Starlinger intern, 2024/01 - Issue 36

cement from hardening even after long periods of storage in a damp environment. Woven bags can be reused or replace a high proportion of virgin plastic after recycling – our “Circular Packaging” concept offers a closed packaging loop for big bags made of polypropylene and PET. Starlinger endeavours to create awareness among our customers of the need for sustainable use of the packaging produced on our systems and also assists them by providing technical expertise. After all, sustainable packaging starts with the design: if possible, mixed materials or material composites (such as beverage cartons laminated with plastic) should be avoided to facilitate collection and recycling, and as much recycled production material as possible should be used for manufacturing. This saves raw materials as well as energy and thereby aids climate protection. The bottom line: When used carefully and prudently, plastic packaging helps to protect our climate and our environment by minimising the consumption of resources and reducing climate damaging emissions.

ALLOCATION OF SUBSTITUTE MATERIALS USED INSTEAD OF PLASTIC PACKAGING

Alternative A 25 % 25 % 25 % 25 %

Alternative B 15 % 45 % 20 % 20 %

Alternative C 20 % 35 % 10 % 35 %

Glass PPC Ferrous metals Aluminium

Reduction in plastics

-10 %

-10 %

-10 %

Increase in substitute materials

+25 %

+18 %

+21 %

Final consumption – all materials

+17 %

+12 %

+13 %

The study came to the conclusion that the reduction targets set out in the EU Packaging Regulation cannot be achieved if lightweight plastic packaging is replaced by heavier packaging materials to a significant extent. If the market share of plastic packaging is reduced by 10 % by 2030, the volume of packaging will increase under the same conditions. 5 And it is not only the material requirements for packaging that are higher: Glass bottles, for example, produce more climate-damaging emissions than PET bottles due to their relatively high transport weight. 6 In many cases, the woven bags, tarpaulins and carrier bags made of polypropylene and PET, which are produced on Starlinger systems worldwide, are the best packaging solution. Thanks to their low weight, they conserve resources and help to reduce CO 2 emissions during transport. Woven bags are lightweight yet tear-resistant – if a 35 kg bag of rice falls off the supermarket shelf or onto the floor during loading, it won’t burst open. In this case, the rice, and many other foods such as flour or cereals, do not need to be disposed of, but can be used without any concerns. Woven bags are also permeable to air and provide protection against moisture. AD*STAR ® cement bags, for example, prevent WOVEN FABRIC: OPTIMUM PRODUCT PROTECTION, LIGHTWEIGHT, RECYCLABLE Figure 2: This shows how replacing 10 % of plastic packaging with the substitute materials glass, paper/paperboard/cardboard, ferrous metals and aluminium in three different ways affects the amount of packaging waste – it increases in all cases. © GVM

The facts at a glance: From an ecological point of view, plastic packaging is often better than glass, paper or metal packaging.

Plastic conserves natural resources thanks to low material requirements.

Plastic packaging reduces the amount of waste and climate-damaging emissions.

If plastic packaging is used correctly – i.e. not thrown away, but collected, recycled and reused – it becomes a sustainable raw material source and is beneficial for our environment and climate protection.

4 Ibid., p. 24 5 Ibid., p. 25 6 N .N. (20.06.2024). The NABU reusable guide. NABU – Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V.

https://www.nabu.de/umwelt-und-ressourcen/ressourcenschonung/ einzelhandel-und-umwelt/mehrweg/nabumehrwegguide.html

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