The raw materials for packaging are used at the beginning of production, so their availability is of immense importance to the packaging industry. However, in 2023, the global economy has been marked by delivery blockages and material shortages.

Therefore, efficient use of raw materials and sustainable use of available resources have been more important than ever before. This was evident at InterPack: many exhibitors, whether machine manufacturers or packaging manufacturers, had corresponding solutions with them, including more efficient machines and processes, new materials, or optimized packaging materials.

We use too many natural resources. "Earth Overshoot Day" is a striking reminder of this every year. The symbolic day is annually calculated by the international think tank Global Footprint Network.

From that day onward, all the world's natural resources that the Earth can regenerate in a year have been exhausted. In 2023, Global Overshoot Day fell on August 2nd. 25 years ago, the global deadline was in October.

Industrialized countries live particularly generously. Germany has already depleted its resources by May 4th. For its calculations, the Global Footprint Network uses a wide range of scientific and economic data and figures from, for example, the United Nations and universities. In Germany, environmentalists are now calling on the federal government to adopt a resource protection law with mandatory protection goals by 2026.

The European Commission has also taken up the cause of resource conservation. Through the planned packaging regulation, for example, it aims to ensure that all packaging is fully recyclable by 2030 at the latest.

For this purpose, basic criteria for the "design for recycling" of packaging are also defined. Many companies in the industry already take this into account and often gain a competitive advantage.

There is still a lot of potential for savings.

For Markus Rustler, the president of Interpack and the managing partner of the company, resource conservation and energetically efficient production have long been important topics.

The company has been considered carbon-neutral since the beginning of 2023. "This made our customers open their eyes first, then opened their ears. Now there is great enthusiasm that we are taking these steps," says Rustler in the Interpack interview. Sustainable and resource-saving business is part of the company's philosophy. Egarten Pactec's machines are already very energy-efficient, but there is still ecological potential.

Although we are carbon-neutral as a company, this does not yet apply to the life cycle of our products. We use cast steel for the basic housing of many of our machines. This consumes a huge amount of energy both in production and in subsequent processing. But, of course, this can also be made carbon-neutral. That's why this is the next step we want to take.

Packaging machine manufacturer Hugo Beck also relies on resource-saving technology. At Interpack, the company presented a new paper packaging machine for e-commerce, which saves resources by automatically adjusting the size of the transport bag to different product sizes.

The manufacturer's flow wrapping machines, in turn, achieve material savings of 60 to 70 percent through the minimal use of film and process all types of films commonly used in machines, such as monomaterial films, recycled material, or biofilm, and even ultra-thin packaging and shrink films from 7 µm.

Various effects of resource conservation.

A new solution from KHS saves up to 90% of material and makes it possible to dispense with conventional secondary packaging. It packages beverage cartons or PET bottles in stable packages with only a few adhesive points and does not require film.

The new technology is already used by numerous beverage manufacturers and illustrates how diverse the effects of resource saving can be. For example, after a French retail chain switched the packaging of its own-brand water from shrink film to the KHS solution, it saved over 250,000 tons of plastic per year, with a production of up to 25,000 bottles/h.

KHS's Nature MultiPack technology is also suitable for high-performance applications, with up to 108,000 containers per hour, and offers a variety of secondary packaging solutions that save resources.

For example, for Loop Lite, a recyclable PET bottle for highly carbonated beverages. The lightweight bottle is made from 100% rPET and allows a material reduction of up to 25% compared to conventional CSD brand bottles.

A material reduction of up to 30% has been achieved for the label, and the special geometry of the new rPET bottle support allows lower pressure during stretch blow molding, saving up to 15% additional energy and thus costs. The CO2 footprint of the packaging is reduced by up to 60% compared to standard PET solutions.

Thinner sleeves for a lower CO2 level.

Less material means, among other things, fewer CO2 emissions in production. Austrian film manufacturer CCL Label has recently added a thinner version of its stretch sleeves to its range, which are intended for reusable 1-liter PET bottles, largely used in the German mineral water market.

The newly developed sleeve has a thickness of only 30 micrometers (0.030 millimeters) and, according to the company, is the thinnest sleeve of its kind available on the market. It is made of monomaterial polyethylene (PE), which, due to its elastic properties, does not absorb heat when attached to the bottle - another point where emissions can be saved.

Saving fossil raw materials in plastic packaging production is the main goal of many manufacturers. An alternative could be bioplastics, which are made from renewable resources or, even better, from agricultural and food waste.

Biotechnology company NatureWorks uses plant starch such as corn or sugar cane and, with the help of microorganisms, breaks it down into lactic acid, which is polymerized into the biopolymer polylactide (PLA). The company markets the PLA portfolio under the brand name Ingeo, which is then processed into compostable coffee capsules, tea bags, food utensils, or 3D printing filament.

The plant-based biomaterial is said to have a 70% lower CO2 footprint than petrochemical-based plastics. The entire Ingeo biopolymer portfolio is produced at a 150,000 metric ton per year production facility in Blair, Nebraska, USA.

A new fully integrated production complex, with a capacity of 75,000 tons per year, is currently being built in Thailand and is scheduled to open in the second half of 2024.

Paper is currently very popular and already replaces plastic in many packaging applications. Usually, it is made from slow-renewing wood raw material. But valuable resources can be saved here too.

For example, by using grass fibers. Grass is a fast-growing alternative with a positive ecological balance: grass paper production uses significantly less water, less energy, does not require chemicals, and causes almost five times less CO2 than conventional paper production.

Since it is available almost everywhere in the region, long transport routes are no longer necessary - which is also beneficial for the CO2 balance. Grass paper currently consists of up to 50% grass fibers; the remaining part is recycled paper. Currently, there is no paper made exclusively from grass fibers. The sustainable material is already used in many packaging applications.

Interpack exhibitor Körber MediPharm also wants to use scented grass paper with its special texture and has started testing and development projects for safe secondary packaging made of grass cardboard with several well-known pharmaceutical companies.

With consistently positive results: the costs for the new packaging material correspond to those of conventional cardboard, and the material provides the same high level of product protection.