Original by Dr. Steve Wong
December 5, 2023
Recently, I attended the Sustainable Packaging Summit held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The event brought together major global beverage brands, chemical and plastic raw material manufacturers, packaging material producers, technology companies, government officials, voluntary organizations, and scholars. Ironically, I noted that there was no plastic recycler from Asia. However, recycling associations, such as Plastic Recycle Europe from Europe, America Plastic Recycling from the United States, and Circularium from Africa, were present. I represented ASPA (Asia-Pacific Sustainable Plastic Alliance) for the Asia-Pacific region. The conference invited four of us representing different continents for panel discussions at the summit primarily because attendees would like to know the global dynamics of recycling sustainability. There will be mandatory EPR programs and the use of recycled content for the year to come. This event also aimed to raise environmental awareness throughout the packaging and recycling industry value chain, addressing pressing environmental concerns.
The most notable aspect of this summit is the European Union government’s requirement, starting in 2025, to use recycled materials in certain packaging products, such as beverage bottles and other containers. This policy shift has changed the rationale for using recycled materials, shifting from solely economic benefits to a focus on sustainable environmental practices supported by legislation. This initiative will pave the way for a new chapter in the recycling industry. Currently, the majority of global recycling industries are operating at a loss. Emphasizing the use of recycled materials, especially in times of increased demand, has led to rising prices. We hope this measure can improve the current market challenges and reverse the situation where production costs exceed selling prices.
As many brand companies have voluntarily used recycled materials even before the mandatory use of recycled materials, with the effect of supply and demand dynamics, the price of recycled PET materials is higher than that of prime virgin materials. The industry is concerned that unscrupulous market players may use prime virgin materials to counterfeit recycled materials to make profits, given that the market is saturated with prime virgin materials. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen systematic supervision.
Our discussions emphasized the need to establish mechanisms to trace the origin, utilize existing technologies, and record the entire packaging lifecycle from production to recycling through QR codes or sensing systems. Secondly, we must consider the design and use of materials to meet recycling requirements until they end their life.