• Making plastics packaging that can be re-used easily
• Supporting use of bio-based polymers
• Increasing acceptance of compostable packaging
   

“Plastics packaging is a vital resource for brand owners and represents a safe way to deliver products to the consumer in optimal condition,” asserts Alessandro Dulli, Clariant Masterbatches Global Head of Packaging. “Packaging also plays an important role in brand differentiation and brand identity. We must not forget that it is important that industry and consumers work to create a more sustainable packaging model. No single player can achieve these goals alone. They require the collaboration of all stakeholders and that is what we are working toward in this new intiative.”

Design for Recycling
Recycling is already recovering large volumes plastic waste for reintroduction to the marketplace as new packaging, but there are still major challenges for increased use of post-consumer resin (PCR) and Clariant is working to overcome them in several ways:

Reuse

“If all plastic packaging could be reused just one time, the amount of material entering the waste stream would be cut in half immediately,” notes Alessandro Dulli, “and while we can’t hope to re-use all plastics, we owe it to ourselves and our planet to do the best we can.”

Currently, most packaging is designed to complete its life cycle as soon as the product is delivered, but parameters need to be re-set if containers are to survive for longer periods. Clariant products available to support such an effort include additives that:

“At Clariant,” says Alessandro Dulli, “we are proud to be imagining the future, driving sustainability and developing practical solutions to the challenges we face because, at the end of the day, Designing for the Environment is really just about designing for us all”.