After input and feedback from 100’s of CEFLEX stakeholders, an open consultation has been launched to hear from the wider flexible packaging industry and beyond.
The Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging initiative (CEFLEX) has been collaborating with the entire value chain to make flexible packaging in Europe circular by 2025. To date, over 140 stakeholder companies have joined CEFLEX’s ‘Mission Circular’ – recognising the challenge this represents and working together to achieve it.
Designing packaging suitable to be collected, sorted and recycled after use is a fundamental step on this journey. And many companies, organisations and associations have given their technical resources, time and expertise to develop a central deliverable working towards this – the Designing for a Circular Economy Guidelines. Now it’s time for the entire flexible packaging industry and other interested parties to give their feedback. An open consultation is being held between 6 December 2019 – 17 January 2020 to enhance and refine the phase one guidelines before publication in the first quarter of 2020.
The guidelines have been developed and refined thanks to assessment, input and feedback from a dedicated CEFLEX workstream, which today involves the participation of 80 stakeholders, and over 100 experts providing input. Additional rounds of consultation with all CEFLEX stakeholders and input from key industry associations and bodies to obtain high-level feedback from all parts of the value chain, including paper, plastic and aluminium have further strengthened this unique process.
Their focus is on the largest proportion of the post-consumer flexible packaging waste stream, polyolefin-based flexible packaging structures, which have also proven sorting and mechanical recycling technologies at industrial scale in Europe. Second and further phases will target more complex packaging structures and specific areas under consideration, including chemical recycling, re-use and reduction.
The guidelines have been conceived to build an understanding of end of life processes, give practical support and advice on circular economy design principles and make design choices for recyclability clear. All non-CEFLEX stakeholders are invited to give their feedback and help ensure this goal is met.
Make your voice heard through the open consultation process 6 December 2019 – 17 January 2020