For example, McCormick Place and show organizer, PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, worked with Dow, the official sustainability partner and the official sponsor of show floor recycling at PACK EXPO International (PEI), to minimize the environmental impact of the event and divert as much waste as possible from landfills.

One of the strongest components of all PACK EXPO exhibitions is roster of educational sessions, and this year was no exception. There were myriad sustainability-related educational presentations at the show, which tackled topics such as sustainable technology and materials innovations, the use of recycled content and renewable materials, transformation of waste, circularity, refill/reuse options, life cycle assessment, sustainable package design, reduction in emissions, extended producer responsibility, and data collection.

In the Plastics Sustainability Through Collaboration session, Patrick Krieger, vice president, sustainability at the Plastics Industry Association (PIA), discussed how the packaging industry is evolving to develop solutions that are more circular and sustainable and how the plastic packaging value chain is coming together to promote innovative products and programs that address industry needs. Krieger said that with regard to sustainability, the plastics industry is focusing on three main areas:

• Promoting a circular plastics economy
• Eliminating plastic in the environment
• Using resources responsibly.

One of the PIA’s newest programs is Operation Clean Sweep, which promotes zero plastic loss, that is, making sure no resin is lost during manufacturing.

In the Sustainability Central pavilion, Amazon – which stated it has reduced packaging per shipment by 41% since 2015 – presented the Elevating Packaging for E-Commerce to Boost Customer Experience session. Amazon executives discussed how to enhance the customer experience while protecting products and minimizing packaging waste. “Shoppers want less packaging, they want it to be recyclable, and they are willing to pay more for sustainable packaging,” said Kirsten Freiheit, head of North America partner engagement, sustainable packaging at Amazon. She shared that although shoppers want reduced packaging, e-commerce packaging needs more protection.

Heather Smith, senior business development manager, sustainable packaging at Amazon informed attendees how companies can improve customer satisfaction with packaging design, so “you can build excitement with the ‘unboxing experience’.” She added that branded packaging enhances customer experience.

The Paper & Packaging Board, which was exhibiting in the Sustainability Central pavilion, highlighted its new campaign to help promote carton recycling. P&PB executives, noting that 89% of consumers prefer paper-based shipping materials, explained that food and beverage cartons are made primarily out of responsibly-sourced paperboard, a renewable, plant-based material, and contain some of the highest quality fiber available in the recycling industry. P&PB’s new program wants companies to add the recycling logo to their carton packages to remind consumers to recycle their cartons. Carton recycling is available to more than 62% of US households and that number is growing every day. Recycled cartons become paper towels, tissues, office and writing paper, and sustainable building materials to name just few of the many products.

There were also a number of sessions dealing with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) or Packaging Producer Responsibility. EPR is a public policy mechanism that requires packaging producers (generally product brand owners) to help fund the recovery of their packaging. How funding is set, what the program goals are and who manages the system differs across the various states that have passed legislation. In 2025, many packaging policies relating to EPR will take effect. For example, California’s EPR law includes specific source reduction requirements for plastic packaging. Several other states are also now considering source reduction requirements though legislation: Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Washington.

• Vanessa L Facenda, editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.
  Keep in touch via email: vanessa@bellpublishing.com Twitter: @TCTradeJournal or LinkedIn: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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Commenting on the launch, Fabien Simon, JDE Peet’s CEO, said, “This is an important step in driving the sustainability agenda of our company and yet another sign of our leadership in innovation. We know that reducing packaging and promoting recyclability and reusability are increasing consumer needs. By providing more sustainable solutions within soluble coffee, one of the world’s most beloved and consumed beverages, we can maximise our positive contribution in decarbonising our own portfolios and the coffee market as a whole.” 

JDE Peet’s is working to reduce the amount of packaging material and associated carbon emissions, used in both manufacturing, transport, and end-of-life disposal. This new paper pack directly supports the company’s effort of minimising its carbon footprint across its entire value chain and its goal of moving towards 100% of packaging designed to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2030. In line with this, in 2022, JDE Peet’s set targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to reduce emissions across scopes 1, 2 and 3. 

The new range will be available in selected markets across multiple brands of JDE Peet’s’ portfolio as of 2024. 

