Role of plastics in packaging is considerable and growing at a fast pace. One of the primary sectors to fuel this pace is the retail food packaging sector,which has evolved considerably in the recent decades - both aesthetically and functionally.

Innovation in food packaging is driven by a number of factors, including:

Convenience and Affordability
In this current fast paced lifestyle, the emphasis on convenience plays a major role in the design of food packaging. Now-a-days, consumer preferences are aligned to features like easyto-open / easy-to-close or microwave compatible packaging.

Intelligent Packaging
With processed food occupying major shelfspace in the retail now-a-days, innovative packaging that is capable of absorbing oxygen / moisture or indicating temperature, drive ‘differentiation’ and add value to the product.

Environmental Awareness
With global warming becoming a major concern and companies are aware of the carbon footprint related to the products, packaging concepts that support the cause is gaining importance.For instance, packaging formats that are
produced through renewable resources or recycling or packaging that reduces environmental impact by
decreasing the thickness of materials are the recent trends observed.

Developments in India
Plastics and polymers have played a major role to reach this BOP group, especially in far flung rural areas. Delivering the products, which, but for such packaging would not have reached the end customer with the right flavour, taste or shape, has been a major achievement. Examples abound in shampoo sachets, oil sachets, ketchup sachets, Haldiram namkeens, mosquito mats etc. This is great service for the common man and also helps farmers as their
produce can now reach a wider market.

• Paucity of time
• Awareness and hygiene consciousness
• Need of fresh food products
• Convenience - ease of cooking, dispensing
• Affordable price

With increasing awareness even in rural areas through television and other medium, a growing percentage of people there, even with meager earnings, are buying single serve packs of

• Paste/shampoo/soap
• Biscuits/oil/pickles/ketchup
• Pan masala
• Mosquito mats

which may cost them 20% of their total daily income. Many also buy small packs of rice/atta/ grams for a day or two, use and enjoy unadulterated and hygienic products.

This has all become possible due to plastics. As a result of this, flexible packaging industry in India had been growing at a phenomenal rate of 15-20% p.a. for the last 4-5 years. Even during last year of general recession, this industry grew by 10-12%. With increased shift of manufacturing from West to East, coupled with technology transfer and improvements in hardware, this industry is likely to witness further rapid growth in the next 5 years.

In recent years, quite a few technical developments have taken place in flexible packaging. Initially packaging used to be in single or two layers, then came three and now, we have as many as 9 layers for special applications. Each layer can be of different substrate and it is common to use atleast 2-3 different substrates to have advantages of such different materials. For instance, Polyester, Polypropylene, Polyethylene, Metallised films etc. have different properties for aroma retention, moisture and light barrier (metallised / white opaque films) etc. More the layers, more is the barrier and better shelf-life. Of course, the cost goes up and depending upon the product, its value, the barrier requirement and the shelf-life desired, different packaging has evolved. The product now is sold all over the world and packaging has to withstand different temperatures / climatic hazards and transit hazard. Special applications also use holograph on packaging to avoid piracy and also tamper proof packaging labels/stickers are used.

This has led to increase in barrier properties, ease of sealing, improved appearance, reduction in laminate structure/ costs and improved convenience for the end customers.

Combined with the latest converting machines/form fill seal machines and other high speed packaging machines have also led to rapid growth in flexible packaging segment.

Rigid packages are getting increasingly converted into flexible packages, which help to distribute the products all over the country with ease of handling, low transportation costs, excellent eye catching prints and conserving the freshness and hygiene.

The recent technical trends are reducing the costs of packaging by:

• Improvements in film properties – higher barriers are possible
• Reduction of layers in laminate structure 
• Down gauging of plastic films

Some examples are:

• 4 layer structure to 3 layers – tomato sauce,ketchup etc.
• 3 layers to 2 layers- snack food, chips
• 2 layers to mono web structures – biscuit, bread, ice cream, room freshner

Replacement of Aluminum foil by ultra high barrier MET films (high metal bond) are on the increase and makes it sustainable in may food products e.g. Soups, ketchup, wine packaging, dry milk packaging, baby health
drinks, cereals, cocoa and chocolate drinks.

Typical examples of laminate structures (although it may vary from brand to brand) are as under :

• Biscuits: BOPP + reverse print + Heat sealable metalised BOPP
• Snack Food: Pet film + reverse print/ extrusion laminated to ultra high barrier metalised Pet film + PE blown film (co-extruded)
• Noodles: BOPP + reverse print + PE (co-extruded)
• Coffee: PET film + reverse print + ultra high barrier Met PET film + 5 layer PE/(nylon) blown film
•  Tea: PET film + reverse print + Met PET film + PE (co-extruded)
• Edible Oil:
o BON+PE (co-extruded) for 1 litre
o Pet + reverse print + PE (co-extruded) for small packs of 50 to 100 ml
• Atta and Rice: PET + reverse print + PE (coextruded)
• Ready-to-cook/ boil and eat food items like MTR etc.: Retort pouches; PET+foil+CPP or PET+Alox+BON+CPP , which is transparent
• Bread: LDPE (co-extruded) or CPP (coextruded) or TQPP which are surface printed
• Kellogg’s Cereals: Inner packaging Met PET film/(ultra high barrier and high metal bond)/PE blown film (co-extruded) and outer packaging of printed cartons
• Milk: PE 3 layer co-extruded (surface printed)
• Pickles: PET + reverse print + PE co-extruded films, 50 paise and Re. 1 pack (Chinni pickle) or PET + reverse print + 5 layer co-extruded films, bigger packs
• Shampoo: PET film + reverse print + Met PET film + 3 layer co-extruded PE films 
• Ghee: PET + reverse print + ultra high barrier Met PET+ 3 layers co-extruded multilayer PE 
• Condom : BOPP + reverse print + /PE (extrusion lamination) / foil / PE (coextruded) Paper/PE + foil + PE (co-extruded)
• The carbonated drinks are packed in PET bottles
• Fresh fruit juices, milk, ghee are packed in Tetra pack with long shelf-life. These have eye catching aesthetics, standability, stackability and negligible damage compared to PET and glass bottles.

