PackTheFuture Award 2023: These are the winners!

56 entries, 10 winners, 1 special prize and 1 honourable mention – that's the positive balance of the PackTheFuture Award 2023. The results were announced at the award ceremony at interpack in Düsseldorf. The award honours innovative and sustainable packaging solutions made of plastic.

The PackTheFuture Award aims to promote and publicise the contribution of plastic packaging to climate protection, the Circular Economy and responsible consumption. The award is organised by the two associations IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen and ELIPSO, the French association for plastic packaging and flexible packaging.

Both associations, Elipso and the IK, are convinced that there can be no ecological and energy turnaround without plastic packaging. "Plastic packaging is becoming lighter and lighter, contains recycled or bio-based materials, is itself recyclable and is constantly evolving thanks to the genuine know-how of our industry," explains Gael Bouquet.

The certified recyclable PE-based shrink bag VACUshrink(re) MEX 55 with EVOH high barrier is suitable for fresh and processed meat or undercooked and matured cheese. It contains no PA layers or PVdC barrier and is produced without cross-linking.

By using a three-dimensionally stretched polyolefin structure with a film thickness of only 55 μm, adapa has succeeded in meeting the high demands for product protection and processability and combining these with greater sustainability: VACUshrink(re) MEX 55 scores with excellent mechanical properties: it can be easily processed on standard packaging equipment and has good puncture resistance. The shrink bag is fully recyclable

The VACUshrink(re) MEX 55 was awarded the World Star Award 2023 in the category Packaging Materials and Components.

EcoFusion Top with Thin-Wall & PCR max is the lightest and most recyclable solution that meets all criteria for greater recyclability by combining the 3 Rs: Reduction, Recycled Content, Recyclability.

To have a major impact on weight reduction, ALBEA has removed one component by fusing the head and cap, clearly demonstrating its efforts to reduce plastic consumption. EcoFusion Top alone weighs only 2.4 g compared to 12 g for the standard head with cap.

In addition, the solution is made of 100% PE, making the tube suitable for recycling in HDPE streams. It contains 41 % recycled plastics (PCR Max with 70 % r-HDPE in the jacket). Apart from the design, this innovation is a breakthrough in the production process as it can be used in both extruded and laminated tubes.

The Future pump is made entirely from a single material, PE, thanks to a patented technology that includes an all-plastic motor. It is therefore fully recyclable when combined with a PE or PET bottle, as sourced from The Body Shop.

Another unique feature is an integrated lockable ring and 360° actuator that minimises the risk of breakage and eliminates the need for a disposable safety ring, making the Amazon pump ISTA-6 compliant. The Future Pump is thus a groundbreaking innovation in the beauty industry in terms of technical innovation, sustainability and consumer experience.

The Body Shop's new packaging was launched in Europe in Q4 2022 with a customised pump in the green colour and logo on the top.

The special feature of the LT 515 laminating film is its structure: EVOH/PE/EVOH. The EVOH layers are on the outside and enclose the polyethylene layer (PE). This film offers high temperature resistance, very good optical properties and a gas barrier. When complexed with another PE film, it allows converters to produce bags or lids from a single PE material.

LT 515 is suitable for printing, coating or sealing. This solution is ideal for replacing complex PET/PE or OPP packaging. The film is part of LEYGATECH's circular economy range as it can be 100% recycled in the existing recycling stream.

Profol's new CPPeel® lidding film is key to the production of mono-material polypropylene packaging. CPPeel® is ideal for yoghurt pots, dairy product packaging, salad trays, portion packs or cosmetic containers.

The CO2 footprint of CPPeel® is 4 times better than existing aluminium packaging. The new CPPeel® lidding film in transparent or white, together with PP cups and trays, forms the basis for a sustainable mono-material packaging that is 100% recyclable. This mono-material packaging design makes it easy to sort and recycle packaging.

1SKIN™ is a stylish, minimalist 1-litre container for sensitive beverages that enables distinctive, sustainable brand positioning. It is designed to support the Circular Economy, achieve a low carbon footprint and open the doors to new, digital communication opportunities.

1SKIN™ features an eco-friendly swing-top closure and ensures high performance while extending product shelf life with just the right weight of 100% recycled PET. By replacing virgin PET with recycled PET, 1SKIN™ also reduces CO2 emissions by five times. Its no-label design reduces the weight of the primary packaging by 10%. With a glass-like appearance and surface, 1SKIN™ offers a high-quality, sustainable packaging with 10 times less CO2 emissions. The bottle provides access to more information thanks to a QR code on the lid.

PEKU Folien has developed the functional and widely used drawstring bag into a one-material product. The previous cotton cord has been replaced by an LDPE cord. The function remains the same with the PE cord: the simple closing, opening and fastening of the bag with the cord enables safe multiple use and keeps the packaged product hygienically clean. Bag and cord are made of one material and are therefore 100% recyclable after use.

To ensure that the PE cord does not weld itself to the PE bag during the sealing processes, but can move freely in the bag seam as before, an optimal solution was developed after numerous tests and with a lot of film expertise. During disposal, the cord no longer has to be separated from the bag, but can be fed into the cycle as a complete product for recycling.

The TacFlex® 900 series was introduced to the market last year. The addition of grades with recycled content necessitated the development of a suitable material flow, as conventional sources of regranulate do not meet the high requirements of surface protection films. This has now been achieved with Cirlen regranulate production at Bischof+Klein; the first films have been extruded in the Innolab and industrial production is imminent.

The innovation improves the protection of the contents from filling to the end consumer. TacFlex® 900 is adhesive-free and thus completely recyclable, yet still strong, resource-saving, climate-friendly - and now also available with a 30% recycled content.

Sleever will launch the first low-density sleeve label compatible with closed-loop PET recycling in 2023: LDPET® White Barrier. This innovation is aimed at marketers of liquid and solid foods (beverages and dairy products).

In addition, Sleever offers the energy-saving equipment "Combisteam LDPET WB" thanks to its system range. Combisteam is modular, designed for high speeds and enables energy consumption to be reduced by up to 50 % without compromising on performance.

The light barrier function of the LDPET White Barrier product enables longer shelf life and protection of vitamins, colours and flavours.

The U-Pack® FFS is a combination of the well-known standard FFS film and the U-Pack®. The U-Pack® FFS represents an upgrade of the FFS film: Stabilo seams, a resealing system and a high-quality carrying handle are now possible. The aim was to offer the end customer features that are standard in single-bag filling but have been a problem in high-speed filling on reels.

With the reseal feature, the package can be closed after product removal and allows for longer shelf life. Easy-opening without the use of a knife is also possible. The carrying handle offers easy handling for large bags. In addition, the U-Pack® FFS can be filled at the same machine speed as standard FFS. There is no need to invest in additional equipment in the line. This also eliminates the disadvantage that these sometimes reduce the filling speed by up to 40 %.

The closure, jointly developed and manufactured by Bericap, is part of the closed transfer system easyconnect, which makes the filling of liquid crop protection products more efficient and safer. Used with the coupler, the system saves time and effort when filling the syringe and reduces the user's risk of contamination by a factor of >50 compared to the previous filling method. For emptying, the coupler opens the easyconnect lid and closes it again leak-proof by means of an innovative mechanism.

This is the packaging for packing and protecting the BEAM® robot from Awabot, the pioneering integrative telepresence company in France. The packaging has been redesigned and made from a single material, expanded polypropylene (EPP).

Compared to the cardboard solution, the weight is 34 % less (i.e. 2.6 kg resource saving per robot), and even 80 % less for the flightcase solution. The packaging consists of 25 % recycled material and is 100 % recyclable at the end of its life.