Challenges, Solutions and Future Paperboard Packaging Trends
- Published: February 16, 2025
By lan Benore, Quality and Product Development Manager, Greif
Thermoplastics such as polyethylene (LDPE and HDPE) and less commonly, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), are widely used as barrier coatings in paper packaging due to their versatility, excellent barrier properties and cost-effectiveness.
When applied as a coating these substrates offer various benefits, such as water resistance, durability, barrier protection against oxygen and grease-proofing. However, despite these advantages, hybrid materials like these present significant recycling challenges.
The coating can be difficult to separate from the paperboard in the repulping process, so often, the packaging ends up in landfills after being removed at sorting facilities. If these materials do enter input streams at recycled paper mills, the plastic coating can contaminate the pulp, reducing the quality of recycled paper and potentially creating defects that must be addressed later in the process.
While the technology for recycling these poly-coated materials is advancing and some newer facilities are being built with the ability to process them, in most regions poly-coated paper still cannot be effectively reused.
To further complicate things, industrially compostable paper packaging is becoming increasingly popular. These products can have either a fully compostable coating or be uncoated, but this introduces a new material stream to composters that must be carefully managed and segregated to ensure it contains only compostable materials.
Additionally, composters cannot handle the volume of compostable materials in their process as their primary input is food waste, so an abundance of compostable packaging adversely alters their material balance. In many areas, industrial composting facilities are not yet available, and the contamination of compostable waste streams with poly-coated paper packaging has become such a significant issue that some major composters have begun rejecting paperboard altogether until the problem is resolved.
With recent advances in coating technology, transitioning away from petroleum-based thermoplastic coatings is not only finally possible, it is crucial for sustainability and long-term industry success.
Public Demand and the Circular Economy
As consumer awareness and regulatory pressures increase regarding single-use packaging and related products, companies are being forced to innovate to remain competitive. Brands are increasingly looking for eco-friendly solutions to appeal to the environmentally conscious consumer, thus strengthening their brand while also addressing their own sustainability goals.
Circularity plays a crucial role in this transition, emphasizing the importance of reducing waste and reusing materials. The challenge is balancing the public demand for circularity with the available infrastructure, certification processes, education and proper material balance throughout the material value stream (cradle to cradle). At times, the demand for circularity surpasses the current technology.
Sustainable barrier coating technology is key to enabling companies to produce packaging that maintains product integrity while also being easily recyclable.
Recycled Paperboard and Corrugated Solutions and Emerging Barrier Technologies
Recycled fiber-based materials, such as recycled paperboard, are key elements of sustainable packaging solutions. They can contain high levels of post-consumer fiber and are some of the most widely recycled materials globally. Combined with emerging solutions in barrier coating technologies, recycled paperboard and corrugated products are becoming a strong solution for many companies' challenges with sustainable packaging. Several effective poly-alternative barrier technologies are already available on the market, providing brands with eco-friendly and renewable packaging solutions.
Although the technology is still in its infancy, aqueous emulsions, or water-based coatings, are currently in use and can replace petroleum-based thermoplastic barriers. These coatings can provide moisture resistance and grease-proofing properties while remaining repulpable without risk of contamination. The technology is still not yet perfected, with water resistance being a notable challenge, but as advancements are made aqueous emulsions are expected to play a significant role in achieving circular packaging solutions.
Some exciting developments are also taking place with biobased and biodegradable compostable plastics such as PLA, PHA and PBS. These innovative materials offer robust barrier properties and can break down in industrial composting facilities, making them a viable and sustainable alternative to traditional fossil fuel-based plastics.
However, despite their benefits, the widespread use of these materials is still limited, primarily due to their high production costs and low availability.
Overcoming Challenges: Cost and Performance Hurdles
Despite the excitement around new barrier technologies, PE and PET remain cheap and widely available, making their alternatives comparatively expensive. New coatings can sometimes face performance trade-offs, struggling to match traditional plastics' durability, flexibility and moisture resistance at a comparative cost, and often being more targeted in their application. For water-based barrier coatings, this usually means managing multiple formulations and matching them to their respective application.
Additionally, inconsistencies in testing, labeling and certification create confusion for both manufacturers and consumers. Greenwashing further complicates things, eroding trust and hindering genuine progress.
Educating consumers about proper recycling and composting practices is another critical challenge, exacerbated by insufficient infrastructure to effectively handle biodegradable or recyclable packaging. So even when there is a promising solution to the circularity demand, they often undergo the same end-of-life disposal as petroleum-based plastics. Until there is an agreed-up-on waste management hierarchy that can be used to educate the public and build an infrastructure around, we will be hampered as we work toward the public's goal.
However, even with these challenges, it remains important to prioritize innovation and investment. By increasing adoption, businesses can achieve economies of scale that help reduce costs and fund ongoing research focused on improving the performance of sustainable materials.
The Future of Barrier Coating Technology: Trends and Predictions
As we look toward the future, barrier coating technology is set for significant advancements. Innovations will continue to center around eco-friendly materials that enhance sustainability in the paperboard and corrugated industry. The growing demand for environmentally responsible packaging solutions presents opportunities for manufacturers to invest in advanced barrier coatings that are both effective and biodegradable.
Collaboration among industry stakeholders, academia and government will be crucial in driving this innovation. These partnerships can facilitate research and development and help solve plastic waste and resource consumption challenges, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable and responsible packaging ecosystem.
About the Author
With degrees in Paper Science and Chemistry, lan Benore brings over 26 years of experience in the paper industry, spanning roles in technical and production management at both fully integrated and recycled paper mills to Greif. Passionate about sustainability, he is very interested in exploring ways to maximize resource reuse and recycling, reducing reliance on landfills. Learn more at www.greif.com/coated-recycled-paperboard.
