Packaging beyond plastic The food and beverage sector's reliance on plastic packaging is acknowledged as problematic, even though it provides the ability to protect products from contamination and degradation throughout the supply chain. According to the Center for International Environment Law, 99% of plastic is made from chemicals sourced from fossil fuels, and demand for plastic packaging is driving controversial extraction techniques, such as hydraulic fracturing (fracking). Moreover, plastic waste is a massive global problem. Each year, up to 12.7 million tonnes of plastic enters oceans.59 Manufacturers are driving packaging innovations by laying down targets on virgin PET use and promoting circular resource use. For example, PepsiCo's target is to reduce virgin plastic content across its beverage business by 25% by 2025; 60 and Coca Cola aims for every plastic bottle to contain at least 50% recycled plastic by 2030.61 One significant innovation is enhanced recycling, such as the process developed by Ioniqua Technologies that breaks down the components of plastics that would not normally be recycled (such as bottles retrieved from the sea), strips out the impurities from lower grade materials, and reconstructs the remaining, pure components into food grade materials.62 New, compostable alternatives to plastic packaging are also emerging. For example, Italian start-up Qwarzo, the winner of Fi Europe 2019 Startup Innovation Challenge63, created a nanotechnology sol-gel that can be applied to paper to form a thin, flexible, inert layer of silica dioxide that renders it water-proof and grease proof. The material, which is compostable and recyclable, can be used for wrapping or shaped using injection moulding into solid packaging, caps, or even cutlery.64
Source: Fi Europe 2019 Startup Innovation Challenge, interview with Italian start-up Qwarzo
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