4evergreen, the cross-industry alliance focusing on improving the circularity of fibre-based packaging, has set itself the goal to raise the overall recycling rate of fibre-based packaging in Europe to 90% by 2030.
Find out more about the alliance’s work in this podcast.
In a recent online conference, the alliance shared its first insights of research into different aspects of the fibre-based packaging value chain, based on research and analysis by more that 130 experts from 80 companies performed during last year:
• A new recyclability evaluation protocol: 52 packaging samples have been tested and evaluated in accordance with their suitability to be recycled at standard paper recycling mill to provide comprehensive toolkit to boost recyclability validation
• Circularity by design guidelines; Explicit design recommendation tables have been created based on the expert consensus opinion to ensure design for recycling for design cradle.
• Collection & sorting guidelines; collection & sorting practices across the EU have been investigated and summarized to elucidate best practices and anticipate impact of the future regulatory challenges on EU level.
• Innovation: Three projects related to novel recycling and sorting technologies which aim to find new ways to streamline the recycling process and reduce material loss.
From the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Andrej Čuš said: “EU industry is the cornerstone of the economy and development. It has been driven by innovation, quality, and respect for the environment, including in packaging. I believe that the circular future is the only possible future for packaging and other areas of industry.”
The event fostered discussion and debate between stakeholders within the packaging value chain and beyond. There were strong calls for continued collaboration and ambition and to challenge status quo and perfect circularity.
Hans Wortman, 4evergreen Chair, said, “Today marks a key stage in what is an exciting journey. We have been working together for almost 2 years and now is the time to show our progress. We are proud of our members and the expertise they have brought to the project, and we look forward to continuing this journey. We hope that early next year we will be able to bring our first guidelines to the public”.
