The World Packaging Organisation has confirmed that the ‘Global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide’ has been translated into three additional languages to help even more packaging technologists to design out waste at the start.
Nerida Kelton, Vice President Sustainability & Save Food, WPO, says, “In order to be able to apply recyclable packaging design, a certain fundamental knowledge of sorting and recycling processes is necessary. Packaging must, therefore, be suitable for state-of-the-art sorting and recycling processes in addition to its basic functions, such as storage, transport, product protection, product presentation and convenience.”
“The global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide is a starting point to understand Best Practice examples using state-of-the-art technology that can then be applied and tailored to suit the recovery and recyclability capabilities and infrastructure on a regional and local level. The latest translations of Arabic, Spanish and Czech have been developed in collaboration with country based WPO Members who are passionate about helping to educate their members about circular packaging design”, adds Nerida.
‘Translating the ‘Global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide’ into Arabic was extremely important to ensure that we take steady steps based on scientific foundations to achieve a circular economy. This will contribute to addressing challenges that face the world in terms of climate change, the environment and the preservation of natural resources”, states Ayman Sbeih, Chairman of PFPPI and coordinator of the Arabic translation. “Arab designers generally have ability and talent to develop modern designs compatible with the present requirements in terms of promotional aspects of different products as well as practical and environmental aspects. The Guide is important to help them understand design rules for packaging materials in order to recycle them and to reduce their impact on the environment. It is also important to reduce the use of non-renewable natural resources in the manufacture of these materials, which contributes to alleviating the burdens on these resources and integrating the economies of Arab countries into the concept of circular economy and its applications.”
Silvio Colombo, Argentine Packaging Institute (IAE), adds, “The Spanish version, together with a wide range of initiatives that IAE and CENEM already undertake, will undoubtedly contribute to stimulating discussion, awareness and education in the circular economy, the environment and sustainability.”
Both countries, Argentina and Chile, aim to circulate the Guide across the entire region to embed best practice sustainable and circular design principles in all businesses.
Iva Werbynska, from Syba, adds, “A number of environmental laws have come into force in Europe, in recent years, with the transition to the circular economy. The main priority is prevention and long-term care of the entire supply chain. The legislation deals with the production of consumer goods, reuse, recycling, reparability and recoverability and this requires better product design and sustainable packaging. This is where the ‘Global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide’ comes into play. As we need to keep the material in circulation for as long as possible the guide will help packaging designers to change their thinking, provide a new approach to packaging and help to steer planning in the right direction. Right now packaging technology is at the beginning of a new era.”.
The new translations – Arabic, Spanish and Czech, are in addition to English, German, Georgian and Hungarian and are all available for free to download on the WPO website https://www.worldpackaging.org/wpo/45/.
