Yogurt cup becomes yogurt cup: Design for Recycling as the key to a Circular Economy

The need to recycle plastic packaging is at the heart of current environmental efforts. This is not just about recycling, but about a genuine circular economy. Monomaterial packaging and smart design decisions play a crucial role here. Greiner Packaging demonstrates how this can look in practice.

In an interview with K-MAG, Konrad Wasserbauer discusses the challenges of recycling plastic packaging, how the "Design for Recycling" concept addresses these challenges, and the implications of recent developments in cardboard-plastic combinations.

Mr. Wasserbauer, what specific challenges are there when recycling plastic packaging?

Konrad Wasserbauer: The path to a functioning circular economy involves a shared vision among all participating players regarding the quality and quantity of regranulates, and the coordinated development of packaging itself as well as the corresponding collection, sorting, and recycling infrastructure. If I aim for regranulate to produce a garden bench, the necessary steps differ than if my goal is to achieve a food-grade cycle. Our long-term ambition at Greiner Packaging is clear: we want to turn a yogurt cup back into a yogurt cup.

The central challenge for the future will be for the entire industry to strive for the same vision. Only then can a circular economy be realized – together.

Part of the solution is the "Design for Recycling" concept. What does this mean?

Wasserbauer: How packaging must be designed for recycling is closely related to the aforementioned requirements. First, it's crucial to design packaging made primarily from a single material – so-called monomaterial packaging – or to use material combinations that can be easily and reliably separated during the sorting and recycling process, such as with the K3® r100, the latest generation of our cardboard-plastic combinations.

The recyclability is also influenced by the material used. This means that even monomaterial packaging isn't automatically suitable for recycling. It's beneficial to choose a material for the packaging that is widely available and thus can be recycled. However, the real challenge arises when you want to establish shared material flows. Forward-thinking regulations can be very helpful here.

Furthermore, the decoration of a package plays a significant role. The basic rule here is: less is more. The fewer recycled materials are contaminated by, for example, colors, the higher their quality, and the more likely they can be used for food packaging again. When decorating, and of course with the basic structure, it's also essential to use appropriate colors. If our customers opt for dark packaging, we currently recommend using carbon-black free masterbatches, which allow the packaging material to be detected in the sorting plant.

The use of various identification technologies is becoming increasingly important. We are working on different projects, including the use of tracers, imaging AI, and digital watermarks. These invisible digital watermarks for the human eye are incorporated into the decoration of packaging and are used, among other things, to determine the packaging material in the sorting plant. This ensures the correct sorting stream for packaging.

You also mentioned your K3® r100 cup earlier. What features of the cup promote its recyclability? How does the recycling process work?

Wasserbauer: Cardboard-plastic combinations are a showcase in many ways: Apart from the fact that plastic usage is minimized thanks to the cardboard wrap, the unprinted – usually white or transparent – plastic cup yields high-quality recycled material. Consumers can easily separate cardboard and plastic and dispose of them properly. If consumers don't take this step, we've developed the K3® r100. This is the first cardboard-plastic cup where cardboard and plastic separate autonomously. This happens through mechanical pressure and friction during the waste collection process: garbage from the recycling bin gets compressed in the garbage truck, causing the wrap to detach from the cup on its own. Both components can then be allocated to the appropriate sorting streams in the sorting facility and further processed.

How does this approach differ from other plastic products on the market?

Wasserbauer: Cardboard-plastic combinations have been a success story since their invention over 40 years ago – by Greiner Packaging. No other type of packaging scores so well in terms of sustainability and design aspects simultaneously. The self-separation function sets new standards for the recyclability of cardboard-plastic combinations.

What are your future plans regarding promoting a more sustainable plastic packaging industry?

Wasserbauer: Internally, we are doing everything we can to design our packaging according to the Reduce – Reuse – Recycle criteria. But we are also in intensive dialogue with players across the entire value chain – from suppliers, recyclers, political decision-makers, NGOs to our customers, of course. Moreover, we now have our own recycling plant to be able to provide recycled materials ourselves. We firmly believe that a real circular economy can only be achieved through a collaboration of all involved stakeholders.