Growing demand for recycled content is creating a new challenge for flexible packaging manufacturers: more sustainable material choices can also mean more complicated packaging structures.

As suppliers introduce different combinations of virgin and recycled polymers, customers can face an expanding number of film recipes, recycled-content percentages and performance characteristics.

A flexible packaging development team in Istanbul, Türkiye, is addressing this issue by taking a different approach. Instead of creating a new structure for every customer request, the team is developing a more standardized portfolio of flexible packaging solutions using post-consumer recycled (PCR) and post-industrial recycled (PIR) plastics.

The objective is to give customers a smaller, clearer range of established structures that can be compared according to recycled content and technical performance.

More Recycled Content Creates More Material Choices

Flexible packaging is rarely defined by a single material characteristic.

Film structures need to satisfy requirements including mechanical strength, sealing behavior, processing performance and protection of the packaged product.

Adding recycled material introduces another variable.

PCR, or post-consumer recycled material, originates from plastic products that have already been used by consumers and subsequently entered a recycling process.

PIR, or post-industrial recycled material, comes from manufacturing waste or scrap that is recovered and returned to production.

Different proportions and combinations of these materials can create numerous potential packaging structures.

For customers seeking to increase recycled content, more options can initially appear beneficial. But an excessively fragmented portfolio can make it harder to determine which structure is appropriate for a particular application.

That was the problem identified by R&D Manager Nesrin Demirsoy and Product Development Senior Specialist Saadet Kayışkıran.

“We realized we needed a more structured approach,” Demirsoy said.

From Customized Recipes to Standardized Structures

Rather than beginning with another round of material development, the team reviewed solutions that were already available.

Existing structures were grouped into more standardized configurations with defined recycled-content levels and performance characteristics.

The approach changes the development process.

Instead of automatically designing a different film recipe whenever a customer requests recycled content, the supplier can first determine whether an established and previously evaluated structure meets the application’s requirements.

“Now we can recommend solutions we already know work,” Kayışkıran said.

For customers, this could simplify the process of comparing packaging options.

A company might, for example, need to balance a recycled-content target against sealing, converting or mechanical requirements. Defined structures provide a clearer starting point for that assessment than a large collection of individually customized formulations.

Standardization Could Simplify Packaging Qualification

The potential benefit extends beyond material selection.

Introducing a new flexible packaging structure can require trials and qualification before commercial production. Highly customized structures can increase the number of variables that need to be evaluated across customers and applications.

Standardization can potentially reduce some of that complexity by creating a portfolio around repeatable structures.

This does not eliminate the need for qualification.

Packaging still needs to be evaluated for its intended application, production equipment and performance requirements. But customers can begin from an established material structure rather than developing every configuration from the beginning.

The result is a shift from:

individual request → new material recipe → testing → qualification

toward:

customer requirement → established structure → application testing → qualification

For packaging producers managing increasing numbers of recycled-content requests, that distinction can become operationally important.

PCR and PIR Need to Match Packaging Performance

Increasing recycled content cannot be treated simply as a percentage target.

The material still needs to perform during film production, converting, filling, transportation and use.

The appropriate amount of PCR or PIR can therefore depend on the specific packaging structure and application.

That is why the Istanbul team is focusing on increasing recycled content where technically suitable, rather than applying one recycled-content level across the entire portfolio.

The work remains under development through customer trials and qualification activities.

This is an important limitation. Standardization does not mean that every structure has already been approved for every possible customer application.

Instead, it provides a more controlled framework within which individual applications can be evaluated.

Recycled Content Becomes a Product Specification

The project also reflects a broader development in sustainable packaging.

Recycled content is increasingly moving from a general environmental ambition toward a defined packaging specification.

Customers need to know not simply that recycled material is present, but what type is being used, how much is incorporated and whether the resulting structure delivers the required performance.

This becomes particularly relevant as recycled-content targets and regulatory requirements develop across different markets.

Clearer specifications can also support procurement and sustainability teams that need consistent information about the packaging they purchase.

Rather than navigating numerous bespoke formulations, customers can compare defined structures against their technical and environmental objectives.

Circularity Still Depends on Practical Performance

Using more recycled material can help keep existing plastic resources in circulation and reduce demand for virgin feedstock.

But circularity also depends on whether the resulting package performs its intended function.

A structure that meets a recycled-content target but creates unacceptable production problems or inadequate product protection is unlikely to provide a scalable solution.

That makes the team’s final objective particularly relevant: finding structures that work simultaneously for customers, manufacturing processes and sustainability objectives.

The next phase will involve expanding the standardized portfolio and increasing recycled-content levels where this can be achieved responsibly.

For flexible packaging producers, this approach highlights an emerging challenge in the transition toward circular materials.

The industry does not necessarily need an unlimited number of recycled-content recipes.

It needs repeatable, clearly specified and commercially scalable structures that customers can confidently qualify and use.

Last Updated on 24/08/2026 by Jota Machinery