Recyclable in Reality: Fiber Solutions That Work With Existing Waste Streams

The Imagery of Recyclability.

In India, not more than 12 percent of the post-consumer plastic is recycled (CPCB, 2024). The remaining ones go to the landfills, burners or the oceans, not due to lack of effort, but due to the system not being developed to handle complex plastics.

The difficulty with it is not that recycling does not exist, but that the majority of packaging cannot even be recycled in practice. This is one of the gaps that Fibmold is addressing. The company is simplifying, scaling-up and systemizing sustainability through Fibre based Packaging that is designed to integrate into the current paper and composting waste streams in India.

The Recycling Issue: Complicatedness where It Counts.

Plastic packaging has been identified with convenience that is light, cheap and durable. But when it enters into the waste ecosystem, then it becomes a nightmare to handle because of the same properties.

Why Majority of Packaging fails in recycling tests:

• Mixed materials: Laminates or paper where paper is plastic-coated make sorting systems difficult.
  
  
• Contamination: Recycling is inefficient and costly in case of food residues/ ink.
  
  
• Infrastructure lapse: Only a quarter of the recycling plants in India are capable of handling complicated polymers.
  
  

Concisely, there is a system of fibre and paper recycling, but not plastic-laminated waste. That is where Molded Fibre packaging comes in as a viable option, it is usable because it can be recycled in reality and not in paper.

Fibre Packaging: Solution to the Recycling Ecosystem of India.

Fibmold has fibre-based packaging, which is designed to fit the current municipal and industrial recycling systems in India, unlike bioplastics, which require specific composters or imported sorting lines.

Here's How It Fits Seamlessly:

• Single-Material Construction: It is constructed using Bagasse Packaging, bamboo and recycled pulp, no finishes, laminates or synthetic additives.
  
  
• Recyclable in Papered Materials: No matter the case, it can be pulped, reused, and recycled into paper and board.
  
  
• Compostable Packaging Alternative: In the case of food-contact packaging it breaks down in a 90-120 days period under standard compost circumstances.
  
  
• Recyclable Manufacturing with Water: Fibmold plants are closed loop systems, that is, no chemical effluence is discharged in waste streams.
  
  

The simplicity of this strategy is that the same trucks, recyclers, and sorters used to deal with cardboard can now use Fibmold Compostable Packaging as well without any new infrastructure just because of its similarity.

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Case Study: Making a National FMCG Brand Circular.

In 2024, one of India’s major snack and ready-to-eat meal manufacturers approached Fibmold with a problem - to substitute their laminated plastic trays, which they use in a variety of SKUs, with a material which would fit the recycling framework in India.

The Challenge:

• Multi-layered coats did not permit plastic trays to be recycled.
  
  
• The company was fined in regard to the new Plastic Waste Management Rules (2022).
  
  
• Consumers were also demanding no-plastic packaging.
  
  

Fibmold's Solution:

• Existing machine specifications were replicated in Designed Bagasse Packaging trays, which did not require any retools.
  
  
• Developed Compostable Food Trays that are resistant to oil, heat and shelf-life requirements.
  
  
• Linked the trays to the fmcg packaging conveyors and seals by the same units.
  
  

Results:

• Cut down more than 120 tonnes of plastic per year on 6 product variants.
  
  
• EPR exemptions on the category of recyclable and compostable materials.
  
  
• Enhanced brand equity through exposed sustainability messages on the packages.
  
  

This project showed that not only is fibre packaging more easily recycled, but it is a more effective material that would easily scale with operations in the Indian fmcg packaging.

Consistency with Policy: India Push in True Recyclability.

The Plastic Waste management (PWM) Rules (2022) and EPR framework of India are making manufacturers responsible regarding the post-consumer waste.

Under Sustainable Packaging, the brands can meet the requirements of compliance with the help of unrealistic recycling systems.

Regulatory Benefits:

• Achieves Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) sustainability disposal.
  
  
• UNEP 2024 Circular Economy recognized.
  
  
• Minimizes EPR liability expenses, is in line with reclassification of materials into reproducible or recyclable.
  
  

The fibre solutions of Fibmold provide an Indian manufacturer with a future-proof means of compliance — the environmentally sound and economically circular way to package.

The Circular Opportunity: Making Local Value out of Local Waste.

Among the largest sustainability benefits of India is the fact that it is a source of agro-waste: sugarcane bagasse, wheat straw, and bamboo.
The process used by Fibmold converts this residue to Molded Fiber Tray, eco friendly packaging boxes, and Zero Waste Trays, and reduces the loop to the geography.

The Result:

• Local waste is converted to raw material.
  
  
• In collection and recycling local employment is generated.
  
  
• Circular innovation has a positive effect on local economies.
  
  

And this Made-in-India process makes waste streams value streams, which is completely in line with the objectives of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Green Manufacturing Policy.

System that Works: Recycling, Composting or Reuse.

The packaging of the product at Fibmold promotes the three pillars of recovery of waste: Recycle, Compost, and Reuse.

• Recycle: Best used in the dry market, such as the packaging of cosmetics or electronic packages - can be easily recycled in the existing recycling of paper.
  
  
• Compost: Ideal food service - Compostable Food Trays and Bagasse Packaging break down naturally and do not leave any toxins.
  
  
• Reuse: Long life cycles such as FMCG scoops and inserts can be reused within the store or re-introduced to new packaging processes.
  
  

In any case, Fibmold makes its packaging leave no trace, but just value.

Conclusion: Recycling That Recycling is a Real Thing (Not a Rhetorical One).

Sustainability can only be achieved when it happens in the real world.
The Fibre based Packaging of Fibmold is a solution to the disconnect between innovation and infrastructure — to create a packaging so that India can recycle, compost and reuse it as of today, not tomorrow.
Fibmold designs to work with the existing waste systems and thus makes sustainability a realistic, affordable and scalable process; one tray, scoop and cup at a time to recycle.

Select the Future-proof Packaging of India.

Collaborate with Fibmold and make the packaging of your brand fully circular. Govern your Fibre based Packaging, Compostable Packaging, and Recycled Fiber Trays constructed on Indian ecosystems at www.fibmold.com.Keep up with us on LinkedIn and Instagram to stay informed, gain knowledge and have glimpse into the real-life tales of sustainability.