Brian Davies
As European brands race to meet the 2030 targets mandated by the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the consumer packaged goods industry grapples with a deep-seated tension between perception and performance. A "material elimination" mindset has emerged in the push to move away from conventional formats, where the avoidance of plastic is prioritised over better use of it, based on a holistic, objective assessment of environmental outcomes. In practice, this often leads to counterproductive results.
Yet, true resource efficiency requires a shift toward systems thinking. Gary Panknin, Supply Chain Manager at PakTech, explains why a recyclable or reusable packaging solution should only be deemed truly circular if it successfully delivers its contents to the consumer undamaged. This perspective spotlights the fundamental role of secondary packaging across the supply chain.
The carbon math of functional failure
When packaging is viewed through a systems lens, a reality emerges: the environmental impact of a wasted product often exceeds the environmental cost of the packaging itself. It is well-known that globally, 30% of all food produced becomes waste, and research also indicates that packaging-related failures contribute to 20–25% of household food waste.[1] When secondary packaging fails during distribution, the resulting impact from unsellable stock and wasted resources could undermine even the most ambitious sustainability claims.
In fact, one study estimated that damaged secondary packaging – such as stained or weakened cardboard – accounted for 70% of total product disposal losses, often due to ambiguous damage criteria at the retail site.[2] That makes durability more than just an operational preference. It’s a sustainability imperative to minimise the high carbon cost of remanufacturing and redistributing lost inventory.
Functional realities in the cold chain
In the demanding environments of European supply chains, variable moisture and temperature conditions serve as the ultimate stress test for material integrity. While fibre-based solutions are widely favoured for their natural appearance, they are hygroscopic by nature and are prone to losing structural integrity when exposed to the 70%–90% relative humidity common in cold chain and retail settings.[3],[4]
Multipacks also often undergo multiple temperature cycles between production and retail, creating condensation that can cause fibre-based carriers to become "soggy" and fail under the weight of heavy liquid loads. In contrast, recycled High-Density Polyethylene (rHDPE) is naturally moisture-resistant, maintaining its tensile strength and impact resistance through condensation, refrigeration, outdoor use and handling to effectively secure products.[5]
A blueprint for resilient circularity
To make informed decisions, brands must move beyond the "Perceived Environmental Friendliness (PEF) bias," where 70% of consumers incorrectly judge certain materials to be greener based on appearance rather than data.[6] Against these common misconceptions, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data tell a different story, consistently revealing that high-performance rHDPE secondary packaging handles have a carbon footprint two to five times lower than paperboard alternatives.[7]
Aside from its strong functional performance, the reasons for rHDPE’s lower carbon footprint include recyclability and material efficiency. Properly managed, HDPE can be recycled up to 10 times – or virtually indefinitely, with the addition of new materials – while maintaining tensile strength, impact resistance, and environmental stress crack resistance.[8],[9],[10] Compared to multi-panel paperboard cartons, rHDPE handles are also material-efficient at only a fraction of the weight per multipack, requiring less energy to transport throughout the supply chain.
Furthermore, technical recyclability in theory doesn’t always translate to recovery in practice. Multi-layer paperboard beverage multipacks often rely on coatings, fillers, adhesives, and barriers that limit repulpability, recyclability, and compostability – their contaminated by‑products require landfill disposal.[11] In contrast, rHDPE multipacks, designed to be mechanically recycled at scale via established material recovery and recycling systems, can be reused effectively in many applications that require durability and performance.[12],[13] Historic challenges around recovery sensors identifying and sorting black plastics that strongly absorb light have also been mitigated through technologies like near-Infrared (NIR) and mid‑wave infrared (MWIR).[14],[15]
Circularity, redefined
Ultimately, performance, circularity, compliance, and cost aren’t competing interests. These are all integral, interconnected pillars of a sustainable packaging strategy. That’s precisely why it’s critical for brands to adopt a data-driven, pragmatic approach to durability to protect their margins effectively, meet regulatory mandates, and ensure that their packaging drives genuine circularity.
[1] Wikström et al. (2019) "Packaging-Related Food Losses and Waste," MDPI Sustainability.
[2] Fujitsu Global. (2022) “Eliminating the social consequences of damaged cardboard packaging with unaffected contents using AI [Part 1].” Fujitsu Corporate Blog. https://corporate-blog.global.fujitsu.com/fgb/2022-05-18/01
[3] Antosik, C. N. et al. (2024) “Impact of temperature and humidity on key mechanical properties of corrugated cardboard.” Applied Sciences, 14(3), pp. 1123–1135.
[4] García-Guzmán, M., et al. (2020) “Influence of humidity and temperature on mechanical properties of corrugated board.” BioResources, 15(2), pp. 3536–3549.
[5] Drozdov, A.D., et al. (2024) “Lifetime predictions for virgin and recycled high-density polyethylene under creep conditions.” arXiv preprint.
[6] Sokolova, T., et al. (2023) “Paper Meets Plastic: The Perceived Environmental Friendliness of Product Packaging.” Journal of Consumer Research, 50(3), pp. 468–491.
[7] Sphera. (2023) PakTech Beverage Packaging Comparative LCA Report.
[8] Jin, H., et al. (2012) "The effect of extensive mechanical recycling on the properties of low density polyethylene." Polymer Degradation and Stability, 97, pp. 2262-2272.
[9] Benoit,N., et al. (2017) “High Density Polyethylene Degradation Followed by Closed-loop Recycling” Progress in Rubber, Plastics and Recycling Technology, 33 (1).
[10] Mihelčič, M., et al. (2022) “Influence of Stabilization Additive on Rheological, Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Recycled Polypropylene.” Polymers, 14 (24), p. 5438.
[11] Kathuria, A., & Zhang, S. (2022). Sustainable and Repulpable Barrier Coatings for Fiber-Based Materials for Food Packaging: A Review.
[12] Gaduan, A., et al. (2022). Simulating the recycling of milk bottles in the UK: Influence of blending virgin and repeatedly melt-extruded high-density polyethylene. Resources, Conservation and Recycling.
[13] Bichler, L., et al. (2025). Rethinking PE-HD Bottle Recycling—Impacts of Reducing Design Variety. Recycling.
[14] Roming, L., et al. (2025). Black plastic identification by hyperspectral imaging in mid-wave infrared.. Waste management, 209, 115175.
[15] Carrera, B., et al. (2022). A machine learning based classification models for plastic recycling using different wavelength range spectrums. Journal of Cleaner Production.