executive Director of WPO member in Brazil, ABRE (www.abre.org.br).

For more information about the show visit www.envase.org.

AIP’s ‘The Value of Embedding Sustainable Packaging Design into your business’ training course heads to Thailand

WPO member AIP (Australian Institute of Packaging – www.aipack.com.au), in partnership with Informa Markets, run ‘The Value of Embedding Sustainable Packaging Design into your business’ training course at ProPak Asia 2022.

The purpose was to assist companies to integrate Sustainable Packaging Design into the right business areas, to achieve the optimal outcomes for packaging functionality and to collectively work to meet local and regional government regulations such as Single Use Plastics (SUP) Regulations, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs, Packaging Waste levies and regulations and more.

The course helped to understand how to start applying Sustainable Packaging Design in business and enabled participants to gain a better understanding of how using and applying packaging design principles can help any sized business to lower their environmental impacts, reduce packaging and products waste and meet regulations. It also included Best Practice Examples from across the Globe in Sustainable & Circular Packaging Design. Attendees attained the Certified Packaging Professional points.

From the Board

WPO welcomes two new ‘Full Members’ during Board Meeting in Milan

WPO approved two new ‘Full Members’ during the 1st Board Meeting of 2022 held at IPACK IMA 2022 (www.ipackima.com), in Milan. The new associations accepted as part of this global packaging community are Centro Nacional de Envases y Embalajes (CNEE), from Cuba, and Emirates Environmental Group (EEG – www.eeg-uae.org), from United Arab Emirates. As ‘Full Members’, both will have the rigth to vote in WPO matters.

“It is extremely meaningful to WPO to get new members from regions where we are not that active yet. This is a way of increasing our presence in other regions and, most important, to contribute to the sustainable development of local and global packaging industries. On the other hand, no doubt both Cuba and United Arab Emirates will give excellent inputs to WPO new projects and actions. So it is a ‘win win’ partnership”, celebrates WPO President, Pierre Pienaar.

WPO Senior Vice President, Luciana Pellegrino, completes: “The more packaging associations that join WPO, more we can have a better approach to the global packaging issues, especially the big themes like sustainability, save food, food safety and packaging education. WPO is always ready to help structure local packaging organisations. Our Executive team is prepared for that.”

WPO Press Conference at IpackIma

With the presence of 35 journalists from around the world, including some members of IPPO (International Packaging Press Organization – www.ippopress.org), WPO host a Press Conference during the opening of IpackIma 2022, conducted by its Press & Communication Liaison Officer, Liliam Benzi.

During the Press Conference, WPO President, Pierre Pienaar, gave an overview of the situation of the packaging industry around the globe, covering some aspects of Covid-19, as well as the various projects that WPO has been working on the past 02 years; he also approached future plans.

Together with Pierre and Valerio Soli, President of Ipack Ima Srl, the event counted with the participation of WPO VPs Luciana Pellegrino, Soha Atallah and Nerida Kelton. Soha Atallah, that is also WorldStar Coordinator, gave a teaser about the main innovations among WorldStar winners 2022 and Nerida Kelton formally launched the ‘Waste Stream Mapping Guides’ project as a part of the ‘Global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide’ program.

WPO supports the creation of ‘NaijaStar’, the packaging award from Nigeria

WPO member in Nigeria, the Institute of Packaging Professionals Nigeria (IOPPN – www.iopnigeria.org) launched the first edition of ‘NaijaStar Awards for Packaging Excellence’ during the graduation ceremony of the one-year Diploma in Packaging Technology course, in Lagos.

According to Ahmed Alex Omah, Executive Director of IOPPN (first right in the photo), “NaijaStar Awards was designed to celebrate the excellence of the packaging industry in Nigeria. It will also recognize organisations and personalities who have contributed positively to the transformation of the packaging sector, through safe, sustainable, quality, and innovative products and services”.

And he adds: “The Institute of Packaging Nigeria is highly committed to rewarding excellence and professionalism through a credible, transparent, and trustworthy process. We also appreciate our supportive partners who made this event a success and we are grateful to WPO that supported us with important guidelines and all its experience in organizing the global packaging competition, WorldStar.”

The NaijaStar Awards categories include Food, Beverages, Personal Care & Household, Cosmetics and Beauty, E-commerce, Pharmaceutical & Medical, Industrial & Transport Packaging, Point of Sale Packaging, Luxury Packaging, Fresh Fruits & Vegetables. There will be an special recognition with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The selection of winners will be done by a panel of distinguished individuals and professionals drawn from different renowned organisations within the packaging sector. The panel of judges includes branding connoisseurs, agro-food and consumer product experts, and representatives from international organisations who will examine each submission regarding seven key elements used as the standards in selecting the winners.

