Week of the circular economy

The Paris agreement was concluded in 2015. It should lead to a CO₂ reduction of 95% by 2050. This is badly needed to protect the climate and therefore our own living environment. More sustainable action is necessary to counteract the rise in temperature. Our economy must also be circular by 2050. We are far from there yet, but we are working hard on it. This also happens in the packaging industry.

The ambitions of the packaging industry, especially for paper and cardboard, lie on Renew, Reduce and Recycle.

Renew: Fallen trees make room for new trees
Reduce: Reducing the use of raw materials
Recycle: Paper and cardboard can be recycled approximately 7 times

Below we will further discuss these 3 pillars. 2 R’s can even be added if we also note Re-use and Rethink.

What is a circular economy?

To answer the question about the circular economy, it is necessary to start with a linear economy. We use raw materials for products or energy that we discard or burn at the end. The problem with this is that fewer and fewer raw materials are left, because these raw materials do not just come back. With this ecological footprint, we currently exceed the carrying capacity of our planet by 65%. That means that with our lifestyle we would need 1.65 earth. With population growth and development of economies, we will deplete our earth. So we have to get to work. A circular system can help with this.

• Use renewable resources.
• Use the resources longer instead of using them once
• When designing an item, also take into account all stages of life (including after use) of the product

Packaging in a circular economy

Packaging is a hot item when it comes to a circular economy. They are not directly the product you buy or consume, but always get it. Packaging is also often used only once. Packaging is responsible for approximately 5% of a product’s total carbon footprint. This certainly has a share, but there are also other parts of a product that can make a greater contribution.

The packaging is necessary to get the product to the customer. Otherwise it is not possible to transport i.e. tomatoes. Not everyone will be able to get one or two tomatoes from a grower. Milk does not come out of the tap like water either. Or how are we ever going to eat fish again? Not everyone is going to catch this fish fresh.

Earlier we mentioned that packaging prevents food waste through its protection. But the packaging also makes products look better. They will therefore be sold earlier, so that it does not have to be thrown away.

Packaging is therefore necessary for logistics and sales, but it is important that it is produced as efficiently as possible and that it can be recycled properly. Therefore, many different products will have different types of packaging. You must therefore consider the following when designing the product and packaging:

• Efficiency of the production
• Ensure proper recycling
• Less use of raw materials
• Recovery of raw materials after use
• Optimal use of the right raw materials

Corrugated cardboard is a very good packaging choice for many products.

• It offers good protection
• Corrugated board fits well into the supply chain. It is easy to stack and transport on pallets
• You can use it as protection and transport mode
• It can be printed and as SRP or advertising are used
• Consumers see a cardboard box as sustainable
• With printing it is an information carrier
• With a barcode on the box you do not have to stick on the product
• Boxes are light and strong.

Biobased

Corrugated board is 100% biobased. It is made from raw materials that are renewable (Renew). Cardboard is made from paper and paper is made from wood fibers. Trees are felled for these wood fibers, but in Europe forests grow every day. About 1500 football fields of forest are added every day in Europe. Between 2005 and 2015, the forest area in Europe has grown the size of the Netherlands. Because there are many production forests, new trees come back for every felled tree. Trees are not cut for all the paper. At De Jong Packaging we use over 80% recycled paper for new packaging. All the paper we use is also FSC^® certified. As everyone knows, trees are the lungs of the earth and absorb a lot of CO₂. Through photosynthesis they make oxygen from this again. Even when the trees have been felled, the CO₂ remains stored in the fiber and ultimately in the corrugated cardboard box. As long as the box is not incinerated, this CO₂ will not end up in the atmosphere.

Reduce

With corrugated board, profit can be made in the product and in the production process. At de Jong Packaging we are constantly working to make our production run more efficiently. By using technical solutions and constantly training people, we use less and less raw materials in the form of paper and energy. Examples include 30,000 m² of solar panels, projects to use the residual heat, electrification of forklifts and boilers and Euro 6 engines in our transport fleet.

We work with our product developers on standardization of products such as CFQ. In this European project, all fruit and vegetable packaging is standardized, so that it is the same throughout Europe. In individual cases we also look at how we can make the product smarter, lighter and cheaper. After all, a lot of air is still packaged, which means a loss in the product, but also later in the supply chain.

Recycle

In the Netherlands we have a very good recycling system for paper and cardboard. In the big cities there are many containers and in villages everyone has a wheelie bin or collection points to hand in their waste paper. In the Netherlands we collect about 85% of the paper. We will never achieve 100%, because books, money and toilet paper, for example, are not recycled. The cleaner the paper, the easier it is to recycle. That means that tape, staples and plastic are not desirable. That is why the waste flow is already considered during the design of the packaging.

Rethink and Re-use

Cardboard boxes are often seen as single use. Fortunately, there are more and more solutions for multiple use of cardboard boxes. Due to the lively second-hand internet trade, many boxes are used again. There are also webshops that design their boxes in such a way that it is almost a work of art or that it becomes a toy. The third option is the combined use of a shipping package as a return package. A box can easily be used twice thanks to an adhesive strip.

Unfortunately, a lot of packaging ends up in the litter. On the street you see many bottles, bags and boxes. Plastic remains behind for years before it breaks down, but a cardboard box breaks down within a few months because it is biobased. In this way it is also not harmful to the environment. It is of course better to recycle the box so that you can use all the fibers again.

Conclusion

Corrugated is a great product. As a packaging it has many advantages and is very durable. If we do have to choose packaging, corrugated board may be the best option in many cases. At De Jong Packaging we also make this in a very efficient factory with good raw materials. Do you want to know more or order packaging? Then contact us.

More info: www.papierenkarton.nl