Get inspiration for the preparations from coop trading
We need to reduce, reuse, and recycle resources better. And it will be particularly important to create a circular economy until producer responsibility for packaging enters into force in January 2025. But how do you design packaging in practice to be more circular? Here you get insight into Coop Trading's strategic approach.
Svetlana Simonsen, Nordic packaging manager at COOP Trading A/S, explains: 'We have an ambition to ensure that the packaging we put on the market is both best for the environment and for the bottom line. Therefore, we have initiated several initiatives directly linked to the design of the packaging - also in relation to sales and transport packaging. And at the same time, we are working on a strategic level to involve purchasers in the processes to ensure more environmentally friendly packaging.'
Coop Trading A/S has gone through several maturation phases to get to where they are today. Svetlana says: "The journey started from a 'hardcore' focus on cost savings by reducing packaging. Today, our focus is much more on how the packaging can be designed based on the best environmental considerations and the circular approach - of course without our owners receiving huge bills when the taxes hit," says Svetlana.
In particular, Coop Trading A/S is working to replace all non-recyclable multilayer materials with recyclable monomaterials. This applies both in relation to the individual material part, but also by focusing on the composition of the individual subcomponents. In addition, strategic work is being done to ensure how easy it is for the consumer to separate the different packaging components.
"With the producer responsibility for packaging, it has become even clearer how important it is that we work with packaging - and it starts right at the buyers."
Nordic Packaging Manager, COOP Trading Ltd.
Example: From multilayer to detachable parts
An example of a recent shift in packaging is a tray that has gone from a multilayer plastic tray with non-recyclable multilayer foil layers to a tray made of paper fibres with a separable inner layer, a mono PP film and a cardboard sleeve. In the new packaging, all parts can be separated, sorted, and fed into a recycling stream. The next step in the development is to reduce the height of the tray and reduce the size of the cardboard sleeve. The packaging is marked for each component with a material symbol corresponding to the sorting source.
Example: Reducing printing on the materials
Another example is smaller prints, which result in a higher recycling quality of the packaging. Here, a bag in a multilayer material that cannot be recycled or only recycled in a very low quality has been changed to a transparent bag in monomaterial, where there is now only print at the top and bottom of the bag (see picture below). In Sweden, covered manufacturers can expect that more than 60% printing on packaging will result in increased taxes.
COOP Trading Ltd.
COOP Trading A/S is the largest Nordic purchasing company. The company is owned by the private label holders COOP Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden, which carries products under the brands Xtra, Coop, Rainbow and Änglamark.
The products are sold in more than 4,500 stores in the Nordic region, and they sell approx. 5,000 different products every year – a number that is increasing. And packaging has a key role when it comes to sustainable initiatives.