Environmental sustainability and functionality are two trends that define the food packaging of the future. This will the focus of MeetingPack, which will take place on 20-21 April at the Valencia Conference Centre.

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The fifth edition of MeetingPack, the biennial meeting organized by AINIA and AIMPLAS, will be held this year at the Valencia Conference Centre. Actor across the packaging value chain will meet on 20-21 April to discuss the challenges and opportunities posed by the circular economy to barrier food packaging.

With a two-day programme of seven thematic sessions, MeetingPack 2022 will feature over 30 expert speakers, who will highlight industry innovations in the development stage. Participants will have the chance to discuss the environmental sustainability of food packaging and the need to ensure these products have the high level of barrier functionality the market demands. MeetingPack 2022 will schedule nearly ten hours of networking activities, such as the welcome drink and tour of the AIMPLAS and AINIA facilities on 19 April, the congress dinner and coffee and lunch breaks, as well as the standard Q&A sessions following each section. In addition, there will be an innovation exhibition area and a press corner, as well as 15 exclusive stands where sponsors will introduce their products and chat with participants.

The opening presentation on 20 April will be given by Plastics Europe to provide an overview of European legislation affecting the industry. The next two morning sessions will address the challenge of sustainability from the perspective of innovation in materials. High barrier solutions in the form of coatings and sealants, and the use of biopolymers and recycled material such as nylon will be among the topics discussed by representatives of companies such as RSM, Lyondellbasell, UBE, Lubrizol, Sunchemical, Venvirotech, FKUR and Novamont.

The two afternoon sessions on films, sheets and trays will focus on topics such as recyclability and reductions in the use of materials with presentations by professionals from the Enplater Group, Leygatech, TIPA, Faerchplast, Sealed Air, Constantia Flexibles and Grupalia 4.0.

The morning session on 21 April on ISBM and EBM moulded packaging will describe the use of industrial waste as a raw material and how sustainable PET with new functionalities can be produced. The next session will be on ecodesign, recyclability and certification, key aspects for achieving true circularity in packaging, and will centre on technologies such as chemical recycling, the manufacture of flexible packaging made from post-consumer PET, and technologies such as digital watermarks for smart packaging recycling. Professionals from Raorsa, ITC, Plastipak, Total Corbion, TPL, the European Brands Association (AIM) and Veolia will participate in this session. The event will end with a session on the success stories and experiences of KM Zero, Pascual, Vytal and Interal.

SIR Awards by Raorsa

MeetingPack has announced the creation of its own awards to recognize innovation in sustainable barrier packaging for the food industry, and, for the first time, Raorsa will present its SIR Awards by Raorsa for Sustainability, Innovation and Recycling at the congress. Raorsa uses its awards to identify and reward new manufacturing processes and materials that help create smart, innovative and sustainable plastic materials. The awards ceremony will take place at the congress dinner on the first day.

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