The Austrian packaging company VPZ became National Champion at the European Business Awards 2016/17 and got the „Green Product Award 2016“ for their innovative and bio-degradable packaging solutions. Bettina Reichl, the owner,  got inspired during a visit to Vietnam by their natural wrapping materials, such as banana leaves.

Another Austrian company,  JAUSNWRAP,  is using cotton cloth treated with honey to conserve food.

In a world where we are consuming more and more „on the go“, new ways of packaging are a must. The effects of enormous plastic waste in the oceans is already a big topic. Recycling and upcycling is not enough to solve the waste problem.

New packaging solutions and more effective recycling schemes are necessary. In UK up to 7 million paper cups are disposed every day – over 2.5bn every year. Less than 1% of these are recycled. A new collection scheme organised by „Simply Cups“ is already used by Costa, Pret a Manger and McDonalds. A fully recyclable coffee cup, the Frugalpac, is currently in development by Starbucks.

Packaging, originally the solution for handling our lifestyle has instead become the problem. Let’s resolve it. Quickly!