{"id":436,"date":"2019-10-01T14:51:17","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T12:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moviemento.net\/?post_type=cpt_blog&p=436"},"modified":"2025-05-27T10:55:19","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T08:55:19","slug":"getuigenis-ruben-lambilotte","status":"publish","type":"cpt_blog","link":"https:\/\/moviemento.net\/en\/blog\/getuigenis-ruben-lambilotte\/","title":{"rendered":"Towards a Circular Economy: Sustainable Materials and the Future of Packaging"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2015, the European Commission adopted an action plan with strategic objectives, including an action plan to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in Europe. It includes\u00a054 measures aimed at completing the life cycle of products<\/strong>: from the production and consumption phases to waste management and the market for secondary raw materials. In doing so, it has identified 5 priority sectors: plastics, food waste, essential raw materials, construction and demolition, and biomass and bio-based materials.<\/p>\n

In the European Union, we all currently produce more than 2.5 billion tonnes of waste. This amounts to about 5 tonnes of waste per citizen. It is therefore time to move from a traditional, linear economic model of throwing away to a circular economy. The end-of-life of products is under scrutiny, as reuse, repair, composting, recycling, etc. offer countless opportunities and should become a full-fledged alternative.<\/p>\n

Efforts are also being made to reduce waste at source. With a series of measures, Europe aims to reduce the plastic mountain. The new European rules aimed at banning \"single-use plastic<\/strong>\" (SUP<\/strong>) are part of this broader plan. Where alternatives are available, single-use plastic items (festival cups, plastic bags, straws, etc.) will be taken off the market. The producer will contribute to the cost of waste management, clean-up, consumer awareness, etc.<\/p>\n

Member States should set national targets to reduce plastic use. The (food) industry will be encouraged to develop and\/or use less polluting alternatives. The development of alternative materials (such as bagasse, bamboo, paper and cardboard) is therefore clearly increasing. However, plastic packaging is not always easy to replace with other materials. Treatment options, barrier properties, etc. have to be taken into account.<\/p>\n

And don't forget to consider the origin of raw materials. Every European citizen consumes 14 tonnes of raw materials a year. The circular model aims to move away from fossil raw materials and look for\u00a0renewable raw materials for packaging materials<\/strong>, known as\"bio-based packaging<\/strong>\". Biobased materials are materials whose raw materials are directly or indirectly of natural origin. There are already biobased packaging products on the market with the same material properties (e.g. biobased PE, biobased PP, etc.) as their fossil counterparts. While they were unaffordable just a few years ago, they are now becoming increasingly competitive.<\/p>\n

Choosing\"bio-based packaging<\/strong>\" means resolutely opting for alternative material properties. In some cases, bio-based plastics also offer specific advantages: they are often more breathable, allowing products such as lettuce and bread to keep longer and fresher. Some of these materials are also intrinsically anti-static and require fewer additives than conventional plastics.<\/p>\n

Choosing the right materials is the key to moving sustainably towards a circular economy with less polluting packaging materials that retain all their positive properties (longer shelf life, protection against contamination, etc.), while also ensuring that the packaging does not contain any contaminants.<\/p>\n

This text was contributed by Sarah Laenen (Eva Moens Consult)<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_cpt_blog__blog_cat":[],"class_list":["post-436","cpt_blog","type-cpt_blog","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemento.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cpt_blog\/436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemento.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cpt_blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemento.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cpt_blog"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/moviemento.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cpt_blog\/436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":438,"href":"https:\/\/moviemento.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cpt_blog\/436\/revisions\/438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemento.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"tax_cpt_blog__blog_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemento.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_cpt_blog__blog_cat?post=436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}