Winners of the 2021 German Packaging Award were recently announced. There are a total of 52 winners from six countries, of which, many are sustainable packaging. Whether using “bag in bottle” mixed packaging, mono-material, or recycled material, packaging made from sustainable materials is becoming popular in the global market.
PCR packaging is still going strong
Gaplastt: bag in the bottle packaging
Recycled polyolefin has some limitations in food and skincare packaging. Gaplastt solves the difficulty of the application of recycled polyolefin in the food and skincare packaging by using the mixed packaging of “bag in a bottle”. Its multi-layer packaging includes an outer layer as a hard container made of recycled PE, and the inner layer as a shrinkable flexible packaging made of new PE material. When disposing of the whole package, both the outer bottle and inner bag can be recycled.
W. Müller GmbH: cosmetic packaging with PCR up to 70%
The environmentally friendly bottle launched by W. Müller GmbH is produced in the three-layer coextrusion process. The middle layer is PCR material, and the inner and outer layers are made of new plastic materials. The packaging contains PCR materials is as high as 70%. This environmentally friendly bottle can be used for cosmetic packaging.
Mono-materials recyclable packaging is getting popular
Elif: recyclable mono-material high barrier bag with compartment
According to plastic regulations in Europe, high barrier flexible packaging needs to be 100% recyclable by 2025. This is a great challenge for flexible packaging.
Elif is addressing this challenge by using mono-polymer material, which aims to extend the shelf life as much as possible and protect against the aroma loss of the product through a high barrier. In addition, metalized polypropylene film provides a 0.5 g/m²/24h high moisture barrier, 0.1 cc/m²/24h oxygen barrier, and light barrier, which eliminates the usage of EVOH or PVDC barrier layer. Independent tests confirm that the packaging has good recyclability.
Linhardt: 25% weight reduction of full HDPE flexible tube
The suPErtube flexible hose launched by LINHARDT is not only easy to recycle but also reduces the packaging weight by 25% because the tube body and lid are made of mono-material, i.e.HDPE. The HDPE used is recycled content, so the tube body is made of 100% PCR materials.
Etimex: PP blister
Thermoformed tablet/capsule blisters are traditionally sealed with aluminum foil, which affects the recycling of the packaging. However, blisters and sealing foils made of mono PP developed by Etimex Primary Packaging can be completely recycled. PP sealing film not only retains the function of the previous aluminum sealing film but also improves the recyclability of the whole packaging.
German Packaging Award is organized by the German Packaging Institute and that it is open for international entries. The winners of 2021 have been recently announced, the Award 2022 starts in February 2022.