Adapting to new legislation
In part five of our Flexible for the Future series, we look at how producers can stay agile and quickly adapt when facing new regulation
In part four of our Flexible for the Future series, we saw how the COVID-19 crisis is turning into an economic crisis, bringing rising unemployment and a drop in spending power. Because of this it’s crucial for producers to ensure they can easily adapt their products to meet every price point.
But it’s not only consumer demands that are changing fast. Legislation is also changing and presenting new challenges for the industry. So, in the next part of our Q&A series, we ask Marcelle Peuckert, European Manager Public Affairs at SIG, how you can stay flexible and agile in the face of new and demanding regulation…
After COVID-19, businesses could see a new wave of legislation. What can we expect in the food and beverage industry?
Even before COVID-19, producers have been operating in an increasingly regulated industry. To combat issues like food fraud, quality and safety, and environmental and social issues, legislation is becoming more stringent than ever. With marine litter now a global issue, legislation to reduce plastic waste and optimise recycling is increasing. And with the need for ensuring sustainable practices around the sourcing of resources, we’re seeing more action and global standards for responsible sourcing such as with aluminium. And SIG has taken a leading position here. Now, in the post-pandemic world, the food and beverage industry can expect to see even more legislative action within hygiene, quality and safety, and a focus on sustainability and the use of finite fossil resources. One major action will be the implementation of the European Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) which has a requirement for tethered caps, requiring attached caps on single-use beverage containers as of mid 2024.
What exactly is the tethered cap regulation and what will be the long-term consequences of this for producers?
In 2019, the EU Council adopted a set of measures designed to reduce the use of single-use plastic items and to combat the growing problem of marine litter. These measures include the introduction of design requirements to connect caps and lids to all beverage containers of up to three litres. These tethered closures will remain attached when opened and are intended to help reduce the risk of plastic items dispersing into the environment. The EU has set a date for mid of 2024 for the implementation of these measures, meaning beverage brands and producers are under pressure to ensure they’re ready to meet this deadline.
So how much plastic waste is this change expected to eliminate, and will it affect the consumer experience?
In the past 50 years, the global production and consumption of plastics has increased more than 20 times. And estimates show this could double again within the next two decades. Increasing plastic production has brought increasing plastic waste with less than 30% of such waste thought to be collected or recycled. How much plastic waste tethered caps will reduce remains to be seen but the current reality is that when caps and closures are separated from their containers, they’re more likely to be littered. We can assume that if closures were to remain on beverage containers when collected then they’re much more likely to be recycled. So, in terms of consumer impact, tethered caps could be a way to make recycling easier and more convenient, and help reduce marine littering – simply eliminating a problem through design.
How is SIG helping customers meet this incoming regulation? And also other legislation like the growing ban on plastic straws?
It’s our priority to ensure we can help customers adapt quickly to any new legislative demands to secure their ongoing competitive advantage. Compliance with this new measure requires only a closure applicator change rather than a drastic filling line overhaul. It’s all down to our flexible and adaptive technology. And this way of filling enables us to be a flexibility champion for our customers. In addition to the tethered cap regulation, producers are facing more legislation around plastic straw bans, which will come into effect on 3rd July 2021 across the EU. We were quick to meet this demand by introducing the first paper straws for beverage carton packs with our fully renewable and recyclable paper straw solution.
How exactly does SIG’s filling system help producers stay agile and adapt to changing demands in the future?
SIG employs a uniquely agile sleeve system. This means our cartons are delivered as flat-packed sleeves which are individually shaped, sterilised and filled at a customer site on one of our filling machines before being ultrasonically sealed above the filling level. What makes this system so agile is that it delivers both high flexibility and high speed. This means our customers can be sure of the fastest possible change-over times for formats, volumes and designs, together with the ability to handle multiple product variants and different packaging structures. Ultimately, this means producers can react quickly to changing demands and regulations to stay competitive.
Flexible for the future
Throughout our Flexible for the Future series, we’ve seen how COVID-19 could increase the demand for healthy and sustainable products across a range of price points, while accelerating a wave of new legislation. Don’t miss the concluding part when we’ll recap all the stories in the series and its key learnings to ensure you’re ready for any challenge in the future.
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- November 12, 2020