Featured Stories
Sticking With It | Hot Melt PSA Primer
Adhesives expert Ingrid Brase explains how hot melt pressure-sensitive products are created.
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Tom Bezigian explains the fundamental fluid science that gives wine its "legs."
Read moreStatic Beat | Static Control for Films with Conductive Layers
Sparks from metallized webs and films with conducting traces are difficult to suppress because static control devices are ineffective.
Read moreSticking With It | PSA Acrylics Primer
Adhesives expert Ingrid Brase peels back the curtain to show how chemists build performance into pressure-sensitive systems.
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News | New Products
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IMDA to Present Basic Course
The "ABC's of IML” will be cover the basics of in-mold labeling and in-mold decorating, both for newcomers and those wanting a refresher course
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Infigo Software & Afinia Label Collaborate
The two companies are collaborating to offer in-store and real-time personalization opportunities
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INX Chemist Delivers “Best Paper” at RadTech Event
Natasha Banke’s presentation addressed methodology and data regarding the detection of free BPA in raw materials and finished printing inks
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FTA Names New Board, Trustees
The Flexographic Technical Association announces new board members for both the organization and its Foundation for 2018–2019
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Winco Offers Die-Cast Levers in Zinc
The adjustable tension levers are RoHS compliant and said to be suited for use in a confined space
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INDA & EDANA Offer Guidelines for Flushability
An updated guide covers the labeling of non-flushable wipes and provides a guide for assessing the flushability of disposable nonwoven wipes
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ebeam Technologies & GM Deliver OPV Curing
ebeam Technologies’ Core 100/760 curing unit with Grafisk Maskinfabrik EB30 coating line are providing instant OPV curing at ePac Flexible Packaging
White Papers
• Designing a Successful Retort-Grade Packaging Structure
• Hermetic-Seal Performance of BOPP Laminate Structures in VFFS Pouch Applications
• Methods and Design Considerations for the Application of Hot Melt Coatings
• BOPP Laminate Structures for “Over-the-Mountain” VFFS Pouch Applications
Expert Advice
Is P&G’s New Freshies Packaging a Good Idea?
Innovation Station Archive Jackie Marolda's Bio
Brand Reputation on the Line?
Marketing Mojo Archive Stephanie Millman's Bio
The European Directive on Packaging and Packaging waste
- Published: May 01, 2002, By Corey M. Reardon, AWA Alexander Watson Assoc.
Environmental concerns led the European Commission to establish a set of rules for waste management in the European packaging industry. The reduction of landfill, and parallel increase in re-use, recycling, and incineration, were the prime aims of the Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC). Individual EU member states were required to implement it by 2001, but even today, most member states are not ready.
Difficulty arises with materials such as release liner. Since it is technically not applied to the package, does a release liner constitute packaging waste or not?
Most of Europe classifies release liner as an integral part of a self-adhesive label stock laminate and therefore “packaging waste.” This has not been the case in the U.K., but recent U.K. government and industry discussions point to a change to the more general European view that release liners are an intrinsic part of packaging.
Although industry associations including FINAT and EPSMA lobby strongly for an appropriate waste management platform, no solution has presented itself so far.
Whatever the final solution, it will have an indelible impact on the packaging industry and on supply side characteristics throughout the value chain — not just in Europe but eventually elsewhere. Environmental issues certainly are not going to disappear from anyone's agenda.
AWA Alexander Watson Assoc. is a leading international market research consultant company for the converting and packaging industries.