Built to be recycled
Recyclable packaging depends on system-wide choices made early in design, including material selection, structure, and compatibility with real-world collection and recycling systems. Stora Enso designs fiber-based packaging with the end in mind, reducing non‑fiber components and collaborating across the value chain to ensure performance, recovery, and measurable progress toward circularity.
Designing packaging for what comes next
Most packaging is designed for its first use. The challenge often starts after.
Will it be collected? Will it be sorted correctly? Can it be recycled in practice in the markets where it is used?
Recyclability is not a single property. It depends on choices made long before a product reaches the shelf. Material selection, packaging design, local collection and sorting, recycling capacity, and collaboration across the value chain all affect the outcome.
At Stora Enso, we start with the end in mind. We design fiber-based packaging that is intended to work in use and to support recovery after use.
Rethinking what recyclability means
Recyclability is sometimes treated as a yes or no question. In practice, it is more complex.
A package can be technically recyclable, but still fail if collection, sorting, and recycling systems are not in place. Small design choices such as coatings, material combinations, adhesives, and thickness can also affect whether fibers can be recovered efficiently.
That is why we treat recyclability as a system topic. It involves:
- Designing packaging that fits established recycling streams in target markets
- Minimising components that can reduce fiber recovery
- Designing simpler structures and mono-materials that make recycling easier
- Considering sorting and recycling processes early in development
- Supporting fiber quality through the recycling process where possible
Designing fiber-based packaging that works in practice
Paper and paperboard-based packaging is collected and recycled in many markets. Systems still vary by region, and some applications require added functionality such as barriers or coatings.
Our development work focuses on solutions that aim to:
- Reduce non-fiber content where feasible, including fossil-based barrier layers
- Improve fiber separation and recovery in recycling processes
- Meet performance requirements for demanding uses such as food, liquids, and healthcare
- Balance product protection with recyclability requirements in the intended end-of-life system
From material choice to circular systems
Even well-designed packaging needs functioning systems around it.
That is why improving recyclability goes beyond product design. It requires cooperation between material producers, converters, brand owners, waste management actors, recyclers, and policymakers.
In practice, this includes:
- Co-developing packaging with customers to meet performance and recyclability needs
- Supporting improvements in collection, sorting, and recycling where relevant
- Taking part in industry initiatives linked to fiber-based recycling
- Aligning solutions with regulatory requirements and recognised assessment methods
Making recyclability measurable
Expectations for transparency are rising. Many stakeholders now ask not only whether packaging is recyclable, but how it performs in practice.
Common focus areas include:
- Technical recyclability (as defined by a chosen methodology)
- Compatibility with collection and recycling systems in target markets
- Share of products designed with circular use in mind
- Circularity indicators across operations and product portfolios
In our Circularity plan, we track circularity through measurable targets and indicators, including our ambition to reach 90% material circularity in our own operations by 2030, compared with 79% in 2025.
This ensures that circularity is not just a principle, but something we continuously measure, improve, and deliver over time.
A challenge shared across the industry
Recyclability is not something one company can solve alone. Across the packaging sector, many actors are working to develop fiber-based alternatives for applications where recycling can be challenging, including some plastics and multi-material structures.
These efforts often include reducing complex material combinations, developing barrier solutions designed to support recycling, publishing recyclability related information, and collaborating to strengthen collection and recycling systems.
Supporting circularity in practice
Recyclability can enable circularity when packaging is designed for recovery and when collection, sorting, and recycling systems are in place.
The direction is clear: design packaging not only for its first use, but for what happens next.
