Reduce, reuse, recycle. (Credit: congerdesign from Pixabay)
According to an article on thinkstep.com the strongest trends in the packaging industry in 2019 all revolve around circular economy. Why? At least in the EU context, it’s driven primarily by political pressure and consumer perception regarding packaging. China (and now India) are closing their doors to waste, environmental groups are lobbying to stop plastic pollution in the oceans and the EU continues to strengthen its resource protectionism. These developments are at the heart of the EU’s decision to embrace circular economy. Its simple and easy-to-love code relies on the same three words that defined the environmental movement in the 80s and 90s: reduce, reuse, recycle. However, now the EU is passing regulations faster than usual, including regulations to increase recycling rates and recycled content and laws to reduce single-use plastics. As a result, manufacturers are rushing to reach their own quotas and targets, scrambling to solve a puzzle whose edges are still ill-defined. Here we want to provide our views on current trends to draw attention to the potential shortcomings of each and offer suggestions for tackling them.
Vid text: The Sustainability of Packaging - The Three Pillars | Flora D'Souza | thinkstep.
