About 80% of all environmental impact is determined in the initial phase of packaging design. Design has a direct impact on the recyclability of plastics and affects the possibility for products and waste materials to find their way back to the market. With the Plastics Strategy, the European Commission aims to encourage and support product design choices which take into account the entire life cycle of plastics and plastic products, making them more durable, reusable and easily recyclable. As packaging is one of the main uses of plastics, by 2030 all plastic packaging will be required to be either 100% recyclable or 100% reusable or 100% compostable. In addition, not only will new regulation affect the packaging industry but also consumers demand more healthy, accessible products, sustainable, personalised packaging at a price comparable to traditional plastics to eliminate any advantage the non-recyclable counterpart may have.
Making all plastic packaging recyclable is really a tough change for any manufacturer. It is costly. For example, UK Coca-Cola has developed new technologies over five years at a cost of €285.7 million to turn 100% of the packaging the company uses recyclable. It is time consuming, given that they need 1 year for a new design and at least 6 months for a re-design. The complexity and magnitude of the change cannot be solved by adding time or people alone, but must also be implemented into the company's strategy.