Packaging Innovations 2018 | Print & packaging industry recycling up for debate

The debate, taking place on the Eco Pack Stage at the Label & Print Exhibition at midday on 28 February, will focus on the current race to replace plastic in order to solve the pollution problem highlighted by David Attenborough in Blue Planet II. It will also take into account the need to develop new, easier to recycle products that don’t rely on export markets to complete the recycling process.

The debate panellists will include Simon Ellin, chief executive officer of The Recycling Association, Jon Clark of BPIF Carton, packaging and branding designer David Harding-Brown and foil supplier Foilco.

Mike Jackson of Prismm Environmental will chair the debate. Explaining the importance of the discussion, he said:

“Consumers want to recycle – and they want to do it well. They want to put their packaging in a recycling bin, confident that it will be turned into something new and valuable. We’ve been able to do that by relying on the export market, and specifically China, to take some of the more challenging materials. That market has now closed.

“We’re at a critical time, where packaging designers and producers need to work with recyclers to develop new materials and processes. If we fail to do so, the environmental impacts are unimaginable. We need to candidly discuss the challenges and the opportunities so that we can move forward, and that’s what this debate is about.”

Prismm Environmental specialises in providing innovative recycling solutions for the print and packaging sectors. It has recently introduced collection and recovery routes for both labels and foil, both considered ‘difficult’ materials which had previously gone to landfill.