Why it is so difficult to get plastic out of packaging

According to the Federal Environment Agency, 6.3 million tonnes of plastic waste are generated in this country every year – around half through packaging. But as important as plastic is for packaging, its disadvantages are just as great: two tons of oil are required to produce one ton of plastic. And once plastic gets into nature, it takes decades for it to rot.

But what makes it so difficult to develop sustainable packaging solutions and implement them on the market? The Handelsblatt has looked at the entire value chain and describes the challenges manufacturers, dealers, customers and waste disposal companies face.

Manufacturers cannot do without plastic

Plastic bashing in public is scratching the image of the consumer goods giants Henkel, Beiersdorf and L’Oréal. That is why they have all set themselves similar goals: by 2025, 100 percent of their packaging should be recyclable, and they only want to use new plastic half as often.

In order to avoid plastic, the companies rely on paper. L’Oréal sells sunscreens, half of which are packaged in cardboard. Persil manufacturer Henkel has launched “Eco Power Bars” in Austria. This is solid detergent in Lego brick format, packed in cardboard boxes. But for most products there is no alternative to liquid – and therefore no alternative to plastic.

“You often cannot do without plastic in packaging because it is necessary because of its properties,” confirms Astrid Teckentrup, P&G Head of Germany. “That is why it is an important goal to reduce the use of fossil new plastics and to work with recyclates as much as possible.” By 2030, P&G wants to have eliminated 300,000 tons of new plastic in packaging worldwide.

The problem: High quality recycled plastic is increasingly scarce on the market, observes Sven Sängerlaub, who teaches packaging technology and packaging production at the Munich University of Applied Sciences. “Because more and more companies are setting themselves sustainability goals and the industry is very actively researching alternatives to conventional plastic packaging, there is a real run on recyclate.”

What is scarce is expensive: consumer goods companies have to pay significantly more for recyclate than for new plastic. Recyclate is sometimes so rare that companies have to add more new plastic than they actually want. In addition: “Recyclate is not as stable in terms of its properties as new material,” says Thorsten Leopold, who heads global packaging development for cleaning agents at Henkel. Henkel therefore has to check the recyclate much more intensively for material defects.

Sometimes the machines even have to be renewed: This year, Nivea manufacturer Beiersdorf brought a body lotion onto the market whose packaging only requires half as much plastic. This is elastic and can be rolled up like a tube of toothpaste. “The packaging is so fragile and light when empty that we had to adapt the entire filling process,” explains Beiersdorf packaging expert Norbert Menzel.

Retailers need a lot of time to switch

Dealers face similar problems. They too see themselves under pressure to become climate neutral. With their own brand products in particular, they have the opportunity to save CO2 through new packaging. But that is time-consuming – and not least involves investments.

“We have to combine economy and ecology,” emphasizes Thomas Kyriakis, head of Prezero, the disposal subsidiary of the Schwarz Group. This is a challenge, especially for discounters like the sister companies Lidl and Kaufland. “But we are aware that sustainable packaging can cost a few cents more at the beginning,” he says.

The often long transition periods at retailers also show how difficult the plastic turnaround is. Ikea, for example, has now announced that it will completely dispense with plastic in its packaging – but not until 2028. Around 55 tons of plastic were used in the furniture dealer’s packaging last year. Replacing this is not a trivial matter.

Many other retailers, especially in the food sector, know that they can never do without plastics entirely. Aldi, for example, is trying to use as much plastic as possible from recycling. By 2025, the total use of new plastics should decrease by 20 percent compared to 2020.

Customers often do not separate their garbage properly

A basic problem in the race for sustainability: packaging made from recycled material often looks slightly grayish or yellowish, and cardboard packaging also appears less conspicuous in the supermarket as a rule. “Purchasing decisions are often made unconsciously, and many customers still use new plastic packaging that looks more attractive,” observes the expert Sängerlaub.

In order to continue to appeal to all customers, Henkel wrapped the packaging of its toilet cleaner Biff, which already consists of 75 percent recycled material, with a wafer-thin film made of new plastic, so that the product continues to shine in the supermarket rule.

In addition, customers are often not able to properly separate the garbage. According to the Federal Environment Agency, only a third of plastic waste from private households can so far be recycled. This is also due to the fact that plastic is often soiled with leftover food. If leftovers get moldy in the garbage, the plastic also takes on this smell. This makes recycling more difficult – and reduces the amount of high-quality recyclate.

L’Oréal Sustainability Director Binder recommends separating the lid and the container from the actual packaging, because these are made of different plastics and they are easier to recycle separately. The cosmetics manufacturer has printed disposal instructions on its packaging to inform customers about the correct way to separate waste.

Disposers cannot recycle a lot of packaging

Because the disposal companies are struggling with poor waste separation. The recycling rate for plastic packaging is just over 60 percent. But that doesn’t say much about the actual recycling: Everything that ends up in the disposal facility is considered recycled. Unusable packaging that is later incinerated is still counted as recycled in the statistics.

In fact, there is also a lot of packaging that is not yet easily recyclable. This is often the case when different plastics are glued together. Even black plastics can often not be sorted into different types of plastic by the sorting systems.

“The be-all and end-all of packaging management is product design at the beginning,” says Prezero boss Kyriakis. “How do I design the packaging so that it can later be easily separated, sorted, recycled and thus put back into the cycle”, is how he describes the secret of success.

This is another reason why the partnership with a consumer goods manufacturer like P&G is so valuable for the Schwarz recycling subsidiary Prezero, which operates its own dual system and has five recycling and seven sorting systems. The advantage: “Due to our reach, we have the opportunity to establish new packaging as the standard,” says Kyriakis.

Alliances are intended to accelerate the path to sustainability

Whether manufacturer, trade, consumer or disposal company: The plastic problem is far from being solved. “The entire industry has to do more and work more closely together. It’s a collective challenge, ”says Henkel manager Leopold.

Alliances can accelerate this. “We need real breakthroughs in innovative, sustainable packaging, and we don’t need them at any point, but as soon as possible,” warns the German head of Procter & Gamble, Teckentrup. “The partnership with Prezero contributes to this.”

The plans are ambitious. “We are united by a common goal that goes far beyond the use of Silphie fibers,” explains Prezero boss Kyriakis. “The product range at Procter & Gamble is very broad.” There are ideas and opportunities to implement many other joint projects.

The consumer goods manufacturer has set itself the goal of being climate neutral by 2040. But to achieve this, the company has to break new ground, especially when it comes to packaging. And P&G manager Teckentrup knows: “What we do, there is no blueprint for that in our industry so far.”

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