Product benefit and design
Think and act sustainably

The topic of plastic is complex, and the negative – actual or potential – effects must also be taken into account. The social discourse focuses in particular on the pollution of water and nature by plastic waste, but also on the finite nature of the petrochemical resource. It is estimated that around 40 per cent of the world’s plastic waste ends up in the environment, where it will affect flora Once in nature, ever smaller microplastic particles are created, which are absorbed by plants and animals and can affect their organisms. But we humans also suffer directly from the consequences of littering, for example through tourism or the accumulation along the food chain. One cause of plastic waste in the environment is the lack of structures for collecting and further processing the waste. According to an OECD study, poor waste management is responsible for 82 per cent of plastic entering the environment. In emerging and developing countries, significantly less than 50 per cent of waste is collected, and in many rural areas, the figure is even lower. A large proportion of people in these countries are therefore unable to dispose of their waste properly; the infrastructure for doing so is simply lacking.

Germany has such structures in place. The input-based recycling rate for plastic packaging in the German dual systems was 67.5 per cent in 2022. This represents an increase of 5 per cent over the previous year. The rest is still mainly recycled thermally (see here).

In addition to the impact of our products on resources, nature and the environment, we also consider their potential social impact. This is because our products come into contact with people – both through direct exposure to the packaging and through contact with the contents, as is particularly the case with food. Therefore, protecting human health is our top priority (see “Packaging for food – health and safety”).

The positive and negative influences show the necessity to look at plastic packaging in a differentiated way. Plastics are often referred to as the core of environmental issues in the social debate. However, in our view, this description does not do justice to the plastic material, with its positive, high-performance characteristics. Of course, plastic packaging, just like packaging made of other materials, does not belong in the environment or the oceans after use. At the same time, packaging must be designed for high-quality recyclability right from the start, across all packaging materials. Everyone along the entire value chain has a responsibility here.

We use our many years of expertise to ensure that packaging is returned to the recycling cycle. To this end, status quo analyses of collection and waste management systems are carried out in countries where Jokey is active. In doing so, we also identify potential for promoting recycling management. Within the industry, we also try to use factual arguments and reliable facts to stimulate a differentiated discussion about the responsible use of plastic packaging. We play an active role in relevant initiatives and committees.

The world is facing the challenge of ensuring the supply of over eight billion people in a safe and efficient manner, while at the same time handling existing resources responsibly and respecting planetary boundaries. Plastic packaging can support the responsible use of existing resources because it reliably ensures that products arrive at their destination safely and intact, while using little material – and doing so over long distances with high mechanical and product-related requirements.

The safe protection of filling goods is particularly relevant from an ecological point of view. This is because the loss of a packaging unit, for example due to damage, also means the loss of the filling goods it contained – with all the associated effects on the environment. Re-production, filling and delivery also consume resources again and are associated with burdens such as the emission of greenhouse gases. Plastic packaging thus bears an extraordinarily important ecological and also economic responsibility for our society.

“Plastic packaging is used for 63.2 per cent of all filling quantities, but itself only accounts for 23.7 per cent of the total packaging material tonnage.”

Plastic is better able than almost any other material to meet the complex requirements of packaging with maximum efficiency.

For over 30 years, we have been consistently developing our products at many levels of sustainability. We are committed to avoiding negative impacts on the environment and actively counteracting them.

Our research and development department works group-wide to support effective recyclability – from avoidance to reuse, the use of recycled materials and recycling. The Jokey Eco Concept includes our strategy for continuously improving the sustainability performance of our products and sets targets for this.

One of our top priorities is absolute material savings. In order to meet our customers’ technical requirements in terms of functionality, stability and user-friendliness, we produce packaging with different geometric properties in various weight categories. Since 1990, our developers have been able to reduce the weight of our products by up to 40 per cent. In addition, we aim to save up to 15 per cent of our absolute material input by 2030. Thin-walled packaging uses fewer raw materials and reduces the environmental footprint of logistics and transport.

