From the increasing scarcity of resources to the need to reduce products’ carbon footprint, it is vital that Albéa and the entire industry focus on expanding the use of post-consumer plastic, obtained through mechanical recycling (mPCR*).
This is a prerequisite for expanding the use of responsible packaging. Nevertheless, this solution is not without consequences for the entire value chain. Our objective is not just to ensure product quality, but to do so while generating as little production scrap and post-consumer waste as possible. At the crossroads of these issues lies the use of mPCR, which refers to recycled materials derived from products that are consumed, discarded, then regenerated into new material(s) through mechanical recycling. However, the use of mPCR is not yet a legal requirement. Demand is therefore purely voluntary at present and considerable physical and R&D investment is required to adapt to these new raw materials, from molds to production lines.
The compromises inherent in the expansion of mechanical recycling
Using mPCR means making a few compromises, particularly on aesthetics. The quality of the mPCR depends on the quality of the sorting process. It may contain impurities or have minor defects that can have an impact on the final packaging. More generally, packaging made from mPCR varies somewhat, as the material is less pure. Perfectly uniform packaging and zero production waste are therefore impossible, a particularly sensitive issue for products positioned in the luxury market. Paradoxically, the more we want to develop responsible packaging, the greater the risk of packaging defects—even minor ones— and, by extension, scrap. It is one of the occasional consequences that the entire value chain needs to accept to develop sustainable solutions that will keep improving.
A crucial education effort
To address these challenges, we need to educate everyone, from our customers to end consumers. First, our customers need to accept these facts so that together we can contribute to the much-needed development of sustainable solutions. Do products with minor defects really need to be destroyed when the initial goal is to reduce waste, not to increase it? All companies’ functions therefore need to tackle these subjects for “recyclable” to become synonymous with “desirable”—and reasonable. We also need to educate consumers, so they understand that packaging made from mPCR is likely to have a few cosmetic defects that do not in any way affect its quality or usability.
Aware of the need to rise to these major challenges, we are actively making progress, thanks to increasingly sophisticated sorting technologies as well as our suppliers’ enhanced expertise and equipment. Discover more and download our 2023 CSR report here