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Amcor and Löfbergs partnered to overcome one of the key challenges facing coffee roasters – switching to easier to recycle coffee packaging, while preserving flavour and aroma – and have achieved a technical breakthrough, the companies say. The partners collaborated during the development process, testing for barrier, run speed, machine performance and recyclability in the real world.

“More sustainable packaging should not compromise on quality. This pack responds to consumer demand for packaging that is easier to recycle, while preserving coffee’s aroma at its best,” said Trevor Davis, marketing director, Amcor Flexibles EMEA. “Our AmPrima material was able to run at the same machine speeds as non-recyclable versions and has the potential to replace over 200 current non-recyclable coffee packaging specifications.”

The new pouch is recycle-ready today in most European countries, designed according to The Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging (CEFLEX) guidelines, and it is certified by the Institute cyclos-HTP for recyclability in the real world.

“This is an amazing step forward – not just for us, but for the entire coffee industry. The new pack has a 55% reduced carbon footprint compared to our previous coffee packaging.* We will keep driving initiatives like this one and invite other players, both within and outside the industry to join us, to achieve our goal of zero waste by 2030,” said Madelene Breiling, head of operational development at Löfbergs. 

This breakthrough underscores both companies’ long-term commitment to more sustainable packaging solutions. Amcor is on the path to fulfilling its pledge to develop all of its packaging to be recyclable or reusable by 2025, with 83% of its flexible packaging portfolio available in recycle-ready solutions today.

Löfbergs was one of the first European coffee producers to remove aluminium from coffee packaging 25 years ago. Continuing its journey, the company phased out large amounts of fossil-based plastic in its packaging and replaced it with bio-based alternatives in 2019, and today has moved to recycle-ready packaging.

Learn more about Löfbergs’ sustainability activities here and about Amcor’s here.

*Carbon footprint comparison with Amcor’s ASSET lifecycle assessment system, certified by the Carbon Trust. Comparison based on pouch using OPP/PET-Y/PEBIO, versus the new AmPrima Recycle-Ready mono-PE pouch.

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The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Danone, and Keurig Dr Pepper – the top five beverage companies in the world and most of which market ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee and/or tea products – have pledged to increase post-consumer recycled content in their polyethylene terephthalate plastic (PET) bottles by targets ranging mostly from 25 to 50% by 2025. However, a new study, The Impact of Beverage Brand Commitments for Recycled Content on the Flow of Plastic Bottles into Aquatic Environments, commissioned by Oceana, the largest international advocacy organisation dedicated to ocean conservation, has exposed a weakness in these plastic recycled content pledges. 

The analysis, conducted by Eunomia Research & Consulting, found that if the top five beverage companies meet their pledges [authors of the report believe it’s far from certain that they will], these pledges would only reduce aquatic pollution from single-use plastic bottles by 7%. In response, Oceana is calling on major beverage companies to adopt or expand strategies that prioritise refillable bottles. 

“This report uncovers some worrying realities. It seems improbable that the recycled content pledges by large soft drink companies will be met and regardless, they won’t go far in helping the oceans,” said Dr Dana Miller, Oceana’s strategic initiatives director, said in a statement. “Adding more recycled content doesn’t stop a single-use plastic bottle from reaching the seas but replacing that bottle with one that will be reused does. Recycling alone is not the solution that our oceans need. Our oceans need us to return, refill, and reuse our bottles instead.” 

According to Eunomia’s analysis, to achieve Coca-Cola’s, Pepsi’s, Nestlé’s, Danone’s, and KDP’s target of increasing post-consumer recycled content in their PET bottles between 25 and 50% by 2025 would require collecting an additional 2.57 million tonnes (2.83 million US tons) of plastic bottles for recycling each year. However, there is no coherent strategy in any global region apart from Europe to reliably increase the supply of recycled PET for the production of bottles and achieving this would likely require significant government intervention. Recycled PET sourced from plastic bottles is also high in demand for other uses like making other plastic packaging, clothes and toys, and this demand is steadily growing. 

Of the approximately 511 billion PET bottles used in 2018 in the 93 coastal countries included in the analysis, an estimated 35.8 billion bottles entered aquatic systems. Eunomia found that even if the companies could live up to their pledges, their current commitments would have little impact on reducing aquatic plastic pollution. This is largely because bottles used for recycling are expected to predominantly be derived from already collected and managed waste streams rather than from mismanaged waste or littering. Per the report, on this basis, if all brands reached their stated targets, 33.4 billion bottles (93%) would keep flowing into rivers, lakes, and oceans. 

