Seminar:
Flexible Packaging
– from demands to solutions

The PPWR will greatly impact the recyclability of materials and the use of recycled content, with the aim of improving the circular economy, reducing the use of fossil raw materials, and keeping materials in circulation. Regarding flexible packaging, the main packaging materials used today are polymer-based, but we are seeing more fibre-based solutions with better barriers coming onto the market. This shift is driven not only by ecological concerns by consumers and image aspects, but also by the impact of multi-level cost savings and profitability.
Peter Désilets will demonstrate the key requirements that flexible packaging will need to fulfil by 2030 and beyond, and what potential solutions might look like.

Much of the current debate on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and Extended Producer Responsibility focuses on compliance at the individual company level. This presentation shifts the perspective to the value chain as a whole. Drawing on experience from the InFact project – a cross-industry initiative unlocking circularity for flexible plastic packaging – the talk explores how partnerships across the value chain create solution spaces that no single company can reach alone. With Europe facing a significant shortfall in recycling capacity for flexible packaging ahead of the 2030 recycled-content requirements – and recent findings questioning the cost-effectiveness of chemical recycling – the presentation asks what it will really take, legislatively, financially, and industrially, to close the gap.

EU’s new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is reshaping the framework for packaging and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in Denmark. This presentation provides an overview of the key changes and examines their implications for producers, importers, and other stakeholders across the value chain. Particular attention is given to the interaction between the PPWR and the Danish EPR scheme, including new requirements, roles, and expectations in the years ahead.

To be announced

A hands-on review of the challenges Arla faces in adapting its flexible packaging to comply with the PPWR. The session will explore the strategic choices that must be made when the view ahead is obscured by a lack of viable solutions for product protection and genuine recyclability.

Packaging development increasingly takes place in a changing regulatory landscape, where requirements and guidance on recyclability may differ across authorities, industry initiatives and assessment methodologies. This presentation explores how companies can make robust packaging decisions while navigating frameworks such as Germany’s Central Packaging Register Agency (ZSVR), CEFLEX and RecyClass. It addresses the balance between regulatory compliance, recyclability and the functional requirements of packaging. Using HiPP as an example, the presentation also illustrates how the company’s different roles under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) – including producer, manufacturer and co-packer – create responsibilities from several regulatory angles. This makes a coordinated assessment of the entire packaging portfolio essential. The session offers practical perspectives on developing a future-oriented strategy that supports both compliance and efficient adaptation across product categories.

What do EPR and PPWR mean to Polyprint A/S and our value chain? How can we help and which choices need to be taken. As a supplier to the food industry, it’s important to be proactive, and innovative with new solutions, this means working closely with both customers and suppliers.

Is it possible to find solutions for all the different food contact materials, and what are the costs of doing so. It’s very important that the customers know that it will take a lot of commitment and time when changes in production or new machinery are needed.

Flexible PET packaging can be circular, but PET alone does not make a package recyclable. This presentation explains how PPWR shifts the focus towards packaging that can be collected, sorted and recycled in real systems. Participants will take away practical principles for designing flexible PET films: simplify the structure, minimize incompatible components, and link every design to a defined recycling route. A thin sol–gel-coated, heat-sealable PET film is presented as an example of how replacing conventional sealing layers can simplify a structure while improving barrier performance.