Discover your next big idea in food packaging & processing this Sept.
Experience a breakthrough in food packaging & processing—explore solutions from 2,300 suppliers spanning all industries at PACK EXPO Las Vegas.
REGISTER TODAY & SAVE

Reimagining Sustainable Packaging through Collaboration

Incorporating more sustainable options into CPG packaging is both a necessity and a challenge. Read about current initiatives to innovate new materials, improve recycling systems, and get closer to a circular economy.

Getty Images 1207248534

“We want to make sure that what we put on the shelves is as good for the planet as the products that we put inside those packages are for our bodies, and for our health,” said New Hope’s Content Director, Fran Schoenwetter, at Natural Products Expo East in late September.

Schoenwetter was moderating a panel discussion on reimagining packaging and sustainable options, and she added, “Packaging is a necessity in the industrial space that we're in, and it's also equally a challenge because we're a value-based business.”

Read what the panel professionals had to say about their organization’s current efforts:

Tony Rossi, EVP, Business Development, TerraCycle & Loop at TerraCycle

TerraCycle is a mission driven company that operates in 22 countries around the world to eliminate waste. Rossi said the company is made up of five main pillars, three of which make up the majority of the business, and two emerging.

The first and the oldest pillar is the recycling business, said Rossi, “We are a recycler. We collect and recycle products and packaging that are not municipally recycled today. And that's a very key point. We are not your solution for aluminum cans, or PET bottles, or uncoded corrugate paper.” Rossi said TerraCycle focuses on products and packaging that would end up in landfills or incinerators. And the ability to provide a recycling solution is not through technical breakthrough, but economics, by utilizing stakeholders such as manufacturers, offices, retailers, and consumers, to help subsidize deficits in the value of materials that are recycled vs. new.

The second pillar uses recycled material to create new products and packaging by either converting material that's coming back to TerraCycle, or by cleaning an area and bringing back material, converting it into a new format, and working with companies to make the packaging that they use in their supply chain. “This business is emerging,” said Rossi, “it's growing. We did a recent launch with pilot pens in Japan and with Europe, as well as a big retailer in Japan, where we made their pens and shopping baskets from plastic that was recovered in oceans and waterways from around the world.”

Loop, the third pillar, is a platform for re-usability. Working with brands both large and small to help them transition from single use packaging into reusable packaging, some key retailers around the world are now allocating shelf space in their stores to reusable product packaging that is brought back to the store, picked up, cleaned, sanitized by Loop, and then sent back to the manufacturer.

The fourth pillar is a diagnostic innovation hub which will be launching in 2022, and the final pillar is a non-profit foundation for developing economies – currently operating in Thailand and expanding into India next year – to assist with issues of waste management and litter.


Watch video   Watch this video on refillable deodorant systems.

Laura Dickinson, Co-Founder of One Step Closer

Break out of the ordinary: see what’s new in food packaging & processing
<strong>At PACK EXPO Las Vegas you’ll see machinery in action and new tech from 2,300 suppliers, collaborate with experts and explore transformative solutions. Join us this September to experience a breakthrough in food packaging and processing.</strong>
REGISTER NOW AND SAVE!
Break out of the ordinary: see what’s new in food packaging & processing
Proteins Innovations Report
Discover cutting-edge protein packaging innovations from PACK EXPO International 2024! Our editorial team spotlights hygienic equipment and materials designed for the demanding protein sector. From IP66-rated washdown systems and all-servo chub packaging to advanced auto-bagging technology and compostable trays replacing EPS, this report reveals how manufacturers are addressing clean, safe design while improving efficiency.
Take Me There
Proteins Innovations Report