“Recycled packaging should be standard in the non-food sector”
In dialogue with Jens Stadter, CEO of the Jokey Group
Jokey is considered a pioneer in sustainable packaging in the packaging industry. Its expertise in plastic injection moulding is based on over 50 years of research, development and experience. The Jokey Eco Concept meets the high standards of recyclability, functionality and sustainable design. Jens Stadter, CEO of the Jokey Group, explains in an interview how the circular economy can be advanced with it and why grey is the new green.
1
Plastic and sustainability are often seen as opposites. How do you respond to the criticism that plastic processors are environmental polluters?
In our view, plastic and sustainability are not a contradiction. The Jokey Eco Concept shows how the two come together. It contains our sustainability programme, points the way to climate-neutral packaging and also describes where we are already taking product responsibility far beyond the manufacturing stage.
As one of the leading manufacturers of plastic packaging with 15 locations in 12 countries, we see ourselves as having a special responsibility. Like other plastic processors, we are subject to critical public perception. However, simply branding plastic as environmentally harmful does not do justice to the topic or to the versatile material. Plastic packaging provides indispensable services for reliably supplying a growing world population. Of course, packaging does not belong in the environment or in the oceans after use. Everyone along the entire value chain is responsible for this – not just the plastics processors.
We are committed to ensuring that packaging returns to the recycling cycle wherever possible – all over the world. With our expertise, we try to use factual arguments and reliable facts to stimulate a differentiated discussion. After all, plastic is a valuable resource – and careful handling is a task for society as a whole.
2
Packaging with a recycled content from the Yellow Bag has been part of Jokey’s range for a long time, but so far there has been little demand for it. Are the paint buckets with recycled content now being snapped up?
Unfortunately, we are not that far yet, but the topic has clearly picked up speed. In fact, Jokey has had packaging made of post-consumer recyclates, PCR, which come from household collections, in its range since 1991. Even back then, we would have liked to have convinced our customers that paints, building materials, chemicals and other non-food products are just as safe and well packaged in recyclate buckets as they are in new plastics. Unfortunately, this was not yet accepted 30 years ago. Otherwise, the circular economy could be much further along. We are continuously promoting the topic in discussions with customers, partners and industry associations, and also through targeted recyclate campaigns such as “Grey is the new Green”.
Fortunately, our production is becoming increasingly grey! Our non-food customers are using recycled buckets to show that they are consistently pursuing their sustainability strategy. Not least, the Fridays for Future movement has significantly raised ecological awareness in society. Many of our customers offer environmentally friendly products and find packaging solutions with us that perfectly meet their sustainability requirements, as well as those of their end customers. By using recycled packaging, they not only strengthen the circular economy but also their green image.
3
In your opinion, what are the most important factors in increasing the use of recycled material?
In terms of product technology, we can implement a PCR usage rate of between 30 and 80 per cent in our buckets and injection-moulded hollow bodies at any time, depending on requirements. In technical terms, material formulations with up to 100% recyclate are also possible. However, the quality deficit of PCR from the input stream of the dual systems compared to new plastics is around 10 to 15%, which we usually compensate for with our own post-industrial recyclates, PIR.
Targeted public relations work is an important factor. We need pioneers who, by using recycled packaging, show that they are taking responsibility for packaging. There are still too few decision-makers acting out of a sense of responsibility to make an ecological contribution. Recycled packaging must be perceived as attractive and meaningful. This applies to both manufacturers and end consumers.
And then there are the steering instruments of politics. German and European politics also emphasises the necessity of increased use of recycled materials to promote the circular economy. However, a statutory PCR quota could lead to market distortions or to material developments that are rather critical from an ecological and qualitative point of view. That is why we favour bonus systems such as tax incentives or CO2 pricing, which support companies in their idealistic commitment and could thus accelerate the substitution of virgin plastics with secondary raw materials.
4
Where do you obtain the recycled material used?
We use post-consumer recyclate (PCR) from household and commercial recyclable collections, such as the yellow bin or waste streams from trade and gastronomy. Before they go into production, they undergo strict laboratory tests as part of our quality management. Of course, the market for PCR is growing to the extent that recyclates are used for packaging and other plastic products. But this is also accompanied by an increase in quality.
In addition to post-consumer recyclates, we also use all our own production waste and combine it with our PCR formulations. Incidentally, these have been fully recycled back into our own raw material cycle since our beginnings. In addition, we still use special recyclates such as Ocean Based Recycled Plastics (OBRP) in some cases. Jokey is a partner of the Waste Free Oceans initiative and also develops packaging with components made from high-quality OBRP. These come from post-use input streams in the maritime industry.
