Functional food packaging is important for the optimal preservation of food to minimize food spoilage. Most food products have some sensitivity to contact with one or more external factors like moisture, oxygen, UV light, etc. Successful conservation of food depends on the ability of the packaging to keep these external impacts away from the food as good as possible and as long as possible. However, the over-designing of packaging must be avoided.

Most of our daily food is packed in so-called single-use packaging (SUP). After all the food from the pack has been consumed use, at the end-of-life (EOL) single-use packaging is thrown away. Recycling of these packing materials is possible but depends on infrastructure for waste collection and waste
separation and if the composition of the packaging is fit for recycling.

Most single-use packaging requires specific barrier properties to protect and preserve the packed food product inside. For this reason, most flexible SUP consist of multiple layers of different materials like PET, PA, aluminum, and various others. Each material layer contributes to the mechanical and/or barrier properties of the packaging. The downside of these multiple material structures is that they are not economically recyclable. Therefore, these types of packaging still end up in incinerators or landfills.

Some commercially available barrier coatings require a high-weight application to provide sufficient functionality. High-weight applications require offline processing with several practical and economical drawbacks, such as the need for multiple machines and operators, resulting in higher costs and higher consumption of energy and materials. With offline production, there is a chance of producing too much or too little, resulting in inefficiency, extra waste, and the loss of economic and sustainable advantages.

With this project, DG press and its partners demonstrate the possibility of producing SUP food packaging with demanding characteristics that are easily recyclable and can be produced in small quantities on demand. The focus is on the economical and sustainable production of recyclable single-use packaging from mono-materials with enhanced performance as a replacement for non-recyclable multi-material packaging. This approach will yield several benefits:

• Flexibility in the creation and production of new packaging structures. Varying different combinations of barrier coatings and substrates is easily possible
• Scale size & Flexibility of machine use. Inline production supports the production of small and medium-sized batches. Bring sustainable packaging solutions within the reach of small and medium-sized printing companies.
• Less time and energy loss and less waste. All steps are produced on one machine, in one pass, largely supported by energy curing of inks.