Whilst the primary function of packaging has always been to protect, contain, preserve and transport a product from paddock to plate, a new wave has risen across the globe with Save Food Packaging Design.
Save Food Packaging has been designed to minimise or prevent food waste by fusing innovative and intuitive design features that can protect, preserve, extend shelf life, easily open and reseal, and provide consumer convenience and portion control; all the while meeting global sustainable packaging targets.
“A highlight for packaging in Australia was when the AIP-Led Save Food Packaging Project received the inaugural Food Waste Action Award,” said Nerida Kelton, Executive Director of the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) and Vice President of Sustainability and Save Food of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO).
“One of the objectives of the AIP was to establish a voice for Save Food Packaging within the greater realm of sustainability and packaging design. The AIP wanted to start talking to the industry about “getting the balance right” between food waste and packaging waste when discussing the environmental impacts of product and packaging.”
This Save Food Packaging project has provided training and education materials to better packaging design, material and format selection using appropriate portioning, sealability, resealability features, date labelling, extend shelf life and provide the information required to assist retail, food service and consumers to minimise food waste.
Its design criteria have been globally disseminated by the AIP and Kelton said that this was just the start with the next step being guiding businesses into embedding the 5x Save Food Packaging Design principles into their own business.
Technologists now have an understanding that the packaging needs to be collected, sorted and recycled in the country it is sold in. The challenge for packaging technologists and engineers has become designing optimum packaging with the lowest environmental impact.
Kelton highlighted some innovative trends and examples she observed at the annual Australasian Packaging Innovation and Design (PIDA) awards run by the AIP within Australia and New Zealand.
She mentioned a significant shift to mono-material packaging, the incorporation of recycled materials, paper-isation as well as fibre-based solutions wherever suitable, with many new design processes beginning by looking at the end of life and recyclability of packaging, which eventually becomes critical.
A shift in the last few years has been the embedding of Australasian Recycling Labels (ARL) on packaging to ensure that consumers know how to correctly dispose of the separable components and materials within their homes.
Some ARL logos also provide information for alternate pathways such as container deposit schemes and closed-loop collection drop-off points. QR codes and 2D codes have become invaluable technology not only for consumer communication but also for brands. Kelton added that the next step would be to elevate reuse and refill in more categories.
Another brand example Kelton cited included Naked Rivals’ mission to save imperfect fruit and end food waste at home, providing consumers with convenient food options that did not compromise their need for great-tasting, healthy ingredients that were also sustainably packaged.
In the future, Kelton said that it was necessary to ensure that sustainability did not have unintended consequences or trade-offs.
“There needs to be more elevated discussions across the globe around food waste and the true role that packaging can play in minimising food loss and waste.”
The Australian packaging industry has been working in a rapidly changing environment since last year, especially after the announcement from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) that there would be a mandated National Packaging Design Standard established for the country.
Those in the industry have been heavily involved in providing feedback and contributions to the consultation process, with key areas including the ability to reduce and reuse packaging materials, the removal of harmful chemicals such as PFAs, and improving consumer and business education and training around packaging.
Heading into 2025, the DCCEEW will consult with governments and the industry on packaging design guidance from the National Design Standards Working Group, based on best practices and independent expert views.
This Working Group has developed a Design for Kerbside Recyclability Grading Framework that has encouraged best-practice design while allowing packaging to perform its essential functions. It will provide a clear indication to the industry about the importance of recyclability in good packaging design and will also inform Australia’s new regulatory scheme for packaging.
A lot more work will be undertaken by everyone in the industry to review alternate pathways and collection and reprocessing outside of kerbside collection, to ensure that the Mandated National Packaging Design Standard is suitable for everyone in the value chain from SMEs to multinationals.
