Real Progress in sustainable packaging: Smurfit Westrock’s innovations highlighted in new industry report

“As a vertically integrated company, innovation in paper fiber recycling is a core focus for Smurfit Westrock as it supports our ability to provide sustainable packaging solutions. As we know, it is extremely important to find ways to use the same resources again in the economy. Fortunately for our business – and the sector at large – we have the most highly recycled consumer material in the world,” she says.  “This means we can close the loop, end to end. We have precious wood fiber coming from the forest. And then after making virgin paper, we buy back the used packaging from the market and reuse it.”

Smurfit Westrock aims to recycle paper fibers seven times by blending recycled content with virgin fiber – a goal that is reflected in its 1:7 ratio of virgin paper mills to recycled paper mills. This is above the European and global averages, where paper fibers are reportedly recycled 3.8 times and 2.4 times respectively¹.

Yet Mrs Girzadiene says the company is always striving to do better.

“New lab research from Austria is indicating that fiber can be recycled many more times – potentially 25 times – so this is an area where we will work with technology partners to see how we can extend the life of the fiber for longer,” she says.

In terms of downstream innovation, the company has made positive advances in developing paper-based alternatives to plastic. This is despite one key obstacle – paper and plastic are fundamentally different materials that have distinctive properties.

“The main challenge in developing paper-based alternatives is that paper would acquire some properties given by plastic, but would still remain renewable, recyclable and biodegradable,” says Mrs Girzadiene. “That means, if we give paper a property of barrier to water by applying coating, that coating should not hinder the recyclability at the packaging end of life.” 

Driven by a clear purpose - as defined in the company’s Better Planet Packagingbrand tagline, Creating packaging that leaves no trace for future generations, Mrs Girzadiene is enthused to be working in a team where the approach is highly collaborative.

“One of our tools is a platform called Innobook, which is a central database filled with innovative and sustainable packaging designs from over 1,000 Smurfit Westrock designers across the world,” she says. “Currently, Innobook has about 9,000 designs. This provides inspiration to both colleagues and customers – they can browse ideas to get started on a new design or to improve existing packaging design.”

"As we know, it is extremely important to find ways to use the same resources again in the economy. Fortunately for our business – and the sector at large – we have the most highly recycled consumer material in the world. This means we can close the loop, end to end.”

Jurgita Girzadiene, Smurfit Westrock’s Sustainability and Better Planet Packaging Director

Whilst there are several examples of sustainable packaging solutions at Smurfit Westrock, Mrs Girzadiene highlights some of the Better Planet Packaging innovations the team is “tremendously proud of and excited about”.

• AgroPaper™ – This 100% virgin paper solution replaces black plastic film used by farmers in the field. A key benefit is that when harvest is over, the paper does not need to be removed from the field. Instead, the farmer can plough it back into the soil, where it degrades and even enriches the soil.

• Paper pallet wrap – a stretchable paper, which can replace plastic stretch film used to wrap pallets.

• Paper net – a 100% paper net that provides a closure or window and can substitute plastic netting.

• PunNet™ – a paper-based punnet that incorporates a paper net providing a completely mono-material punnet for fresh produce. The advantage for the consumer is that they can see the quality of produce they are purchasing.

• Toplock™ is a sustainable, child-proof box for detergent pods and capsules, offering a replacement to plastic packaging for washing pods, capsules and so on.

• TopClip™ a packaging solution to replace shrink film around cans of beverages that consumers buy as a multipack. This is a popular and affordable choice for small to medium breweries.

To read more about Real Progress in pulp and paper sustainability, download the industry paper Innovating for tomorrow: How the pulp and paper industry is turning the page for a sustainable future. 

Reference:

1. https://www.cepi.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/WEB-PAGES_EPRC-Monitoring-Report-2020_20210716.pdf