Are We at the Tipping Point for ‘Paperization’ in Packaging Sustainability?

For July “Plastic Free” month, we look at the popular alternative: paper.

Rob Kaszubowski, Managing Director

July 17, 2024

5 Min Read
Recyclable paper packaging
OlegKov / iStock via Getty Images Plus

It’s not every day that packaging gets a full month to celebrate and share the limelight, but here we are in July, which touts Plastic Free month. With an increasing drive for companies to convert to eco-friendly and sustainable solutions, there are a multitude of approaches, material considerations and technical levers that can be applied — all with the overarching goal of improving sustainability results. Plastics canvas an array of applications, including cups, straws, shopping bags, bottles, flexible pouches to name a few. This extended list leaves plenty of potential avenues to strive towards “plastic free” alternatives within their respective sectors.

One trend that has gained momentum of late is the paperization of packaging. While not an official Merriam-Webster’s word — the term refers to the increased use of paper-based materials, often switching from plastic or fossil-fuel-based materials.

Recent events lean into fiber-based materials.

The timing of Plastic Free month is a bit serendipitous given some recent events and releases by some of the world’s largest companies.

• Just last month (June 2024), Google released its “Plastic-Free Packaging Design Guide” and published it for others to follow its footsteps where it makes sense for their products and their business. The guide dives deep into all layers of packaging and components that make up some of Google’s elegant electronics packaging — everything from screen protectors, hang-tabs, and molded fiber trays.

Amazon-Paper-Plastic-cushioning-comparison-web.jpg

• Amazon also announced it will be converting its void-fill from plastic air pillows to recycled paper dunnage, replacing approximately 15 billion air pillows annually.

Additionally, other product and food manufacturers and retailers alike have made moves to convert from plastic to paper-based solutions.

• Aldi is trialing a paper band for bananas — intended to replace plastic bags.

• Diageo plans to trial PulPac’s dry molded fiber bottle in a mini-format Bailey’s bottle.

And many other brand owners and packaging suppliers also continue to dip their toe into alternative paper-based solutions to test the waters on customer acceptance, scalability, and cost control.

Shifting towards recyclability and a circular economy?

In a circular economy, packaging materials never become waste and are circulated back into the system through processes like reuse, recycling, remanufacturing, and composting.

While technically every material is “recyclable” to some extent, materials must be able to pass efficiently through the four key steps to be truly recyclable in terms of circular economy …

While technically every material is “recyclable” to some extent, materials must be able to pass efficiently through the four key steps to be truly recyclable in terms of circular economy: collection, sortation, reprocessing, and end markets. For paper-based packaging, this means the ability to be recycled into new paper, paperboard, or other products.

Fiber-based packaging is one of the most recycled materials, with high rates of collection and recycling infrastructure already in place. However, while highly recyclable, paper does have a finite reuse loop. After multiple cycles, the fibers will break down to a point where they no longer maintain the structural properties needed for reuse.

Because most consumers know that paper is recyclable, paper-based packaging tends to remove the confusion when they ask, “Is this recyclable?” When it comes to the time of disposal, it’s a more binary yes-or-no choice, removing some of the ambiguity and murkiness that can be tied to understanding recyclability of other materials.

Resin ID code for PET

For plastics, the “chasing arrows” symbol tends to be confusing or misleading to consumers (at least in my household). While intended to be a resin identifier, many identify the symbol as indicating the packaging material is recyclable, which can lead to contaminated material streams. Advancements with How2Recycle label continues to improve this process and guide consumers on recycling maturity for both material applications and markets.

 

Not a one-size-fits-all solution.

As with many packaging decisions, there are trade-offs and concessions that must be evaluated before converting packaging materials. Product performance remains a key metric, whether through shelf-life performance, equipment throughput and efficiency, or protecting products from the distribution hazards encountered during transit and delivery.

Based on these core requirements, fiber-based material technologies may need further research, development, trialing, and testing to enable advancement into additional product markets or line extensions. But organizations should continue to pursue alternative material options today to understand potential performance gaps — and evaluate other avenues.

A business case for fiber-based packaging?

Another perspective to consider when it comes to sustainability is the other “green” aspect of this — bottom line business impacts. With so many alternatives to make practical changes for the sake of circularity, let’s not forget that companies are still geared towards turning a profit. As material commodity markets fluctuate, having an alternative packaging material solution qualified can provide additional fluidity and resiliency to product managers, packaging engineers, and supply chain practitioners.

Additionally, as material innovations and their markets mature, packaging costs in those respective areas will begin to level out as well, making alternative technologies more readily available — both by geography and cost impacts.

Do your due diligence.

As the paperization trend continues to gain momentum, material technology advancements will continue to open the doors for alternative packaging solutions. Product manufacturers and brand owners should continue to pursue their due diligence in research, development, qualification, and performance testing to evaluate alternative, circular materials.

Product manufacturers and brand owners should continue to pursue their due diligence in research, development, qualification, and performance testing to evaluate alternative, circular materials.

If Plastic Free month is telling us anything, it’s that paper-based packaging solutions may be more viable and available than they’ve ever been.

About the Author

Rob  Kaszubowski

Managing Director, NTT Data Supply Chain Consulting

Rob Kaszubowski is Managing Director for Packaging Optimization at NTT DATA (formerly Chainalytics). His team of packaging consultants solve complex challenges with data-driven approaches, a holistic perspective, and comprehensive experience across solutioning, execution and implementation. You can contact him at [email protected] or on LinkedIn.

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