Flexible packs occupy less space as compared to bottles and jars and thus saves costly space in modern retail shops and shops in rural areas.

Global Update
In addition, there are few more developments overseas:

• 100 % use of recycled PET resin for packaging water (FDA approved).
• Oxygen scavengers are added to the film layer to absorb oxygen inside the pack and retain higher shelf-life of the products.
• Micro laser holes are tailor made to allow controlled movement of required gases for fresh products to decrease the wastages from farm to customer.
• Replacement of aluminum foil by ultra high barrier MET films (high metal bond) are on the increase and makes it sustainable in may food products, e.g. soups, ketchup, wine packaging, dry milk packaging, baby health drinks, cereals, cocoa and chocolate drinks.
• Transparent barrier films are used to display the products inside the pack, e.g. lollipop, brick packs.
• Flavour scalping is used in polymer films so that they do not absorb the flavour.
• Dark chocolate packaged with an oxygen absorber, irrespective of packaging material, the shelf-life was at least 12 months.
• A new PETG film with a matte finish and light protection barrier to help fruit juice and dairy product makers replace expensive containers.
• A new version of Eco-Shape PET bottle which is one of the world’s lightest half-litre bottles. Weighing an average of 9.3 gms, the bottle contains 25 per cent less plastic than its predecessor and 60 per cent less plastic than the company’s original, pre-Eco-Shape half-litre PET bottle, introduced in the mid-‘90s.
• Recycled PET system has received approval in the United States for use in packaging of frozen ready-to-eat (RTE) food.

Recycling of Plastics and Packaging Waste
Recycling of plastics and packaging waste has become imperative for a sustainable growth. Plastic Identification Code (PIC) was introduced by the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. which provides a uniform system for the identification of different polymer types and helps recycling companies to separate different plastics for reprocessing.

Seven groups of plastics, each with specific properties, are used worldwide for packaging applications. Each group of plastic can be identified by its code - usually a number or a letter abbreviation. The PIC appears inside a three-chasing arrow - recycling symbol. The symbol is used to indicate whether the plastic can be recycled into new products, refer Table 1.

Trends in Plastic Recycling, Energy Recovery and Conversion to Fuel and Starting Materials for Polymers
The process that is gaining ground with start-up companies (especially in Australia,United States and Japan) is heat compression. The heat compression process takes all unsorted, cleaned plastic in all forms, from soft plastic bags to hard industrial waste and mixes the load in tumblers (large rotating drums resembling giant clothes dryers).

Mixed - plastic feedstock, including flexible packaging, also can be found in municipal solid waste (MSW). When MSW is used to provide a fuel source for generating electricity, it is considered by the EPA to be a renewable power source, despite the fact that the mixed waste often contains non-renewable materials such as flexible packaging.

An innovative technology under development, which for the first time, would allow true recycling of mixed dirty plastic waste. Products of this process are gasoline, diesel fuel and most importantly, monomers and solvents that are viable feedstock for polymers as alternatives to those normally made from crude oil and natural gas. This will help to recycle and conserve natural resource.

Applications where Recycled Plastic is used:

Products made from HDPE: Hot washed Flake, Food grade HDPE Pellets, Hollow HDPE sections for posts & fencing.

• In Israel, successful trials have shown that plastic films recovered from mixed municipal waste streams can be recycled into useful household products such as buckets.
• Recycled PET and HDPE is increasingly used in primary packaging by retailers and branded manufacturers for bottles and trays.
• Recycled plastic is widely used in mainstream construction products such as damp proof membrane, drainage pipes, ducting and flooring.

Products made from PET: Food Grade PET Flake (URRC process), Thermoformed sheet products, strapping - Col PET.

• Walkways, jetties, pontoons, bridges, fences and signs are increasingly being made from recycled plastic. Durability, low maintenance, vandal resistance, and its resistance to rot are all key reasons for plastic being used.
• Polyester fleece clothing and polyester filling for duvets, coats etc is frequently made from recycled PET bottles (e.g. soft drink and water bottles).
• Street furniture, seating, bins, street signs and planters are frequently made from plastic.They are cost competitive and resistant to vandalism.
• Plastic film from sources such as pallet wrap, carrier bags and agricultural film are made into new film products such as bin liners, carrier bags and refuse sacks on a large scale.
• Traffic management products, automotive products, stationary, industrial strapping.