Searching for harmony

Landbell jointly developing recyclability certification for single-use and reusable packaging

The recycling of packaging is now becoming more crucial than ever. By returning recyclable materials back into the cycle and reusing them, resources can be saved, and waste can be reduced.

Based on the EU Packaging Directive (94/62/EC), which covers both packaging design and packaging waste management, member states must ensure that only packaging that meets all the essential requirements of this directive, including Annex II, is placed on the market.

To address this, in 2019, the German Central Packaging Register (ZSVR) published minimum standards with the aim of measuring the recyclability of packaging subject to system participation in Germany. However, the use of this standard by numerous certification programs led to varying results mainly due to a non-harmonised approach.

To harmonise national and European recyclability certification, the German Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food has funded the InnoCErt project on “Expanded certification of single-use and reusable packaging as an incentive and steering instrument for the creation of innovations to reduce plastic packaging along the food chain”.

InnoCErt will expand the certification of packaging beyond single-use packaging to reusable packaging on a national and European level. This project will also take into consideration consumer behaviour regarding the usage and disposal of packaging, while also encompassing trials and analysis of post-consumer packaging waste to obtain detailed understanding of the current waste infrastructure. This will help to create practical, as well as innovative solutions for the avoidance and reduction of plastic packaging.

As an EPR scheme in Germany, Landbell is participating in the InnoCErt project by providing operational support, as well as its waste infrastructure expertise.

Landbell will conduct a qualitative and quantitative waste flow analysis and identify the recovery processes of different packaging waste streams and, in certain cases, individual packaging types.

Landbell aims to achieve nationally harmonised assessment/certification and incentivise the use of ecologically optimised packaging based on avoidance, reusability, and recyclability.

Other organisations and companies taking part in the InnoCErt project include the Technical University of Berlin, DIN CERTCO, the Wuppertal Institute, and the Technische Universität Berlin Zentrum Technik und Gesellschaft (TUB ZTG).

The 3-year project is divided into 6 work-packages and will run until Q2 2025.