By Paul Shorthouse
The demand to improve logistics, reduce costs, improve food safety, and maintain food freshness with less food spoilage are some of the top reasons fuelling the demand for single-use and, too often than not, hard-to-recycle packaging. However, this linear approach to packaging is contributing to the millions of tonnes of plastic waste ending up in our landfills and the environment each year.
Poor packaging design, problematic materials, and excess packaging are disrupting the plastics recycling industry – but it doesn’t have to be this way. On a global scale, we’ve identified design interventions and innovative approaches that are more in line with circular economy principles and evolving recycling systems.
How is the Canada Plastics Pact (CPP) leading food and beverage companies towards innovation?
The Golden Design Rules (GDR) for Plastics Packaging, launched by the Consumer Goods Forum Coalition of Action on Plastic Waste, were developed collaboratively with 41 global companies in response to the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the UN Environment Programme.
Since April 2022, the CPP with the support of its Redesign Working Group has been leading the consultation and implementation of these nine packaging rules in Canada, following the development of some Canadian-specific guidance. Key actors across the plastics value chain are working collaboratively to drive innovation and scale action to ensure problematic or unnecessary plastics are eliminated by 2025, while also improving the way packaging is designed for recyclability.
CPP partners within the food and beverage sector that have innovated their product designs to become more sustainable have noticed how big of an impact a small change can have to reduce plastic waste and pollution. For example, Club Coffee, one of the largest coffee roasters and sustainable packaging innovators in North America, has set new benchmarks for coffee packaging by implementing the GDRs. Design changes to its R&G coffee packaging have reduced plastic use by 48 per cent compared to a similar foil quad seal bag, 83 per cent compared to a similar plastic canister, and reduced carbon emissions by 78 per cent compared to plastic canisters. Similarly, Bimbo Canada, the nation’s leading bakery, has also reduced its use of single-use plastic by approximately 200 metric tonnes annually when it transitioned to compostable cardboard bread tag clips.
In addition to the GDRs, a number of strategies are being adopted within the food and beverage industry, including:
- Design for recyclability, such as replacing multi-resin laminates in flexible packaging with mono-resin packaging such as polyethylene;
- Lightweighting, with a focus on reducing the volume of plastic per unit sold;
- Elimination and alternatives, such as edible or dissolvable packaging;
- Inclusion of post-consumer recycled (PCR) content in produce packaging where safe (particularly in beverage containers); and
- Reuse models, which provide customers with the opportunity to buy bulk items in reusable and refillable containers.
All in all, moving the entire system – from large to small food manufacturers – forward within a collaborative ecosystem will be essential to ensuring success.
Learn more or join the Canada Plastics Pact
The CPP is a unique, multi-stakeholder, industry-led, cross-value chain collaboration platform which aims to create a circular economy for plastic packaging in Canada by bringing businesses, government, non-governmental organizations, and other key actors across the value chain. CPP partners are united and working together on achieving clear, actionable targets as part of its Roadmap to 2025.
The CPP supports member and non-member companies to address and/or amplify their progress to circular packaging solutions. The CPP encourages companies looking to adjust their packaging design to join the CPP and sign on to the Golden Design Rules.
Reach out to info@plasticspact.ca for more information and visit CPP’s website to sign up to receive monthly newsletters, or follow @CanadaPact on Instagram for the latest updates on the Canadian plastics industry.
Paul Shorthouse is interim managing director of CPP.
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