“Our study found that significantly reducing the flow of used PET bottles to aquatic environments requires collection infrastructure to be introduced in places where none currently exists,” project director for Eunomia, Chris Sherrington, stated in a release. “While increased demand for recycled content can be expected to lead to a greater focus on obtaining used bottles, it doesn’t necessarily follow that this will all translate into the establishment of new collection infrastructure while opportunities continue to exist to divert already collected bottles from going to landfill or incineration.” 

Eunomia’s study also discusses how to increase the beverage sector’s collection rates, including the use of refillable bottles. In 2020, Oceana published a report which found that increasing the market share of refillable bottles by just 10% in all coastal countries in place of single-use PET bottles could reduce PET bottle marine plastic pollution by as much as 22%. If major soft drink companies truly want to reduce the billions of plastic bottles entering the oceans each year, Oceana is calling on them to provide a refillable option to consumers worldwide. 

Dr Miller added, “Leading soft drink brands need to stop distracting consumers concerned about ocean plastic pollution with pledges about recycled content. The companies responsible for this crisis facing the oceans need to focus more on solutions that can go further in tackling the problem — like refillable bottles.” [The worldwide non-alcoholic RTD market is driven by a small number of companies. According to Global Data, in 2018, just four companies accounted for over 40% of total sales.] 

Refillables have proven to be highly effective at reducing waste. Companies own, track, and collect these bottles, and people who buy refillable bottles typically return them to the place of purchase in exchange for a ‘bottle deposit’. The bottles are then collected, washed, refilled, and delivered back to stores where they can be purchased again. Refillable bottle systems create less plastic waste as each bottle can be used up to 20 times if PET or up to 50 times if glass. 

In February of this year, The Coca-Cola Company announced a major commitment to reach 25% reusable packaging by 2030, leading the way for other companies to follow suit. A month later, PepsiCo announced that they would be making their own time-bound goal on reusable and refillable bottles by the end of 2022. 

Although Oceana celebrates these announcements, the organisation underlines the importance of these commitments being met and for the companies to embrace refillable bottles as a core business strategy. To create meaningful change, Oceana is requesting that: 

• The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Keurig Dr Pepper, Nestlé, Danone, other beverage brands, and the bottlers they work with to expand refillable systems in existing markets and create new major markets for refillables. 

• Investors to seek investment opportunities with beverage companies and bottlers to fund the development and build-out of refillable bottle systems. 
• Governments to introduce quotas for refillable bottles, mandatory sales of refillable bottles, and legal provisions to use universal bottles for different brands. 

T&CTJ discussed reusable and refillable programs as potentially viable options for reducing packaging waste within the coffee and industries in our March 2022 issue. To read the article, click here. 

• Vanessa L Facenda, editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.
  Keep in touch via email: vanessa@bellpublishing.com Twitter: @TCTradeJournal or LinkedIn: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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The trial goes live just a month after the UK’s biggest coffee shop chain committed to halving carbon emissions per coffee serving by 2030 and reaching Net Zero by 2040.

The trial will gather ‘real life’ consumer and store team member feedback of the new lids, including look and feel, following significant testing and development in controlled environments. The lids will also be trialed in select Costa Express machines this summer. If successful, Costa Coffee will roll out the new lids in early 2023.

The new fibre lids will be available across small, medium, and large takeaway cup sizes and has up to 50% lower carbon footprint than the current polystyrene plastic lids. As part of an ongoing effort to reduce its environmental impact, last year, Costa Coffee changed the lining of the inside of its takeaway cups to be plant-based plastic, rather than an oil-based plastic. The cups, now available nationwide, have a 26% lower carbon footprint than Costa Coffee’s previous takeaway cups when recycled. The trial of the new fibre lids will mean those consumers opting for a takeaway cup will be able to enjoy their favourite Costa coffee in 100% plant-based packaging.

