A new twist on designing plastic packaging
TerraCycle Include USA
The next phase of the plastics economy will mean going around in circles—but in a good way.
The "new plastics economy" will require rethinking all aspects of the plastics supply chain, both pre- and post-consumer, so that more kinds of material can be brought into a truly circular economy. That's one of the points Rick Zultner, director of process and product development at TerraCycle, will be making at "Understanding and Succeeding in The New Plastics Economy," a keynote panel discussion at PackEx Toronto, to be held May 16-18 at the Toronto (Ontario) Congress Centre. His fellow panelist will be Leonore Adams, safety, environment, and sustainability manager at Amcor Ltd., and the session will be moderated by Norbert Sparrow, editor in chief of PlasticsToday.
Zultner talked with Packaging Digest about the new plastics economy and what it means for recyclers like TerraCycle.
What do you understand “the new plastics economy” to be? In what ways does it differ from the “old” plastics economy?
Zultner: I understand the "new" plastics economy to be the pursuit and development of a circular economy for all plastic materials, and better material efficiency. It is an evolution of the "old" plastic economy, with longer term environmental considerations and lifecycle thinking applied.
I would characterize the "old" plastics economy as the development and expansion of plastic products. Where the old plastics economy expanded consumers’ access to products that might have been too expensive or impossible with previous materials, the new plastics economy seeks to minimize the environmental impacts associated with the production, consumption and disposal of those products.
What are the sorts of decisions/changes with regard to plastic packaging that can make a difference in the new plastics economy?
Zultner: Use more systems and lifecycle thinking in packaging design, and optimize packaging as part of a much bigger material and consumer system. We already have design guides to support rigid plastic packaging, but we are in the beginning stages of developing that system for more complex and harder-to-recycle materials.
For the near term, we can still use some general rules: packaging should be designed for recyclability, use recycled material and clearly communicate how to be properly recycled. Implementing those three ideas simplifies recycling for consumers, and supports the recycled material markets at the same time.
Longer-term, I would expect that packaging design will have a more integrated approach. We will probably see more specific design standards and material standards to reduce the variety of new packaging formats and materials. Labeling will likely be standardized to make the consumer’s experience with the packaging and product end-of-life easier.