Abstract
Multilayer packaging in post-consumer waste is challenging to sort and process for recycling. It is often composed of a complex mixture of different types of materials, which become contaminated. This poses challenges that call for solutions and is highly topical. Apart from collecting food and beverage cartons at the household level, new rules on extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging will come into force by 2025 across the EU, challenging stakeholders along the value chain.
Motivated by the need for waste management and producers to shift from a linear to a circular approach, the research question in this study concerns how solutions to multilayer packaging may be built by adopting a more holistic, collaborative approach to creating circular interventions. The paper aims to develop a solutions-building methodology for multilayer packaging from a value chain perspective and devise an intervention plan for involved actors.
To understand the packaging materials (and packaging waste) imported to, produced on, consumed, and exported from the Danish Island of Bornholm, a material flow analysis (MFA) was performed. This data-driven method uncovered hotspots and where interventions would have the highest impact. Additionally, it was used as a visualization tool at a workshop involving value chain actors to discuss future interventions.
Results from the workshop showed the widely held perception that multilayer packaging separation and recycling is an appropriate 'near future' solution amongst the attending stakeholders at the workshop, as keeping the current operations and paying a third party to take care of the waste was the easier option for the producers. A radical innovation would have involved pushing boundaries, challenging conventional thinking, and pursuing groundbreaking ideas that could lead to substantial leaps from a circular perspective. Seeking the path of least resistance through an outer loop solution was seen as possibly a consequence of the framework conditions surrounding the project.
From a methodological perspective, the MFA proved an important tool to communicate the scale of packaging waste and facilitate discussion concerning future interventions to the stakeholders in the value chain. However, considering the results from the workshop, combining the MFA with a multistakeholder workshop can lead to knowledge sharing and sharing capacity for stakeholders but cannot in and of itself lead to substantial leaps, i.e. radical innovation.
Motivated by the need for waste management and producers to shift from a linear to a circular approach, the research question in this study concerns how solutions to multilayer packaging may be built by adopting a more holistic, collaborative approach to creating circular interventions. The paper aims to develop a solutions-building methodology for multilayer packaging from a value chain perspective and devise an intervention plan for involved actors.
To understand the packaging materials (and packaging waste) imported to, produced on, consumed, and exported from the Danish Island of Bornholm, a material flow analysis (MFA) was performed. This data-driven method uncovered hotspots and where interventions would have the highest impact. Additionally, it was used as a visualization tool at a workshop involving value chain actors to discuss future interventions.
Results from the workshop showed the widely held perception that multilayer packaging separation and recycling is an appropriate 'near future' solution amongst the attending stakeholders at the workshop, as keeping the current operations and paying a third party to take care of the waste was the easier option for the producers. A radical innovation would have involved pushing boundaries, challenging conventional thinking, and pursuing groundbreaking ideas that could lead to substantial leaps from a circular perspective. Seeking the path of least resistance through an outer loop solution was seen as possibly a consequence of the framework conditions surrounding the project.
From a methodological perspective, the MFA proved an important tool to communicate the scale of packaging waste and facilitate discussion concerning future interventions to the stakeholders in the value chain. However, considering the results from the workshop, combining the MFA with a multistakeholder workshop can lead to knowledge sharing and sharing capacity for stakeholders but cannot in and of itself lead to substantial leaps, i.e. radical innovation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 13th International Conference of Solid Waste Management & Circular Economy and IPLA Global Forum 2023 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Publication date | 2023 |
| Pages | 13 |
| Publication status | Published - 2023 |