Before discussing environmental consequences & solutions, let’s first know what composite packaging is. Just like the name suggests, Composite packaging is made when we combine two or more substances to create one that can be used for packaging products. The aim is to bring together the unique properties of different materials in one product, resulting in enhanced durability, elasticity & versatility. Some of the most common examples of Composite packaging are Paper-polyethylene, Plastic-aluminum, Plastic-Paper-Aluminum, and Cardboard-polyethylene. Composite packaging has many benefits, including:
Improved quality & durability
Reduced material consumption
Cost-efficient
Design flexibility
Enhanced product shelf life
While composite packaging has taken over the industry with its attractive features that protect the packaged products & increases their shelf lives, it has also created an obstacle in our movement towards the circular economy.
Composite Packaging & Circular Economy
Composite packaging has become a challenge to the recycling process since it contains multiple layers of metals, plastics, or papers combined with wax or resins. Thus, to recycle, we need to separate these materials. This stage poses a difficulty as there are high chances of the final recycled product being contaminated. The materials tend to pollute one another and make it impossible to recycle profitably. The current recycling facilities globally are under-equipped to handle composite packaging due to lack of profitability. As a result, such packaging often tends to end up in the trash, hampering a circular economy. That said, we cannot abandon its use considering the benefits it offers.
Recycling Solutions for Composite Packaging
The need of the hour is to find out innovative recycling solutions. We cannot rely on traditional methods, especially when there is no one type of composite packaging. Many international companies have already started working in this direction by implementing small-scale solutions. They’ve found out ways to separate composite materials or even consolidate them into one to form new packaging material.
While recycling solutions are on their way, it’s the responsibility of packaging companies, too, to produce easy-to-recycle solutions. This is why we, at Cosmo Films, have molded our business to provide an answer to this problem.