Packaging in a Circular Economy: Exploring the Ability to Implement Recyclable Design to Plastic Packaging in the Danish Food-Industry

Malskær, Jonas Fischer ; Jakobsen, Jesper ; Molt, Frederike

4. Term

Urban, Energy and Environmental Planning, Master

2019

2019-06-06

93 pages

Plastics are a widely used material which have experienced an exponential growth since 1950 where its annual global production was estimated to be 1,5 million tonnes which has grown to 322 million tonnes in 2015. "Poor" handling of plastic and non-recyclable plastic designs causes plastic waste to be a rising issue. In Denmark only 36% of plastic is recycled due to plastic design and waste management not being designed to be compatible. In this thesis, two Danish design manuals describe recyclable designs, and in relation to these, the stakeholders responsible for the product design in a Danish context are compared. Food packaging is the focus of this thesis, due to its strict requirements, which often constrains the design possibilities. The involved companies were found by back-tracking household waste products. Of these, the food companies and plastic manufacturers who participated in the development of the design manuals were chosen and interviewed about their experiences and ability to implement design for recyclable packaging. The interviews showed that, in theory, it is possible to implement the outlined design principles, but that external circumstances, created by relations within the network, limit their implementation ability. Network relations were analyzed through a network analysis, including a regulative, business and development network. This resulted in an elaboration on barriers to design possibilities created in the network of plastic packaging. In this process, opportunities for implementation in the network presented itself.

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