WPO at ProPak in Egypt

ProPak Mena (www.propakmena.com) was very successful in Egypt with a strong participation of WPO members from Africa, Arab World and Turkey. Accordding to WPO VP Events, Soha Atallah, “it was a valuable opportunity to reconnect with the African packaging community and reinforce WPO committement to support Africa with packaging education programs and the members expertise”.

WPO participates in the ‘Fundamentals of packaging for the apple value chain’

A day long training on ‘The Fundamentals of packaging’ for the apple value chain actors was organized by UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Developmment Organization www.unido.org) in Pakistan and counted with the support of WPO. The five modules of the training gave a clear understanding of fundamental of packaging, packaging as a market tool, food and agricultural packaging practices, hygiene packaging practices and packaging and labelling regulations, with a special focus on the apple value chain.

The training, delivered by WPO local member Saad Habib, was attended by 30 participants, including project team of UNIDO working in the Apple Value chain and the participants were trained by WPO Vice President Events, Soha Atallah and General Secretary, Johannes Bergmair.

For more information, contact WPO General Secretary, Johannes Bergmair, by e-mail [email protected].

WorldStar

2023 WorldStar Global Packaging Awards is open for entries

After concluding the remarkable WorldStar Award ceremony, that was held in Milan during IpackIma show (04 May 2022), with the participation of more than 300 packaging professionals from 37 countries, WPO is happy to announce that the entries for WorldStar 2023 opens today, June 15, and closes on October 20, 2022.

“We encourage every WPO member across the globe to help us promote the largest and most prestigious global packaging award. Promoting WorldStar, each member promote the best packaging in its own country, globally, which means an incredible contribution to the sustainable and continuous development of the packaging industry. Last year WorldStar 2022 hit a record with 440 entries from 37 countries”, states Pierre Pienaar, WPO President.

And Pierre adds: “The 2023 edition is even more special. We are also happy to announce that WPO is introducing two new main Categories - Gift Packaging and Digital Packaging - and one new Special Category - Accessible Packaging.”

According WPO Senior Vice President Marketing, Luciana Pellegrino, “The WorldStar Packaging Awards echoes the importance of packaging innovation on a global level, fostering science, technology and innovation, recognizing and encouraging packaging professionals to go beyond and engaging brands, packaging companies and design offices for greater possibilities.” 

Nerida Kelton, WPO Vice President Sustainability & Save Food, completes: “And the new ‘Accessible Packaging’ category shows how the packaging industry is aligned with the actual challenges and demands of the society. It is important that Packaging Technologists consider how their packaging design could affect someone’s ability to eat, drink and the flow on of wasting food.”

Packages eligible for WorldStar Awards are those that have already received a national or regional packaging award from a packaging competition recognized by WPO, during the last 2 years. “As always, our aim is to promote packaging innovation in various sectors, proving that a good package can be an essential solution to many of the modern problems, especially sustainability, food waste and extending shelf life of food and agricultural products. That´s why we encourage all the companies from around the world to benefit from this global opportunity to promote their packaging by competing with the best of the best packaging innovation in a global base”, explains Soha Atallah, WorldStar Coordinator and WPO Vice President of Events.

The schedule for the 2023 edition of WorldStar Packaging Awards is the following:

• 15 June 2022 Opening for entries
• 20 October 2022 Closing date for entries
• November  2022 Judging process
• 09 January  2023 Announcements of winners.
• May 2023 Awards Ceremony and Gala Evening during interpack in Düsseldorf (Germany)

For general enquiries on WorldStar Global Packaging Awards contact Soha Atallah by e-mail [email protected] or visit www.worldstar.org.

Education

WPO announces the 2022 calendar of packaging training courses

WPO Vice President Education, Henky Wibawa, announced a busy agenda of packaging training courses for 2022. According to him, during the year, the Organisation plans 10 new programs; the two first, in Nigeria and Kenya (Packaging Technology Training), has already taken place.

The next ones, physical and online, are:

• Pakistan - Packaging Technology Training – June
• Saudi Arabia - Packaging Technology Training – June 20 - 23
• Iraq - Packaging Technology Training - July
• Indonesia - Hybrid Packaging Masterclass Training – September 7 – 8 and 14 – 15
• Lebanon/Jordan - Packaging Technology Training – early September
• Iran - Packaging Technology Training – November 22 – 25
• Chile - Packaging Technology Training - date to be confirmed

The agenda also includes a Global Online Packaging Technology Training in the second half of 2022 (date to be confirmed). “The idea is literally to ‘spread the news’. WPO believes and works for the continuous dissemination of packaging knowledge and puts all its efforts to help form packaging professionals and keep the existing ones continuously updated”, explains WPO President, Pierre Pienaar.

Henky Wibawa completes saying that all education programs are organized in partnership with WPO local members. “The intention is also to train our members to be able to run their own packaging training programs.” During the pandemic, WPO organized 08 online training programs all over the world that had impact in more than 150 packaging professionals.  

For more information on WPO Education portfolio, visit the website www.worldpackaging.org.

