Fiber, seaweed and machine learning are some of the “in” things for packaging in 2024, according to the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s inaugural Packaging Innovations Trends Report.

The organization introduced this document — with insights into new designs, materials and consumer engagement strategies that are driving sustainable packaging innovation — at its SPC Impact conference in New Orleans last week.

The report contains information about innovations that SPC is seeing both from its member companies and the broader international packaging industry. It aims to highlight “the most promising and inspiring trends in the sustainable packaging space” to spur other companies to adopt these innovations.

“The ultimate goal? Nothing short of widespread systems change — shepherding our industry to a future state where all packaging respects people and the planet on its journey from raw material to the next product or packaging life waiting for it,” SPC Director Olga Kachook and Executive Director Paul Nowak said in the report’s introduction.

The report lists five key trends that SPC hopes “don’t stay trends for long,” but instead quickly become mainstream.

1. ‘The ‘paperization’ of everything’

Fiber is moving beyond the box and entering spaces traditionally considered “plastics-only territory,” according to the report. Some examples include pouches, blister packs and candy bar wrappers. The report offered the example of Canopy, the fiber-based wrap that WestRock and Atlantic Packaging introduced last year to replace plastic shrink films on club store multipacks.

Brands often find that consumers and legislators alike respond better to paper than plastic, according to the report, as it is more readily associated with recyclability and not contributing to “ocean debris.” That’s partly why new extended producer responsibility policies tend to favor fiber-based packaging, it said.

The report notes that trees are a renewable resource and also are beneficial because they consume carbon from the atmosphere. However, forests need to be “managed responsibly” to truly provide benefits over fossil fuel-based materials.

“As fiber-based alternatives hit their high barrier and performance targets, we can expect paper to continue to blaze new trails,” the report said.

2. ‘Ocean-based feedstocks redefine biobased packaging’

Material sourcing is moving from land to sea as seaweed has become a viable component for making packaging, especially bioplastics. Ocean-based feedstocks are found globally, grow rapidly and can be harvested without depletion, according to the report. 

It highlights seaweed packaging company Notpla, which received the 2022 Earthshot price, in addition to the partnership launched last fall between packaging supplier EcoEnclose and biomaterial company Sway to create a line of folding cartons with seaweed-based clear film windows.

In addition, other abundant ocean materials are making their way into packaging. One feedstock gaining traction for packaging is chitin, a naturally occurring polymer found in the shells of crustaceans such as shrimp.

“Ocean-based feedstocks are poised to step in for fossil-fuel based plastics as versatile solutions that redefine what it means to be plastic-free,” the report said.

3. ‘Machine learning’s mission: Getting recyclable materials to their next home’

Packaging designs are becoming increasingly complex, the report states, but machine learning and artificial intelligence can help recycling keep up. Machine learning combined with sortation robots is resulting in cleaner, higher-value recyclable material streams, the report said. “AI has earned a reputation for shaking up industries, and packaging will be no exception,” it said.

Using machine learning to more easily and accurately identify recyclable materials at MRFs can increase recycling rates, the report stated. The tool allows more materials to be recovered at MRFs, including many that previously were sent to landfills.

Beyond sortation, machine learning provides opportunities for chain-of-custody certification to ensure certain packaging types are getting recycled. That comes into play as more companies explore digital watermarking.

4. ‘Analog + digital = the best of both worlds for recyclability labeling’

On-pack recyclability guidance meets consumer demand for more information, the group said. But analog labeling is “limited by the amount of printable space on a package, and represents a package’s recyclability at a static point in time,” according to the report. Digital tools allow for more nuanced, localized and real-time information sharing.

QR codes, for instance, can give consumers instant access to packaging recycling information for their specific location. Information presented digitally can also be updated more easily and quickly as regulations or other conditions change.

The report highlights SPC’s collaboration with The Recycling Partnership, General Mills and Danone to pilot Recycle Check, a label feature that allows consumers to scan a QR code for product recyclability information in their local communities.

5. ‘Pilots are out, a city-scale approach to reuse is in’

Although interest in refillable and reusable packaging is widespread, achieving high consumer participation and packaging return rates has proven challenging, according to the report. But a new approach is gaining steam, in which cities drive reuse programs forward by supporting infrastructure that allows for economies of scale and greater consumer engagement.

“Approaching reuse at the city scale expands what’s possible — and cost-effective — for companies to do with reusable packaging,” according to the report.

The report points to the Reuse Seattle program, an initiative led by Seattle Public Utilities to create a network of food and beverage reuse solutions across the city. The program fosters “shared collection, transportation, washing and digital infrastructures across business types,” the report said.

The document notes that packaging standardization and shared infrastructure are key to reducing virgin material use and plastic pollution via reuse programs.

“Moving away from bespoke designs to ‘pooled packaging’ that uses a shared structural design makes it possible for many brands to tap into a standardized return system,” the report said. Shared infrastructure also enables greater efficiencies in sorting, cleaning and filling containers.