Rethinking packaging: circular shifts, market growth & rising regulation

Article by Procurement Magazine

DS Smith is working alongside Mondelēz and DLS to innovate on sustainable packaging, improving circularity, keeping materials % products in use for longer. DS Smith is once again showing how it is leading the way as a provider of sustainable and fibre-based packaging solutions. The business is working with Mondelēz International, one of the world’s largest snacking companies, to trial 300,000 Cadbury Heroes paper tubs across Tesco stores across the UK.

Article by Manufacturing Digital

LEGO has hit a key milestone, switching more than half its packing lines to paper bags, driven by sustainability targets and children’s green values. The LEGO Group is advancing its sustainability objectives by replacing single-use plastic packaging with recyclable paper bags across a majority of its packaging lines – an operational transition is informed by consumer insights, particularly from children.

Article by the European Union

In 2023, 79.7 million tonnes of packaging waste were generated in the EU, or 177.8 kg per inhabitant. While this marks a reduction of 8.7 kg per capita compared with 2022, the figure remains 21.2 kg higher than in 2013. Out of all the packaging waste generated, 40.4% was paper and cardboard, 19.8% was plastic, 18.8% glass, 15.8% wood, 4.9% metal and 0.2% other packaging. 

The Global Bubble Wrap Packaging Market was valued at USD 8127 Million in the year 2024 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 10970 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 4.4% during the forecast period.

In April 2025 the Labour government introduced the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme. This will make around 8000 businesses responsible for the cost of managing all their packaging waste, currently estimated at between £1.5 billion and £1.8 billion per annum.