Packaging / Advertising & Office

As the European Commission prepares to publish amendments to its packaging and packaging waste legislation, the Federation of European Corrugated Board Manufacturers (FEFCO) has also published a series of three scientific studies comparing recyclable and reusable packaging solutions . These studies highlight the important role of sustainable packaging in the context of the EU Green Deal, finding that recycled packaging (such as corrugated cardboard packaging) is generally more environmentally friendly than reusable packaging (such as plastic), and conclude that situation choose a packaging solution.

In recent years, with the improvement of environmental awareness, many industries hope to increase the reuse of packaging. Therefore, FEFCO has assessed the environmental impact of returnable packaging and reusable packaging in different markets and packaging applications through scientific research projects, and compared the two.

The research mainly includes a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of fresh fruit and vegetable transport packaging, a hotspot analysis of the packaging value chain for e-commerce, and a white paper that provides a critical perspective on packaging recycling and reuse in the European circular economy. The studies were conducted by an independent consulting firm and a research institute in Europe and were peer-reviewed by a panel of three independent experts.

First, the LCA focused on comparing the environmental footprint of transporting one ton of fresh fruit and vegetables using returnable corrugated boxes and reusable plastic crates (RPCs) over a distance of 840km. In addition, 15 environmental footprint impact categories were assessed for each packaging solution according to ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards, using established databases, industry data and existing scientific literature.

Life cycle assessment results show that recyclable corrugated packaging board outperforms reusable plastic crates in 10 out of 15 environmental footprint impact categories, and corrugated boxes outperform reusable plastic crates for climate change 28% less plastic. The study also found that reusable plastic would need to complete at least 63 reuses to or perform better than recyclable corrugated boxes. In addition, a sensitivity analysis also assessed the environmental impact of the two types of packaging under 14 different scenarios, and the results were similar, with corrugated box packaging performing better in the 13 scenarios.

Second, the hotspot analysis of the e-commerce value chain, focusing on the corresponding results obtained by analyzing the e-commerce supply chain for the delivery of small personal items in Europe. Using 48 existing scientific studies, the analysis identified life cycle stages or "hot spots" in the e-commerce packaging value chain that are prone to environmental impacts. The first identified hot spot that easily affects environmental benefits is the actual number of uses of e-commerce packaging cartons. Since official data are largely unavailable, it is difficult to determine the actual parameters of this process. Essentially, though, achieving as much recycling as possible is a key factor in reusable packaging reducing its environmental impact. The second key lifecycle stage is related to logistical parameters such as storage and transport distances. As the industry does not yet fully understand the complexities of e-commerce supply chains, this means that its potential environmental impact is often higher than expected. The third hot issue was the percentage of recycled materials used in packaging. However, similar to the first hot spot, detailed data on the recycled content of reusable plastic packaging is still not available.

Third, the project conducted a comprehensive review of packaging recycling and reuse, publishing a white paper providing critical perspectives. The white paper highlights the importance of recyclable packaging such as corrugated packaging and its role in sustainability. The white paper also concludes that the industry should consider recyclable and reusable packaging solutions more from a sustainability perspective rather than just waste prevention, suggesting that the existing waste hierarchy needs to change and be more A good reflection of life cycle thinking. Existing research shows that when it comes to choosing between recyclable and reusable packaging solutions, there is no clear best choice, as results vary from case to case.

In addition, FEFCO proposes that the European Commission's forthcoming Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive should support the industry through a green transition to make packaging more sustainable and circular. For credible and realistic revisions to this legislation, the targets and measures set must be based on scientific evidence to ensure that each packaging application is best suited to protect products and the environment.