Beyond Material Footprints: A Function-Driven Framework for Assessing the Circularity and Sustainability of Food Packaging
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) introduces design and recycling requirements while permitting exemptions for demonstrated, indispensable product protection, yet assessment of circularity and sustainability remains largely material-centric. This study presents FunSusPack, a framework that grounds circularity and sustainability assessment in packaging’s functional role for protection, shelf life and logistics rather than material properties alone, enabling function-driven life cycle assessment. Applied to potato chips, the framework compares metallised PP, metallised paper, and transparent mono-PP designs. Key findings challenge prevailing narratives: transparent mono-PP bags provide sufficient moisture barrier for typical shelf-life duration for adapted supply-chain management, while metallised paper laminates have approximately 37 % higher climate impacts than the conventional PP reference. Headspace reductions by up to 30 % do not compromise mechanical protection and enabled secondary packaging redesign, reducing system-level climate impacts by approximately 33 % and increasing pallet utilisation by 22 %. The framework provides a methodological basis for PPWR compliance and future digital sustainability reporting.
Source: Circular Economy
DOI: 10.55845/zm67b580
Language: English
Subfield: Environmental Engineering
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225812204