Confidex, a Beontag company, has developed RAIN RFID tags that allow reusable takeaway food packaging to be tracked at events, encouraging returns via reverse vending machines and facilitating convenient deposit refunds. We spoke with Zuleyka Moisio, Director Global Channel & Pulp&Paper Sales at Confidex, about being a finalist in the Recyclable Packaging category of the Sustainability Awards 2022.
You’re a finalist in the Sustainability Awards 2022. Congratulations! To start off, could you summarise your entry, RAIN RFID, in less than 50 words?
Confidex RAIN RFID reusable tags enable the tracking of packaging of takeaway food where a small deposit was paid at the time of purchase during massive events.
After eating, consumers drop off the packaging for reuse in a reverse vending machine that reads the tags, tap their smartphone or contactless bank card to get a refund of their deposit in a matter of seconds.
Why do you think the judges were impressed with your entry? Tell us about what is innovative about your project and/or about its impact on packaging sustainability.
In my opinion, there are three main factors:
1) Technology is attractive to new generations; from their perspective, it represents simplicity and agility. The RAIN RFID-based solution is an easy option to enhance the circular economy by having reusable packaging circulating faster multiple times. Confidex RAIN RFID tags used in this project are reusable, washable, and microwavable, capable of withstanding a wide temperature range with an outstanding performance. This makes them a perfect match for CupLoop’s RFID-based reverse vending machine.
2) The solution provides an opportunity for public participation and action, showcasing technological innovation not just as an enabler of sustainability but also as an immediate solution to slow the flow of plastics to landfills and the oceans - a technology with purpose.
3) Its modularity opens up multiple possibilities for consumer experience and encourages new partnerships with packaging producers, restaurants, and even with many other sectors for other applications.
How has your innovation/initiative been received?
New generations prove to be more socially and environmentally conscientious and concerned. This technology simplifies recycling processes for them for an annoyance-free experience, while bringing it close to the places where they socialize promotes that reusables are made to circulate just as easily as when they are thrown away.
You’re shortlisted for the Recyclable Packaging category. What do you see as the key demands, challenges, and opportunities in relation to recycling packaging?
Takeaway food and packaging litter dominate ocean plastic pollution with food containers at the top. Mitigation measures must go beyond ocean cleaning, the solution must be derived from the sources that generate the problem. It is an excellent plug-and-play solution that supports EU legislation against throwaway plastics.
The winners of this Sustainability Awards category will be announced at a dinner taking place at the Sustainable Packaging Summit in Lisbon on 13th-14th September 2022. To attend the ceremony, register here.
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