The DS Group (Dharampal Satyapal group) organized a full-day conference on sustainable packaging at their magnificent headquarters build- ing in Noida. Widely known as DS, the group is a leading brand owner in tobacco-based products that has diversified to the food industry with its processing and packaging capabilities.

There have been several good conferences and platforms in North India in the past year talking about sustainability in the light of the central government’s waste management rules of 2016 and 2018 concerning the use of plastics and the need for Extended User Responsibility both in solid waste collection and recycling. Significantly, the Sustainable Packaging – A way forward conference began with CK Sharma, the business head of the DS Group, outlining the need for brand owners to address issues of packaging waste and the environment proactively. Sharma said, “This is one problem where no politician is thinking beyond 4 or 5 years. It is not one of those corporate problems at which one can merely throw money to solve it. Sensitizing his team as well as the suppliers present, he cautioned that the issues are complex, requiring multiple solutions and concerted effort by the community, adding forthrightly, “This is not a business development conference.”

DS 2
L-R: CK Sharma, the business head of the DS Group speaking at DS Sustainable Packaging Seminar; Sanjay Bhatia, managing director, Hindustan Tin Works speaking at DS Sustainable Packaging Seminar; and Dr. Jayant Jain, associate professor, IIT, Delhi speaking at the DS Sustainable Packaging Seminar

Nevertheless, the event ably organized by DS Group’s vice-president for packaging Sanjay Gupta was not merely academic. It went into detailed sustainable alterative materials, structures, and solutions for the DS Group’s various products that use a combination of metal, glass, rigid plastic, flexible packaging, and monocartons. Even the expert from IIT Delhi Jayant Jain had an interesting proposition – thin stainless steel as an alternative to aluminum packaging. Though it would seem academic to start with and expensive, converters of metal packaging would know that stainless steel is 46% lighter than it was 30 years ago. Already chromium coated, stainless steel is not implausible since 40% of tinplate used in India for packaging is imported even now. It would undoubtedly encourage reusable packaging.

DS 3
L-R: Anshu Dewan, senior vice-president, DS Group spoke about aligning waste collection policies with economics; Jeevaraj Pillai, joint president, packaging & new product development at Uflex; and Shailesh Nema, vice-president & managing director of Michelman India. Photo PSA

Presentations by Hutahmaki and Constantia dwelled on the recyclability of their new structures that mainly rely on PE. Constantia said that its Ecolam mono-material PE structures have three levels of certified barrier properties. It has been testing these for lateral recyclability several times into equivalent use products.

Uflex presented its scientific perspective, which means that in the real world, both collected and uncollected waste have to be dealt with. The company’s Pepzyme polymer eating bacteria solution for biodegradable films that can degrade in soil most likely within 15 months is a solution that has already had a trial run for a 400-gram snack pack. Biodegradable films for flexible packaging must provide equivalent performance in terms of printability and machine runnability. Yet they must degrade at rates that satisfy the EN 1332 and IS 7088 stand- ards for disintegration.

Michelman’s presentation outlined the success of its incubator in Mumbai, which has helped converters and brand owners come up with mono-material film structures using its water-based coatings. There is also the real and practical possibility of using its water-based coatings to enhance the moisture and oxygen barrier properties of paper-based materials that could be easily recycled or biodegrade.

The most interesting presentation was by Jindal Polymers, India’s largest film manufacturer, who said that its must-have criteria for recyclability are using laminates based on the same family structure, or same polymer structures and having transparency. Jindal presented the possibility of dramatically transforming the entire range of flexible laminate structures toward sustainability and recyclability with a combination of PE, CPP, and BOPP structures appropriate to their use subsets. Apart from OTR and MTVR, the requirements are for high-speed machine runnability, printable, and sealable films or structures that Jindal says can be produced using various barrier materials and both transparent and AlOx coatings.

Although the content of this conference bears revisiting and at length, the DS vote of thanks was brief. It called for both pragmatism and the need for advocacy.

Packaging South Asia — authentic, impactful and influential

An English-language packaging industry B2B platform in print and web, Packaging South Asia is in its 19th year of publication. We do not make any claims about being the best or the most widely read. However, if you are interested in targeting the Indian and South Asian markets to sell equipment, technology, software, and consumables, we can help.

To improve your marketing and grow sales, talk to us. Our research and consulting company IppStar [www.ippstar.org] can assess your potential and addressable markets in light of the competition. We can discuss marketing, communication, and sales strategies for market entry and growth.

Suppliers and service providers with a strategy and budget for targeted marketing can discuss using our hybrid print, web, video, and social media channels to create brand recognition linked to market relevance. Our platform and channels are differentiated by hands-on practice and an understanding of business and financials. Our team, including some of the best technical writers, is ready to meet you and your customers for content.

India and South Asia’s fast-growing packaging industry is continuously expanding capacities with efficiency and appropriate innovative technologies. Get our 2025 media kit and recalibrate your role in this dynamic market. Enhance your visibility and relevance to existing markets and turn potential customers into conversations. Ask for a sample copy of our monthly or two weekly packaging eZines.

For editorial info@ippgroup.in — for advertisement ads1@ippgroup.in and for subscriptions subscription@ippgroup.in

Naresh Khanna – 21 January 2025

Subscribe Now
unnamed 1

NEWSLETTER

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Previous articlePackaging industry adopts nanotechnology to tackle food loss and waste
Next articleDow commits US $3 million to aid COVID-19 relief efforts
Naresh Khanna
Editor of Indian Printer and Publisher since 1979 and Packaging South Asia since 2007. Trained as an offset printer and IBM 360 computer programmer. Active in the movement to implement Indian scripts for computer-aided typesetting. Worked as a consultant and trainer to the Indian print and newspaper industry. Visiting faculty of IDC at IIT Powai in the 1990s. Also founder of IPP Services, Training and Research and has worked as its principal industry researcher since 1999. Author of book: Miracle of Indian Democracy. Elected vice-president of the International Packaging Press Organization in May 2023. One of the judges for Packaging Sustainability Awards 2024 and 2025.

1 COMMENT

  1. A real time useful seminar by packaging materials and converters showing the Wayforward for sustainability & recyclability,without compromising on the materials like food etc .to be packed.
    Bodi kampani

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here