From May to July is a busy time for industrial packaging professionals, and 2010 was certainly no exception. They criss-crossed the world between the UK, China and mainland Europe, memorably Italy, where the IPA’s European counterparts met on the beautiful shores of Lake Garda. Well, there has to be some luxury to compensate for all the time we spend reviewing technical papers and industry concerns!
One of the main concerns for manufacturers and reconditioners is the cost of raw materials. With demand for product seeing a welcome return to pre-recession levels for many, productivity improvement is offset by an unprecedented rise in the cost of energy and materials such as steel and plastics.
The focus remains on environmental issues, with all sectors wishing to demonstrate how industrial packaging has a very different dynamic from retail packaging.
Industrial packaging retains an excellent international infrastructure for collection, refurbishment and repeated reuse of the majority of plastics and steel container types, with regulations ensuring that safety and standards are maintained at the highest levels.
This collection and reuse is something that retail packaging can only dream of nowadays, yet most regulations are written as though all packaging benefits from the same set of rules.
The IPA Reconditioning Committee met with policy makers at Defra to review how the Packaging Waste Regulations have encouraged companies to recycle rather than reuse their packaging – resulting in the scrapping of perfectly good quality containers that could have been reconditioned for repeated reuse before finally being scrap recycled at the end of their life.
Reconditioning before scrap consignment would have the added bonus of always ensuring that scrapped containers are properly cleaned before scrapping – something that does not always happen and can lead to serious safety and environmental issues when potentially hazardous residues are retained within a crushed container and are not identifiable. At an annual review of the UK certification scheme for UN Packaging used for Dangerous Goods, IPA got together with UK members of the chemicals industry, coatings, freight transport and the Department for Transport. We looked at testing standards and results trends, plus the cost of certificates for 2011, agreeing to maintain the fees at current levels due to the economic circumstances.
Across Europe, common themes are the need to promote specific benefits of industrial packaging, and to get the message across that safety and environmental issues are uniquely different from those of retail packaging.
One aspect of this is the need to document and present the LCA (life cycle analysis) for steel, plastics and fibreboard containers. The properties of each material provide different benefits - steel and plastics are strong, reusable and recyclable. While fibreboard packaging has the advantage of being lighter, natural, sustainable and easily recyclable. (Findings from Milan University’s work on LCA of packaging across Europe will be included in Packaging Today’s LCA status report in September.)
The ISO Committee on Packaging & Environment met recently in Beijing and representatives from more than 15 countries discussed existing European Standards, Asian Guidelines and North American requirements. Their broad reach covers source reduction, reuse, recycling, energy recovery, a new standard on chemical recovery and developments in organic recovery (composting and biodegradation).
The continued safe use and transport of industrial plastics packaging such as drums and IBCs is, as ever, under the spotlight, especially how to make packaged products secure when transported internationally. Test standards are central to how packaging performs, both in storage and transport, and we have been looking at several proposed changes to standards and how they can be referenced in international regulations.
The Belgian Packaging Institute BVI has made a study of the thousands of daily journeys undertaken by industrial packaging and how new requirements for security in transit are being applied by fillers and shippers.
Other industry talking points are the marking of UN numbers onto packaging, salvage pressure receptacles and even a proposal for the use of 10,000kg flexible bulk bags with dangerous goods
Phil Pease, CEO Industrial Packaging Association (UK), Technical Secretary for SEFFI (European Fibre Drum Association), Chairman of BSI Packaging Committee for Drums, Chairman of BSI Committee for Packaging and the Environment, Chairman of UK Department fPhil Pease