Taking back old fishing nets or rigid plastic waste prevents them from being disposed of in the wild at sea. We produced such sea-blue containers with 25% OBRP and 75% PCR for the first time in 2019, with the appeal ‘Keep nature clean’ printed on them. We used these RAL-certified packaging buckets as waste collection containers in schools. And one of our customers, a large paint manufacturer, offers its environmentally friendly interior paints in containers made of 50% PCR and 25% OBRP.
5
Recyclate packaging solutions from mechanical recycling can currently only be used for non-food applications. When will we see these in food packaging as well?
As for products that come into contact with food, it’s not easy. But we are on the right track and experimenting with everything from mechanical recycling to raw materials from chemical recycling. In the extraction of raw materials through chemical recycling, we are already using ISCC plus-certified plastic packaging in pilot projects with various partners, thus ensuring reliable traceability of the recycled materials. Here, too, it is important to be open to new developments and to keep putting all options to the test. At this point, let me briefly discuss possible packaging material alternatives to virgin plastics: We are critical of them. We have been working on the substitution of fossil raw materials for years and are investigating a wide range of alternative raw materials. However, we have not yet found a solution that offers anywhere near the same versatility, material efficiency and technical performance in the recycling systems as polypropylene, in our opinion. If we replace PP with alternatives, we need significantly more resources for the same technical performance, or we cannot achieve the technical specifications at all. Particularly when using alternative biomass raw materials, serious ecological disadvantages are emerging: the consequence of agricultural monocultures and their large-scale cultivation with pesticides is a decline in biodiversity. The immense consumption of fresh fibres for packaging contributes to global deforestation. All of this motivates us to continue to rely on PP as a material for our products while also promoting the urgently needed waste infrastructure and recycling capacities. Nevertheless, we are continuously working to improve our products – true to the old saying ‘better is the enemy of good’. We do not reject alternative raw materials out of hand either. But it is important to us to consider the use of our raw materials from extraction or cultivation to recycling in a holistic and objective way. For the sustainable procurement of renewable raw materials, this means that their origin must be traceable by means of certification.
6
“Grey is the new green” is one of your slogans, alluding to the change in appearance when using recycled material. Is this more of a problem in marketing departments or for consumers?
Thirty years ago, it was obviously a problem. Back then, grey packaging still had a boring, eco-image. Today, it’s the other way around: grey packaging stands for the circular economy. So grey is the new green! When buckets made from recycled materials end up on store shelves across the board, it’s a clear statement: this is what recyclable packaging looks like! Of course, this needs to be accompanied by communication: grey is not a deficit, but a clear commitment. Thanks to the grey colour, anyone who values sustainability can easily identify the appropriate packaging at the point of sale and thus consciously make an ecologically motivated purchase decision. This also appeals to new customers. However, the grey colour alone is not enough for a green image. The PCR content of sustainable packaging must also be verifiable. Quality marks such as the RAL quality mark “% Recycling Plastic” indicate how much recyclate the packaging contains and where it comes from. Incidentally, the technically required grey base colour of the PCR buckets can be decorated just like buckets made of white virgin material, right up to the edge on the outside, using the in-mould labelling process.
7
Design for recycling is important for the circular economy. Do you have an example for us?
Only a sustainable design makes packaging recyclable. This ranges from the material to the complete emptying of a packaging. For an optimal recycling result, we rely on material homogeneity and only use plastics and decorations that are 100% technically recyclable. We make our packaging out of polyolefins, primarily polypropylene. These are excellent packaging materials that are ideally suited for recycling. They can be reused to make new packaging in our plants from the collected recyclables. Ideal for the circular economy!
8
What do you expect from policymakers when it comes to the plastics industry’s transition to a circular economy? And where is more action needed by your industry?
The circular economy is a global megatrend. A change in thinking has begun among the general public, political decision-makers and large parts of industry. And yet, in the face of rapidly dwindling resources, there is still a great need for action. The European strategy for plastics in the circular economy provides a political framework and plays a pioneering role. But we also have to take other countries with us, where the focus is often on social problems. They usually lack not only waste management, but above all the political will.
For years, Jokey has been joining forces with global initiatives to push ahead with the development of collection systems with the aim of a circular economy together with responsible players from industry, trade and politics. Legal regulations fail to achieve their intended effect if they are not accompanied by differentiated communication. That is why we would like to see more exchange between experts – including between politics and business. We should all continuously pass on our knowledge to consumers and not lose sight of the big picture. Politicians sometimes run the risk of sending out the wrong signals. Not all plastics are the same. And a yellow bin alone does not create a circular economy. It cannot be achieved without the increased use of recycled materials. Our vision is therefore to make grey recycled packaging the standard in the non-food sector as quickly as possible. We need more grey for more green!