In the medium term, we want to discontinue product solutions that make little environmental sense. We launched new reusable products for the to-go sector in 2023. We want to increase the share of reusable packaging sales by 5 per cent by 2030.

In addition, Jokey is developing closed loops in the food and non-food sectors together with selected partners. In 2022, we created Jokey Eco-Design guidelines for packaging, which were gradually implemented throughout the Jokey Group.

Our products made of monomaterials are highly recyclable. In 2023, we used an international screening process to identify possible approaches to extended producer responsibility (EPR) in the countries where Jokey has plants.

As early as 2014, we participated in the Eco Design round table to develop guidelines for the recyclability of plastic packaging. In addition to the focus on design, a wide range of measures for sustainable product development are firmly anchored in the Jokey Eco Concept. Topics such as complete emptying, reliable protection of the contents and durability are not only central to maximising consumer benefit. They also play a central role in terms of sustainability.

“Packaging must be highly efficient,
provide maximum benefit and be fully
recyclable worldwide.”

We want to offer our customers products that meet their needs while being as sustainable as possible. That is why we are open to all materials that enable fact-based substitution of fossil-based raw materials in technical, life cycle assessment, but also economic terms. For this reason, our developers are continuously analysing a wide range of alternatives. With polypropylene, we are currently using a plastic that can be produced, processed and recycled with little energy input. It is also versatile and, from today’s perspective, performs better than alternative packaging materials in terms of the stability, protection and durability of filling goods and life cycle assessments. The question of what constitutes ideal packaging also includes the question of where packaging material can be avoided, saved or optimised. Our Eco Design, according to whose guidelines all Jokey Food packaging made of new plastics is developed and manufactured, therefore aims to simplify packaging more and more without resulting in disadvantages for the application. This also optimises the subsequent recycling process.

All Jokey packaging is equipped with a lid that allows full access to the contents when opened. This means that the product can be used and consumed down to the last gram. And the design simplifies the subsequent recycling process. This is because residual filling materials in the recycling process lead to additional technical work, material losses and higher costs. The durability of plastic offers many advantages. For example, Jokey buckets are often reused as containers in households and trade after their original contents have been used up. And even after their second use, our packaging products can be fully recycled again.

Packaging made of a single material simplifies the circular economy. Jokey packaging is made from only one plastic material. We use almost exclusively polypropylene (PP). Other materials such as polyethylene (PE) are only used occasionally for special products and also in a single-material process. The clips and labels used are also made of PP and, as a packaging unit, provide a homogeneous mass of material that does not need to be further separated and sorted and is therefore ideally suited for the subsequent recycling process. Individual packages are still being manufactured with metal clips at the customer’s request, but these can be sorted and recycled in a modern recycling plant.

The health assessment of food contact materials or materials intended for food contact is less complex. For the production of Jokey packaging in the food sector, we only use raw materials and additives that meet the requirements of Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011 and the legal requirements of Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 and have been tested by accredited laboratories.

Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 and the specific measure Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011 derived from it have established special rules for plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.

Annex I of Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011, or the Union list, contains the authorised substances that may be intentionally used in the manufacture of plastics.

In addition, the regulation contains clear rules for supply chain communication and for the health assessment of materials. With the help of the declaration of compliance, the information relevant for the health assessment is communicated to the downstream stages. As a manufacturer of food packaging, we are required to request the declaration of compliance from our suppliers and to carry out migration tests on the end product. So-called worst-case calculations are also used here. In addition to the substances regulated in the Union list, plastic materials and articles may also “[…] contain impurities resulting from their manufacturing or extraction processes. These impurities are unintentionally introduced together with the substance during the manufacture of the plastic material (unintentionally added substance, NIAS).”

These impurities are evaluated by Jokey in the course of a risk assessment. The “MIGRATOX” project is important to us in this context. We have joined this project to support the development of sustainable and cost-effective methods.

Jokey uses not only plastics but also printing inks to decorate the buckets. A European regulation, such as exists for plastics, has not yet been established in this form. For this reason, we refer to the Swiss printing ink regulation. Like Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011, this contains a positive list of the permissible substances for the production of printing inks. In addition, we refer to the EuPIA Guideline for the evaluation of printing inks.

