The concept of circular economy emerged with the aim of promoting sustainable development and this gave rise to the creation of circular packaging that was installed in the world of packaging. Discover in this post what this concept is about and how to implement this trend in your packaging.
What is circular packaging?
In the midst of an environmental crisis that poses significant challenges to society, circular packaging is positioned as a company strategy to face it and successfully reduce waste production.
We should not ignore the effort made by the plastic production companies to minimize the commercialization of disposable plastic products manufactured for a single use, reinventing technologies and packaging trying to fit it into a circular economy.
In Spain, the new Law and Regulations on waste aim to "minimize the negative effects of waste generation and management on human health and the environment (...) and make efficient use of resources", urging companies to generate recyclable packaging and consumers to choose its use and include into their everyday lives recycling actions for household packaging and industrial and commercial packaging for the respective industries.
The ACTION PLAN FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2030 AGENDA in Spain, defines the Circular Economy as "oriented to the change of a linear economy model, of extracting, producing, consuming and discarding, towards a sustainable model that allows maximizing the available resources, both material and energy, so that they remain as long as possible in the production cycle and minimize the generation of waste."
It is true that the statistics indicate an increase in recycling rates, but it is also true that it will take a little more effort to achieve the planned objectives. Circular packaging is emerging as a great ally and part of the solution.
Packaging is what visually impacts the consumer, which causes a product to be chosen or rejected on numerous occasions. This type of circular packaging responds to a new concept based on eco-design and packaging management under the principles of circular economy, an initiative that minimizes waste and optimizes the use of resources throughout the life cycle of a product, including its packaging.
In this sense, the circular approach implies a concept, design, production and management of packaging focused on reducing the consumption of materials to the maximum, promoting their reuse and recycling while always minimizing the environmental impact.
Main characteristics of circular packaging
Circular packaging has certain qualities and characteristics that give it its own entity. To know them allows us to understand their role and impact on the circular economy and environmental protection. The key is to promote recycling with the aim of minimizing or even eliminating waste. It is true that the end user plays an essential role in this chain because, in general, the problem is not so much the material itself, but the abandoned and poorly managed waste.
The main characteristics of circular packaging are:
- Intelligent design. Sustainable packaging is designed with its ability to be recycled or reused. In this way, recyclable materials are prioritized and the use of non-recyclable materials is reduced as far as possible.
- Sustainable raw material. Renewable and/or recycled materials are used in the manufacture of this type of packaging in order to eliminate dependence on non-renewable resources and reduce waste generation.
- Recyclability. This aspect is crucial since circular packaging must be designed to facilitate its recycling, using materials suitable for this purpose.
- Reuse. Sustainable packaging also drives reuse as much as possible, including design strategies and, above all, deposit return systems (DRS) that gives waste a value.
- Waste management. It seeks to reduce the amount of packaging waste as much as possible.
What is circular economy and how is it conceived in packaging?
The circular economy is a model of exploitation of resources that promotes the optimization of products and their materials, maximizing the useful life of the container, promoting its reuse and favoring recycling.
The objective is to reduce the large volume of waste generated by each inhabitant, through the use of recyclable materials, in addition to proper waste management.
In our country, the Spanish Circular Economy Strategy 2030 seeks to promote a new model of production and consumption where raw materials, products and resources remain in the economy for the longest time and waste generation is reduced.
This strategy contributes to generating a more sustainable future for the planet, prioritizing avoiding pollution as much as possible and advocating for a sustainable, decarbonized, resource-efficient and competitive economy.
In this friendlier horizon, circular packaging plays a central role, especially if we consider the great environmental pollution that waste from excessive packaging produces today.
Companies are beginning to assume their obligations in pursuit of the circular economy thanks to these current regulations and a greater social awareness about respect and care for the environment.
The impact of the ENVASE x ENVASE project on APS’ circular packaging
The ENVASE x ENVASE project, managed by the SCRAP AEVAE, has been supported by the consultancy HEURA since 2020. This project seeks to work on the optimal management of packaging from the professional agricultural products sector.
Its objective is to recycle packaging waste from this sector and to manufacture new packaging to be used by this same industry.
Among the participants to achieve the success of the project are all those involved in the production and management chain, users and intermediaries.
This strategy covers a key circuit that drives a circular economy:
The FARMER starts the circuit by taking the plastic packaging waste to the COLLECTION POINT established by AEVAE. We continue with the WASTE MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY and the PLASTIC RECYCLER to obtain a new material that will be used by the PLASTIC PACKAGING MANUFACTURER (APS-ALCION PACKAGING SOLUTIONS) to create a new container.
All this analyzed by an accredited laboratory that verifies the absence of risks and guarantees traceability.
Thanks to this new initiative, the environmental impact is improved and reduced, also obtaining tax benefits by reducing the tax on non-reusable plastic, improving the degree of sustainability of companies.
Circular solutions that your company can use
APS -Alcion Packaging Solutions is working on several projects related to circular packaging, carefully developed and designed by its R+D+i technical team. These include barrier packaging that, in addition to protecting the packaged product, can be 100% recycled through mechanical processes.
The surface treatment technology using plasma fluoridation makes these containers the perfect alternative for transporting chemical products.
Enter the circularity! We invite you to learn more in our catalog!
Do get in touch with our team to clear doubts and use our sustainable packaging.
