Of the 52 winners of the German Packaging Award 2021 organised by Deutsches Verpackungsinstitut (dvi), 24 involve plastics. The use of recyclate, the substitution of plastics, recyclable barrier solutions, new materials, mono-material solutions and CO₂-based plastics all convinced the 24 members of the jury who work in business, research and education. The award ceremony is set for 28 September 2021 at the “FachPack” industry trade fair.

One winner in the “Sustainability” category, an important group with 18 winners, is the “Lipcare Next Generation” stick – a mono-material holder for lip care products submitted by RPC Bramlage, a subsidiary of US packaging manufacturer Berry Global (Evansville, Indiana; www.berryglobal.com). The jury said it appreciated the conversion of the holder from a four-part mechanism with a POM piston to a three-part mechanism with a polypropylene piston. The use of mono-material (PP) makes for improved recyclability of the stick.

Since polyolefins with post-consumer recyclate still have limited application options in the food and cosmetics sectors, packaging manufacturer Gaplast (Saulgrub-Altenau / Germany; www.gaplast.de) has come up with a hybrid solution. The multi-layer container, which also received a “Sustainability” award, consists of a rigid outer layer in PCR material (polyethylene) and a flexible, integrated inner bag in virgin material (PE). Both materials can be recycled.

By contrast, Mibelle – a subsidiary of Swiss retail group Migros specialised in the production of cosmetic products – is focusing on alternatives to crude-oil-based plastics production. Using a process developed by LanzaTech (Roselle, Illinois / USA; www.lanzatech.com; see Plasteurope.com of 05.11.2020), CO₂ gases are converted into ethanol in a number of steps, with plastic precursor products then obtained from the material.

“Sustainability” prizes also went to cleaning product manufacturer Werner & Mertz (W&M, Mainz / Germany; www.werner-mertz.com), which has increased the rPET component it incorporates in its cleaning product bottles from the “yellow bag” plastics waste collection by 50%, and the recyclable PP monoblister from Etimex Primary Packaging (Dietenheim / Germany; www.etimex-pp.com), among many others.

Given that packaging subject to high barrier requirements will have to be 100% recyclable by 2025, Turkish packaging manufacturer Elif Plastik (Istanbul; www.elifplastik.com.tr) has developed a new PP mono-material structure. “ElifProLite”, which was awarded a prize in the New Materials category, provides a high barrier against oxygen, water vapour and light by virtue of its metallisation and does not need an additional barrier layer such as EVOH or PVDC.

Other “plastics” prizes went to PackSys (Feldafing / Germany; www.packsys.de), part of the Brückner-Gruppe (Siegsdorf / Germany; www.brueckner.com), for a capsule dispenser suitable for one-hand operation, and to cosmetics manufacturer Kao Germany for a new packaging system with a reduced number of parts for oxidative hair dyes.

In the Functionality & Convenience category, Switerzerland’s HVB Innova from Neunkirch also received an award. It’s developed combines conventional cardboard trays with lids in transparent PET. The stable, stackable packaging can be readily integrated into automated logistics processes, according to the jury.