Commenting on the announcement Costa Coffee’s global brand & sustainability director, Deb Caldow, said: “Last month we announced our global carbon reduction targets, committing to halving carbon emissions per coffee serving by 2030 and reaching Net Zero by 2040. Targets require action and today’s announcement is another positive step in the right direction, helping improve single use options for coffee fans.

“We are working simultaneously on three key areas within our packaging – Reuse, Reduce, Recycle. Our aim is to encourage consumers to adapt reuse regularly, through offering reusable ‘rent a cup’ schemes and by rewarding consumers through an enhanced loyalty scheme, rewarding those opting to reuse.

“However, we know we need to come at this from all angles – and constantly improving single-use material options, as well as maximising cup collection and recycling are all parallel priorities. Last year we launched takeaway cups made from 100% plant-based materials in major markets around the world and have plans to continue to improve the iconic Costa Coffee cup. We are now focusing on single-use lids, moving from polystyrene plastic lids to new fibre lids that are sustainably sourced, made from renewable material and are fully recyclable.

“We’re confident that the trial will show us that consumers are ready for the switch from plastic to fibre and that as the UK’s favourite and biggest coffee shop chain, we can make a huge difference in reducing the volume and impact of single-use, oil-based plastic, on the environment. We hope other brands will join us in giving consumers easy ways to make more sustainable choices when enjoying their daily coffee.”

Also leading on reuse, Costa Coffee recently extended its UK trial of a blockchain technology-powered reusable cup scheme, BURT (Borrow, Use, Reuse, Takeback), which allows consumers to borrow (‘rent’) a reusable cup to takeaway and return it on their next visit. They also relaunched their loyalty scheme last year with sustainability considerations at the forefront through the introduction of “Green Beans”. The scheme now rewards consumers with a free drink after only four purchases when using a reusable cup, compared to 8 purchases in a takeaway cup.

Finally, Costa Coffee’s 2030 target to halve emissions per serving of coffee have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) – the internationally-recognised partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the Worldwide Fund for Nature. Costa Coffee was also one of the first brands to sign up to the British Retail Consortium’s Climate Action Roadmap, continuing to lead and participate in external industry coalitions.

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Today, brands are looking for more sustainable packaging thanks to increased media attention, corporate commitments, and consumers’ environmental concerns. Amcor AmPrima recycle ready solutions provide options for brands who need packaging that still offers the barrier, material stiffness, seal strength, graphics performance and fast run speeds of traditional unrecyclable packaging.

New from April 2022 are AmPrima PE PLUS solutions targeting more demanding applications in terms of product protection, packaging convenience and runnability on packaging lines.

AmPrima PE PLUS for roast and ground coffee will launch first in Europe. Suited for all typical coffee pack formats and sizes, it is available with both lock/seal and peel options to protect freshness and aroma. The PE-based packaging is treated for thermal stability, allows easy transition on existing filling machines, and has an innovative barrier coating for product protection. According to Amcor, AmPrima PE PLUS for coffee also offers unbeatable attractiveness, with brighter colours and various matte or tactile finishes for high shelf appeal. According to Amcor’s analysis, recycle-ready AmPrima PE PLUS has the potential to replace over 200 current non-recyclable coffee packaging specifications.

Also part of the April launch for demanding applications are AmPrima PE and PE PLUS solutions for cheese in Europe.

Noemi Bertolino, vice president of R&D for Amcor Flexibles EMEA said: “The AmPrima range has already been proven to work for our US customers, and we’re happy to now offer it in Europe. For the latest applications in coffee and cheese, Amcor has run over 50 trials, and we are delighted to bring our customers a simple switch to more sustainable packaging. Fitting a wide range of packaging needs, the versatility of AmPrima® demonstrates our commitment to ongoing innovation and finding more sustainable solutions where they previously did not exist.”

In line with the upcoming EU directive, and Amcor’s 2025 pledge to develop all its packaging to be recyclable or reusable as well as increase the use of recycled content, AmPrima is recycle-ready in most flexible PE packaging recycling streams. Additionally, it has a lower carbon footprint than many of the packaging structures it replaces, helping brands to meet their sustainability goals.

The AmPrima range is designed according to CEFLEX guidelines for circularity and certified by cyclos-HTP for recyclability in the real world. The full portfolio includes AmPrima PE to serve a wide range of products, and AmPrima PE PLUS for products requiring a high barrier or more complex applications.

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