Saudi Arabia seeks sustainable print and packaging solutions
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By Andrew Thomas-Emans
Sustainability is at the heart of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 program, creating major opportunities for the print and packaging industries.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan looks to substitute imports with domestic production across a vast swathe of consumer and industrial goods industries. But the Kingdom wants to achieve this ambitious goal by setting new standards of sustainable production and environmental stewardship.
This is true across all sectors of Saudi economy and society – perhaps best represented in the $500 billion NEOM project to build a new kind of sustainable city.
How will this impact the print and packaging industries, and what are the likely sustainability requirements for print and packaging companies doing business in the country?
The first thing to say is that any way a printer, converter or packaging machinery supplier can demonstrate enhanced sustainability metrics will give a direct competitive advantage. This may be in overall waste reduction, elimination of solvent-based pressroom chemicals, use of sustainable printing materials, a commitment to carbon neutral production, engagement with recycling processors, or elimination of non-recoverable/non-recyclable printed or packaged products. Environmental certification, for example ISO14000 and FSC/PEFC, will be required.
On the commercial printing side, we are seeing a clear preference for digital printing, where sustainability benefits include reduced waste and lower energy consumption. Where conventional printing continues to be used, there should be a move to minimize solvents used in printing, processing and cleaning.
In package printing, there is likely to be a clear preference for printing with LED-UV and with water-based rather than solvent inks. Where gravure is the optimum print solution, targets should be set - and shared - for reducing solvent emissions to air.
The labels industry is at the forefront of developing sustainable solutions, both for self-adhesive and shrink sleeve technologies. These revolve around recycling liner waste and removing contaminating ink from shrink sleeves. There is also increasing use of post-consumer recycled materials in both plastics and paper-based labels.
Print suppliers and converters in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will need to demonstrate familiarity with these solutions and advise in setting up the relevant recovery and recycling infrastructure within the Kingdom.
Packaging materials and machinery
On the packaging materials and packaging machinery side, there are many routes to demonstrate a commitment to sustainability, and companies are likely to be rewarded for introducing new processes and approaches which reduce waste and enhance sustainability.
There are many examples relevant to Gulf Print & Pack exhibitors where a fresh approach will be welcomed. One is reducing void fill in cartons and corrugated containers, while using recyclable and recycled papers and boards instead of bubble wrap and polystyrene chips.
Reducing void fill allows carriers to transport a greater number of smaller packs in vans, lorries and containers. In a society increasingly geared towards e-commerce, this is a critical requirement.
Light-weighting is another key sustainability metric. This means reducing the thickness of glass, the weight of cardboard and the density of plastics to reduce the overall tonnage of material taken from packaging facilities to end users. At the same time, existing performance characteristics such as mechanical and burst strength must be retained.
Returnable, recyclable
Saudi packaging specifiers will also likely be looking for wider use of returnable and reusable packaging. This will involve setting up new infrastructure such as refill centers in shopping malls to create closed loop systems, as well as working with e-commerce companies to establish container return depots where packaging can be collected, cleaned and sent back for refilling. These partnerships can be explored further at Gulf Print & Pack in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Another route to sustainable packaging solutions is increased use of biodegradable and compostable wrapping, trays and containers. It should be noted that dedicated industrial composting facilities are required, and again Gulf Print & Pack will provide an excellent opportunity to establish networks to ensure these facilities are available, or to help develop them.
It should also be noted that degradable packaging is likely to be discouraged, since this works by disintegrating plastics packaging into smaller and smaller particles to become minute microplastics which are now recognized as a threat to both marine and land environments. Compostable packaging breaks down naturally and leaves no toxic residue
Composite materials which combine recyclable and non-recyclable elements present a problem because, without the ability to separate the components, they can generally only be treated as landfill.
The challenge for packaging companies is to find mono-materials which can be entirely recycled but which also have the same performance characteristics as composites for sealing, forming barriers and printing. New developments in bags, pouches and tubes will be on display at Gulf Print & Pack in Riyadh.
Automation
Packaging machinery automation is closely connected with sustainability, promoting material optimization and waste reduction.
To take one example, automating case handling can drive sustainability across logistics, distribution, eCommerce, and manufacturing sectors. By precisely measuring and cutting packaging materials to the size of the contents, only the necessary amount of material is used, significantly reducing waste. In addition, these systems should be specified to handle recycled and recyclable materials.
Although automation should be built in from the start of the plant planning process, significant sustainability gains can be achieved by retrofitting automated elements to existing packaging lines.
The key takeaway for both the print and packaging industries, is that Gulf Print & Pack 2025 offers a unique opportunity to assess local requirements and to put together specifications for materials and systems which will, from the outset, allow the Kingdom not only to substitute imports with domestic production, but to achieve to the high standards of sustainability laid out in the Vision 2030 roadmap.