As the packaging industry responds to growing environmental concerns, monomaterial packaging is gaining prominence as a key enabler of circular economy principles. At Gualapack, a global leader in flexible packaging solutions, the transition toward recyclable monomaterial structures is a central pillar of sustainable innovation.
Eco-Design for Real-World Challenges
Flexible packaging has long played an essential role in protecting products, particularly in food, pharmaceutical, and personal care sectors. But packaging must do more than protect—it must also minimize its environmental footprint. Gualapack has embraced this dual mandate by investing heavily in eco-design and innovation. The company’s R&D efforts focus on developing high-performance solutions that can be collected, sorted, and recycled more easily than conventional multi-material structures.
A prime example is Pouch5®, Gualapack’s flagship monomaterial pouch. Made entirely of polypropylene (PP), Pouch5® replaces layers of PET, aluminium, and polyamide with custom-engineered PP films. The result is a fully recyclable, high-barrier solution that reduces carbon emissions and meets growing regulatory demands.
Certified Recyclability and CO₂ Reduction
Pouch5® has passed rigorous recyclability testing by third-party bodies including Interseroh, Recyclass, and HTP Cyclos. According to internal Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies presented in Gualapack’s 2024 report, the pouch delivers up to 39% lower CO₂ emissions across its lifecycle compared to traditional multi-material solutions. Even in a non-recycled scenario, the monomaterial pouch achieves a 25% emissions reduction—proof that recyclability and lower environmental impact can go hand in hand.
The company is also expanding the Pouch5® concept with monomaterial PE versions designed for cold and hot fill applications, undergoing validation for future market deployment.
Beyond the Pouch: Caps, Tubes, and Laminates
Recognizing that true circularity requires more than just recyclable films, Gualapack redesigned its spouts and caps to match the sustainability profile of its monomaterial pouches. New tethered caps comply with the EU Single Use Plastics Directive, ensuring components remain attached during use to reduce litter and improve collection rates.
In the personal care segment, InnowebMONO™ extends Gualapack’s monomaterial strategy to tubes. This polypropylene-based laminate is compatible with rigid PP recycling streams, enabling more circularity even in the cosmetics industry.
Moreover, most of Gualapack’s standard laminates today are available in fully PP or PE formats, broadening the recyclable options across diverse markets—from baby food and dairy to pet care and cleaning products.
Barriers to Scale—and How to Overcome Them
Despite these innovations, global recycling infrastructure still lags. Lightweight flexible packaging, while efficient in material use, is often not prioritized in collection and sorting systems due to its low volume-to-value ratio. Gualapack addresses this challenge through active participation in cross-industry initiatives like CEFLEX, which aims to align packaging design with evolving infrastructure capabilities.
The company also explores polyolefin blends and PE/PP combinations where full monomaterial formats are not feasible, ensuring incremental sustainability gains without compromising performance.
A Clear Sustainability Strategy
The shift to monomaterial packaging is part of a broader commitment: as of 2024, 24.3% of Gualapack’s global sales come from sustainable products—up 11% from the previous year. The company expects this share to rise sharply as eco-conscious consumers and legislative frameworks push brands toward recyclable, lightweight, and lower-impact packaging.
Gualapack’s sustainability strategy spans multiple fronts—including reuse, recycled content, compostability, and bio-based solutions—but monomaterial structures remain foundational in its drive to reduce carbon intensity and align with the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) effective from 2026.
About Gualapack: Gualapack is a global leader in the manufacturing of pre-made spouted pouches, laminates, caps, spouts, and filling machines. With vertically integrated capabilities and a strong focus on sustainability, the company provides tailored solutions across food, personal care, and pharmaceutical markets