7360 60 80 According to the environmental program of the UN approx 360 million tons of plastic will be produced in 2018 According to estimates by the US Environmental Protection Agency EPA 60 80 of the waste in the world s oceans is made of plastic Focus 02 17 unique packpaper Take make and dispose today s current linear in dustry models will simply have to change according to the plans of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation from Great Britain The non profit organization has dedi cated itself to the Circular Economy a regenerative economic system that redefines products and services through innovations and new approaches in order to avoid waste and minimize negative impact on the en vironment and society Nature as an example Nature where all things automatically go through a cycle is the role model for the circular economy One species waste is another species food plants and animals grow and then die and the nutrients flow back into the soil The sun and rain supply energy In a linear system however the raw materials are lost after use and at the same time toxic waste is often produced when disposing of things like washing machines smart phones and the like The goal of the Circular Economy therefore is to change this system from the ground up even the economy should function as a cycle in the future The approach combines two different systems in the process On the one hand a biological cycle within which food waste and biological materials are fed back into the system gaining value as a result For this product components must be reconsidered and packaging must be redesigned for example by using compostable materials that in the end will be reused as food for plants or animals And on the other hand a technological cycle is needed Machines and devices cannot be broken down For these therefore new ideas are required in order to obtain precious me tals polymers and alloys that can be reused for other products Today s consumer goods can therefore be come tomorrow s raw materials Instead of throwing away pro ducts consumers would bring them back to the manufacturers the corporation would therefore have to rethink the concept of property in general The idea is for producers to simply lend pro ducts and for these products to go back to them when they are no longer needed Techni cal materials will be reused and valuable biological substances will be returned to na ture Assuming that all products are manufactured and transported using renewable energies this could give rise to a system that promises abundance for a long time provided that all business enterprises worldwide respond in an interconnected manner and the system is recreated from the ground up Rethinking packaging Greiner Packaging has been a member of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation since 2016 As part of the New Plastics Economy initiative the company together with partners around the world is looking at the entire value added chain of a package from the raw ma terial to manufacture and sale and all the way to its collection and treatment The objective is to close the packaging cycle and develop systems through which the packaging does not lose value and can either be composted reused or recycled Kenneth Boldog Director of Circular Economy at Greiner Packaging explains As a leading packaging specialist we are naturally aware of the challenges that go hand in hand with the increased use of plastics We therefore also welcome the European plastics strategy which was published in January 2018 These are topics after all that we have been dealing with for some time now For example the recyclability of products as well as the use of recycled materials are ideas that are embedded in our business strategy In all our sustainability efforts it is important for us to keep the entire eco balance of a product in mind and not to neglect the main functions of packaging It is important for us to incorporate our experience as a plastics processor as well in order to guarantee the highest quality for our customers even in the future Challenges and risks Everyone is currently talking about recycling materials and bioplastics but despite all the optimism Boldog says these cannot solve all the problems overnight The rules of the European Food Safety Authority or EFSA are strict and they specify exactly which ma terials can be used in connection with food packaging recycled materials can currently be used in the food industry only in a very limited way Despite the very limited amount of materials and technologies allowed by the EFSA however we are already in a position to offer new solutions Here we have placed the empha sis on the use of r PET and are convinced that this is where the future for the food sector lies As for bio ba sed plastics we at Greiner Packaging have also tested these in the last few years and always include new de velopments in this sector in our approaches to innovati on But at present these are not alternatives for us at an industrial scale for the existing materials Used in ri gid plastic packaging they are neither compostable nor are there currently enough appropriate collecting sorting or recycling streams Moreover it is not in our interest to use land that is available for producing food to produce packaging material Even recycling itself needs new approaches in order to leverage the pla stics strategy According to Boldog product design in particular is of crucial importance since Greiner Packaging s guiding motto is after all Designed for recyclability The developers of the company are the refore intensively involved in developing packaging that is not just recyclable but that also aims to improve the As a leading packaging specialist we are naturally aware of the challenges that go hand in hand with the increased use of plastics Kenneth Boldog Director Circular Economy

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