Country Report

Understanding the activities of WPO member in Cuba

In 2020, the National Container and Packaging Center of Cuba (CNEE), a WPO member, was created as an entity in charge of conducting the approved policy for the development of the container and packaging production industry, and providing advisory, consultancy, technical and documentary assistance services, laboratory tests, diagnosis, supervision, inspection and evaluation of the conformity of products, raw materials and materials.

The strategic work of the Center is guided by indicators as investor projects executed in the country; tax the improvement of the producing and consuming industries of containers and packaging with the objective of substituting imports; expanding capacities and developing new products, meanwhile, contributing to the increase of exportable items.

The CNEE implements training actions on different topics of interest to the actors involved, in some way, in the development and consumption of containers and packaging, both state-sector entrepreneurs and new forms of economic management, thus generalizing the good practices in the production, consumption and management of waste generated as part of the processes.

Topics on recycling, recovery, reuse, redesign, repair, reduction and renovation are part of its portfolio of services, directing the management to education in the care of ecosystems and the environment, all accompanied by scientific research, materialized through collaboration agreements with universities and development centers in the country, and exchange with international institutions.

The alliance with the United Nations Organization for Industrial Development (UNIDO), has allowed to enhance the work of technicians and to provide the CNEE laboratories with state-ofthe-art technology for testing containers, packaging and materials.

In May 2022, CNEE was accepted as WPO Full Member, which makes this Center a strong ally of producers and consumers of containers, being a process of constant exchange of knowledge, experiences and learning of best practices in line with international standards, based on the integration and collaboration with institutions of a similar profile in the region and in the world.

For more information send an e-mail to [email protected].

Sustainability

WPO launches 21 countries ‘Waste Stream Mapping Guides’

WPO, in conjunction with FH Campus Wien University of Applied Sciences, Austria, Circular Analytics and ECR Community, have launched the 21x countries ‘Waste Stream Mapping Guides’ as the second stage of the Global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide program. The countries contemplated are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States of America.

According to Ernst Krottendorfer, Co-Managing Partner of Circular Analytics, who was one of the key developers of the Global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide and the Waste Stream Mapping Tools, “design for recycling is part of a circular product design and represents an important basis for holistic sustainability assessment”.

“Accordingly, circularity means that the packaging is designed in such a way that the highest possible recycling of the materials in use can be achieved. The goals here are resource conservation, the longest possible service life, material-identical recycling (closed-loop recycling) or the use of renewable materials,” he said.

“Circular Design is only effective when the relevant collection, sorting and recycling streams exist. From the mapping of the Waste Streams we can better determine technically recyclable packaging types in countries across the world,” Krottendorfer said.

The WPO Vice President Sustainability & Save Food, Nerida Kelton, added that “in order to be able to apply recyclable packaging design, a certain fundamental knowledge of sorting and recycling processes is necessary. Packaging must, therefore, be suitable for state-of-the-art sorting and recycling processes in addition to its basic functions (e.g., storage, transport, product protection, product presentation and convenience,”

“The Waste Stream Mapping Guides are essential global decision-making tools that will enable anyone to access current information on technically recyclable packaging across the world. They will help those involved in the development of packaging to not only plan in accordance with regional technical recyclability, but to also improve the design at the start to meet the regional requirements, or limitations, for collection, sorting, recovery and recyclability. Using these tools at the start of an NPD process will also bring significant opportunities to eliminate non-recyclable packaging before it is placed on the market,” she said.

“The Waste Stream Mapping Guides also come with a ‘How to Use Guide’ for the Global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide so that they can be used hand-in-hand when packaging is being designed. These guides will also be extremely useful to assist companies who are exporting their products and are unsure as to what is technically recyclable, conditionally recyclable or non-recyclable in the country in which the product will be sold. This information will help them to meet the packaging design parameters for that country to ensure recyclability.” Mrs Kelton said.

The 21x Country Waste Stream Mapping Guides and the How to Use Guide are now available on the WPO website www.worldpackaging.org/wpo/45/.

The project team is currently working on the next round of Country Waste Stream Mapping Guides, which will also be made available in 2022.

For more information contact WPO VP Sustainability & Save Food Nerida Kelton by e-mail [email protected].

An initiative for children: 'The world behind recycling’ book'

Anhely Millan, member of the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP – www.aipack.org), a WPO member, has published an educational book for children called ‘The world behind recycling’ that talks about how recyclability helps to protect the planet.

The book answers all of the hard questions from a young child’s perspective.

• Have you ever looked at a product and wondered whether it is recyclable? 
• Do you know what happens after you throw your waste away and how this waste is sorted and repurposed? 
• Mr. Bin will travel with you through the recycling world to discover all the secrets behind recyclability. 

Young children also learn how to recycle at home, the different materials that can be recycled, and the wonderful recycling processes. For more information send an e-mail to [email protected].