The World Packaging Organisation (WPO, Naperville, Illinois / USA; www.worldpackaging.org) has published a position paper titled “Packaging in a Circular Economy”. According to author Antro Säilä, VP Sustainability at WPO, for the world to remain sustainable for future generations, “we have no other alternative but to learn to live in a circular economy.” The WPO paper takes into consideration recent data and research carried out by scientists and think tanks from around the world.

The circular economy concept in the WPO paper is based on the Ellen McArthur Foundation's (Cowes / UK; www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org) three principles – design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use and regenerate natural systems. The position paper describes four possible roles of packaging in this context.

Firstly, the WPO says packaging can contribute to reducing waste and making a circular economy more efficient, such as by prolonging shelf life or protecting goods. Secondly, packaging can be reused, such as in B2B transport packaging within or between industries, or in B2C deposit systems. Thirdly, packaging materials are recyclable, and lastly, high-energy content packaging including fibre and plastic can be used for energy recovery when it can no longer be reused or recycled.

The organisation strongly advises the entire packaging industry to move towards design, production and use of packaging that complies with the circular economy principles. WPO says it believes that in future all packaging should be based on renewable raw materials and recyclable. When packaging is based on non-renewable raw materials, it “must always be 100% recyclable.”

e-Service:
WPO's position paper “Packaging in a Circular Economy” (April 2018) as a PDF file