February 18, 2025

Packaging must be separable - The key to sustainable recycling

Why is separation so important?

In a world where sustainability is no longer a choice but a necessity, the packaging industry faces a crucial challenge:
How do we ensure that our packaging can be recycled without putting more strain on the environment than necessary?

The answer lies in the design. Especially when packaging consists of several different materials, it is important to be able to disassemble the parts to ensure efficient waste sorting and recycling.

Understanding Sustainable Packaging

How can packaging be designed for separation?

Modern packaging is often a combination of different composite materials such as plastic, metal, glass, and paper.

This ensures optimal protection, functionality and aesthetics, but it also makes recycling more complex.

When the materials can not be easily separated:

• Packaging often ends up as residual waste, and is lost in incinerators instead of being recycled.
• Increases the environmental impact because the energy used to separate the materials exceeds the environmental gain from recycling.

The quality of recycled materials deteriorates, as contamination from other materials reduces their value and recyclability.

So how can one get around this without compromising on, say, functionality? To address these challenges, packaging design needs to be rethought from scratch. Here are some key principles:

Simple Material Combinations

By minimizing the number of different materials put together in a single packaging unit, it becomes easier to recycle. For example:

• Use of monomaterials, such as 100% polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP), which can be recycled in one unified stream.
• Avoiding glues and welds that bind different materials together, making separation harder.

Smart Collection Mechanisms:

Instead of using permanent bonds such as glue or ultrasonic welds, packaging can be designed with:

• Clicking and turning mechanisms that can be easily disassembled without tools.
• Removable labels that leave no residue on the packaging itself.

Clear labelling and user training:

Although the packaging can be separated, it is important that consumers know how to do it correctly:

• Clear instructions on the packaging with icons or QR codes that link to videos.
• Uniform recycling symbols showing how and where each part should be disposed of.

Challenges and Opportunities for the Pharma and Cosmetics Industry

In the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, packaging requirements are complex. They must ensure durability, hygiene and ease of use, but also be aesthetically pleasing.

• In the cosmetics industry:
  Various materials are often used to achieve luxurious designs, such as metal pumps on glass bottles or plastic lids on aluminum containers. The solution may be to design pumps and lids that can be unscrewed or otherwise disassembled and sorted separately.
• In the pharma industry:
  Multi-layer barriers are often required to protect against light, air and moisture. Here, the solution may be the development of several layers that can be easily separated after use, for example, with the help of perforations.

New innovations pave the way

Recent years have brought exciting innovations that support the idea of separation within the packaging industry:

• Magnetic interconnection, which makes it possible to separate materials with a magnet, e.g. metal from plastic.
• Bio-based adhesives that dissolve in water and thus easily separate labels from bottles.
• Electronic chips and QR codes that help consumers understand how to properly disassemble and sort packaging.

If you've been inspired or just want to learn more about how we can help you optimize your packaging strategy, contact us now, and help make your packaging the frontrunner for smoother waste sorting.

These articles could be relevant:

1. Learn more about creative recycling

2. Read more about monomaterials

3. Waste sorting and the journey along the way

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