Packaging and recycling
The food industry is a significant user of packaging. Packaging plays several important roles: it protects the product, extends shelf life, supports efficient logistics, and provides consumers with key information such as ingredients, nutritional values, origin, and usage instructions.
In Finland, the food industry takes responsibility for packaging throughout its entire life-cycle —from design to recycling.
Since 2010, EU legislation has placed the responsibility for packaging collection and recycling on the companies that place packaging on the market. This means that also food industry is responsible for organizing and funding the recycling system.
Consumers play a key role in recycling
Households are expected to sort their packaging waste before disposal. In Finland, materials like paper and cardboard, glass, metal, plastic, and mixed waste are typically sorted into separate containers. Beverage bottles and cans are returned through a deposit-refund system.
Finland’s deposit system is highly effective. In 2023, a record 97% of deposit beverage packages were returned for recycling.
Read more about the recycling systems of deposit beverage packaging
Voluntary Agreement on Single-Use Plastic Packaging
The Finnish Food and Drink Industries’ Federation promotes flexible and business-driven self-regulation instruments. Through self-regulation, companies are able to respond swiftly to changes in their operating environment.
One example is the voluntary Green Deal agreement on single-use plastic (SUP), which helps companies meet the requirements of the EU SUP-directive. The voluntary agreement seeks to identify the most effective and feasible solutions to reduce harmful environmental impacts of certain plastic products.
The objective of the voluntary agreement is to:
- Primarily achieve an ambitious and permanent reduction in the consumption, by unit, of single-use beverage cups and certain food packaging made wholly or partly of plastic, and
- Secondarily support further progress in reducing the amount of plastic used in these products
Participating companies have set reduction targets for these products for 2024–2026, measured against 2022 baseline levels. By setting ambitious reduction targets, the food industry demonstrates its commitment to minimizing negative environmental impacts and supporting the transition to a circular economy.