We are not aware of any violations of regulations related to the health and safety impacts of our products during the reporting period.

We are aware that our products come into direct contact with food and are therefore part of the food chain. For this reason, strict hygiene regulations, precise specifications for order, environmental protection and cleanliness in the workplace, as well as compliance with legal requirements, apply to us. An effective hygiene management standard certified by a recognised external institution and a certified HACCP system ensure that our processes and products are safe and that food is safe at all times.

In view of our responsibility towards the end consumers who use our plastic packaging, we implement the highest health protection standards. In general, food contact materials placed on the EU market must not transfer any components to food that could endanger human health or alter the food. For plastic products, there are clear rules on which substances may be used for the production of plastic materials with food contact and how compliance is verified. This regulation is constantly being revised in the light of new scientific findings and is therefore subject to a continuous process of change. Plastics are evaluated differently depending on their ingredients. All Jokey packaging made of new plastics meets the high food safety standards of the FDA and EFSA and is physiologically harmless.

Nine of Jokey’s fourteen locations are BRCGS certified. The BRCGS (Brand Reputation through Compliance Global Standard) has developed uniform standards that focus on product quality, product safety and legality. Edition 6 of the standard also emphasises the relevance of product quality. Our BRCGS-6 certification shows our customers that our companies work according to a globally recognised quality standard for packaging. The standard aims to implement effective systems and procedures to ensure the quality of food and non-food packaging. All additives we use undergo a strict quality assurance process. Materials intended for food contact are tested in an accredited laboratory for compliance with legal requirements. Only when this has been confirmed do we use the materials in our production.

In particular, the evaluation of mechanical recycled materials is difficult due to their composition. They come from household, commercial and industrial collections, i.e. from used packaging that flows back into the recycling process via private or commercial end-user points after use. The wide variety of filling goods and materials used results in a mixture of substances that can only be traced to a very limited extent. If we compare the recyclate qualities from the early 1990s with today’s offerings, significant progress is already apparent. Today, the recyclates we use in specially formulated recipes are safe for use in the vast majority of non-food applications.

With a view to a comprehensive circular economy, recyclate qualities must become traceable and identifiable in the near future. To achieve this, they must increasingly improve in quality until they can be reused for food and contact-sensitive applications.

To achieve these results as quickly as possible, we are working with a wide range of partners and with scientific support on pilot projects to constantly improve material quality. In addition, the projects contribute to the development of post-consumer materials for food contact. In the future, this could lead to applications for large quantities of used packaging/products. Knowledge of the input pathways is fundamental for the physiological evaluation of post-consumer materials.

In our communication with customers and stakeholders, we apply the principle of respectful honesty (see “Jokey Values”): We communicate openly, honestly and transparently. During the reporting period, there were no violations of regulations related to product and service information and labelling. We also address critical questions or points of view. On the one hand, we see this as an incentive to become even better, and on the other hand, we want to take our employees, customers and stakeholders with us on our journey along our sustainability strategy and show ourselves to be a trustworthy partner.

Personal support and advice

Our customers are supported by our sales department, both the field service and Jokey Customer Service. Detailed consultations usually precede written offers. As a customer-oriented family business, personal support and personal exchange are part of Jokey’s self-image.

Information material

Detailed information material about the company, our products and our sustainability activities is available to our customers and interested parties at all times on our website. This includes technical data sheets, technical guidelines, product samples, certificates and product brochures.

Jokey Road Show – our mobile information centre

As a supplementary service, we offer the Jokey Road Show (Jokey 2 You), which is used for promotional purposes as well as for seminars, training and consulting. Here, our experts provide targeted information on specialist topics and Jokey products and answer individual questions. In addition to product innovations and trends, the mobile events also cover sustainability topics such as the Jokey Eco Concept.

On-site technical service

Our technical service, which provides on-site support to our customers, has also become established. It assists customers in the safe handling of our products, for example during filling, stacking and logistics processes.