Interview to Jorge Serrano Pacheco, responsible of plans of prevention and projects of Ecoembes
The companies are increasingly conscious of the importance to establish lines of sustainable work that allow to reduce his impact in the environingingment. With them, in addition to obtaining environingingmental profits, establishes a road of differentiation and optimisation of costs. Therefore, for Jorge Serrano Pacheco, responsible of plans of prevention and projects of
In the past edition of the fair Empack pronounced a conference in which it offered the keys to the professionals of the sector for the creation of containers more sustainable, with lower environingingmental footprint and more easily recyclable. Which are?
One of the keys to achieve these aims is the ecodiseño, a concept of production that looks for to create containers with lower impact in our surroundings, already was reducing the prime matter and the power used in the process, generating less waste in the same and/or facilitating his recycled. All this, without shelving the functionality. Basically it treats to create efficient containers, but environingingmentally sustainable.
Speak us of the new tendencies in packaging.
Turn around the improvement of the formal design of the container, to the contribution of new functions regarding the product packed and to achieve technological improvements of the materials employed.
What could say us of the new designs?
A big number of measures that have implanted the companies centre in the rediseños of product, regarding his presentation or his form, since they allow to save big quantity of material. Other initiatives adjust to the user with containers that adapt to his needs (monodosis, familiar, etcetera) or to the optimisation of the logistics and the storage. On the other hand, the aligeramiento in the containers, that does reference to the improvement of the materials and technical of transformation and filled, is another of the tendencies thanks to which already has attained reduce in 16% the weight of the containers from 1999.
It comments that also it looks for improve or contribute new functions…
Yes, treats to adjust to the needs of the current consumer, saving him part of the little free time that his rhythm of life allows him, so that it can devote it to activities of leisure. This is the case of the containers that improve his aptitude for oven and microwaves, guaranteeing the conservation and the properties of the foods, or the containers autocalentables and autoenfriables, that allow that the product consummates in optimum conditions out of the home.
And in how much to the materials?
The new tendencies are directed to incorporate secondary raw materials (recycled), development of containers of bioplásticos, celulósicos and coatings, as well as the line of investigation focused to the incorporation of nanopartículas that improve the behaviour of materials more conventional.
What new materials and formats are for arriving?
Perhaps the most striking field for the user was the related with the active and intelligent containers. The active are those that incorporate to the compound product that collaborate in his conservation. The consumer is increasingly concerned by the nutritional value of what eats, and terms like ‘colorantes and preservatives' have bad presses. These active containers allow “to take out” of the food this type of elements, that are included in the wall of the container, so that this interactúa with the product freeing or absorbing substances that accelerate his degradation. In summary, somehow improve the function of conservation that has come having the container from his conception.
And the intelligent?
His function is to improve another of the traditional functions of the container: the one to inform to the consumer. In this case, would be speaking so much of labels as of any another device that offers us additional information of the product (indicators of temperature that indicate us if it has broken the chain of cold, indicators of presence of some gas in the interior of the container that can indicate that the product was not in optimum conditions to be consumed, etc.).
Also they would include in this section the labels of radiofrecuencia or RFID…
Yes, these devices of follow-up have experienced strong descents of price from his conception, and in some years is very possible that are present in big number of products packed of big consumption. This will allow to carry out actions that at present seem futuristic.
It put some example.
Will be able to happen the car by the line of box of the supermarket without taking out the containers and that detect automatically the total price of the purchase. Besides, we will have intelligent fridges, able to do us the list of the purchase, that will warn us of the date of caducity of the products that there is in his interior. Independently of when they strengthen these materials and formats, from Ecoembes work to increase the tax of recycled of the most efficient form and sustainable. For this invest in R&D and will follow doing it, with the aim to adapt the processes so that all these new containers can keep on being recycled.
A bet by the environingingment
According to the practical Guide to communicate successfully the environingingmental improvements of the containers, realizar by Ecoembes, to the hour to buy a product, four of each ten (45%) families are had to buy respectful products with the environingingment. For Jorge Serrano, the data ratifies “the increasing sensitisation that exists in matter of sustainability in our country, so much by part of the companies as by the one of the consumers”.
What future thinks that have these containers of materials recycled?
Without place to doubts, have the future ensured in the habits of consumption of our society. Every time they are more the consumers that tend to look for respectful products with our surroundings, and no only they, but also a lot of companies, that adopt new destined strategies to improve the environingingmental behaviour of the containers. Only with throwing a glimpse to the shelves of the supermarket, will be able to see a big number of products that already are incorporating so many materials recycled like innovative designs that allow to these containers be much more sustainable.
It will attain that the containers of matters recycled allow a long conservation and that, besides, guarantee the hygiene of the consumer?
With the frantic rhythm of life that carry sometimes do not stop us to think in the importance of the packaging for the foods. This no only guarantees the quality but also his conservation, protecting him also of microorganisms. Thus, it is important that the container keep in optimum conditions the food, conserving it very cool, and avoiding that factors like the heat or the humidity affect to the products. Like this it guarantees the hygienic quality of the foods and minimise the alterations in the same. In this sense, the bet by the R&D and the development of new technologies applied to the processes of manufacture have allowed that this was possible also in containers created with material recycled, always respecting the values of migration marked by the community laws.
All these innovations will require that the companies of containers update …
Of course, is indispensable. The companies work to update and do that his containers are an element so much of differentiation as of sustainability. Besides, the consumer is increasingly concienciado with the respect to the environingingment and values the initiatives of the companies regarding the conservation and protection of our surroundings. The citizen feels satisfied seeing that this individual effort to the hour to buy this sustainable container contributes to a very common for the society.
