In June 2026, at the curtain raiser event for Bharat Packaging Expo held at the Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP), New Delhi, Jatin Takkar, head – brand owner collaboration, Siegwerk India, urged the packaging industry to broaden its sustainability conversations beyond recyclability and circularity to include an equally critical but often overlooked aspect – safety. The main aim of Mr Jatin Takkar was to remind the packaging companies that while recyclability and circularity are the sustainability goals, they should stay vital as well.
Mr Takkar, while delivering the presentation on ‘Beyond Recyclable: Why Safety is the Missing Half of the Circular Packaging’, argued that while the industry has made visible development in recyclable packaging solutions, insufficient attention is being paid to the safety implications of these transitions.
Beginning with his presentation, he clearly and boldly stated that sustainability today has become a recurring theme across industry discussions. “When you talk about sustainability, there is an element of safety that is right now missing in all the discussions that we have,” he said. “That is something that will be the focus of my presentation today.”
Back to the presentation, he also stated that for nearly a decade, the packaging industry has always been surrounded by the same question: “Is it recyclable?” While this focus has driven significant innovation, he believes an equally important question is often ignored. “What we don’t ask normally is, ‘Is it still safe?’” He remarked.
According to Takkar, the industry’s push towards recyclable packaging has resulted in substantial structural changes. It includes the industry’s shift from multi-layer to mono-material structures, transitions from plastic to paper-based packaging, along with efforts to reduce material thickness through downgauging. Though such developmental actions may support the circular economy, they may also alter the protective properties of packaging.
“We are creating new structures, we are moving from multi-layered material to monolayer material, we are moving from plastic to paper, we are downgauging plastics, so we are making so many changes,” he said. “But we don’t ask whether it is really safe, also.”
At the same time, he also threw the limelight on the remarkable progress made across the packaging value chain. He credited converters, brand owners, and material suppliers for accelerating the adoption of recyclable packaging solutions.
He congratulated the entire packaging industry. “We have made strong transitions towards mono-materials and recyclable structures. Reuse models have been established in certain packaging segments, and we have seen the development of barrier films and barrier coatings that emerged in response to market needs. We are also increasingly seeing the use of recycled content in packaging.” Along with the appreciation part, he also reminded the industry that these advancements also come with hidden trade-offs that deserve closer scrutiny.
According to Takkar, the area requiring major concern is the role of packaging chemicals, such as inks, coatings, varnishes, and adhesives. While discussions around recyclability often focus on barrier properties such as oxygen transmission rate (OTR) and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), minor attention is paid to how such chemicals behave in newly designed packaging structures. “There are certain chemicals on every packaging structure,” he explained. “One thing which no one is asking is, what about these chemicals?”
Takkar also mentioned that packaging’s main function remains the protection of products and consumers. Along with the evolving packaging structures, the industry must also assess whether the chemical migration risks are changing as well. “If there was a 12-micron PET and I have cut it down to six microns, or I have removed a layer, are chemicals still not migrating into my food, cosmetics, or pharma drugs?” he asked. “These are questions we need to address.”
The issue becomes more relevant when the industry embraces recycled content. Takkar referenced work by the European Printing Ink Association (EuPIA), which has raised concerns regarding the quality and safety of recycled materials, particularly when printed or coated substrates undergo mechanical recycling.
“EuPIA has clearly stated that when you go for mechanical recycling, ink chemicals can deteriorate into substances with unknown toxicological profiles, or sometimes transform into chemicals that are not yet understood by science,” he said.
Such developments help to enhance the assessment of recycled-content packaging not only from a circularity perspective but also from a safety standpoint.
For Takkar, safety compliance should not be viewed as a barrier to sustainability. Rather, it should be considered an essential enabler of a truly circular economy. “One of my key messages is that safety compliance isn’t a precondition to circularity; it is the guardrail that makes circularity trustworthy,” he said.
31 July 2026
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30 July 2026
30 July 2026