Germany faces recycling gap for paper composite packaging as Huhtamäki pushes sustainable solutions

A study commissioned by the German nature conservation group NABU finds that paper composite packaging – used for moist and fatty foods such as take‑away meals, frozen products and ready‑meals – lacks a recycling pathway in Germany, except for liquid cartons. The growth of such packaging creates a need for a specialised recycling process that can handle the high plastic and aluminium content and food residues, which currently does not exist. The study calls for binding recycling quotas, investment security for recovered fibres, and clearer household sorting aided by forthcoming EU labelling.

Finnish packaging specialist Huhtamäki is positioning itself as a supplier of sustainable, paper‑based, recyclable solutions for food and takeaway packaging to meet tightening EU regulations on single‑use plastics. The company is developing barrier coatings that protect hot and greasy contents while remaining compatible with recycling streams. Analysts view the move as a defensive play within the consumer‑goods sector, noting that the speed of material‑mix upgrades will affect costs and margins.