Packaging Adhesives – the challenges of packaging and food contact regulation on adhesives manufacturers and their customers and suppliers

Speakers & Themes:

BASA is hosting a session with speakers drawn from experts on extended producer responsibility and regulatory experts looking at UK food contact regulations and chemicals legislation to look at how we must all work together to navigate the new regulations. We will discuss the particular challenges for producers of packaging adhesives whose products facilitate the production of functional packaging, providing the essential protective function needed in packaging applications.

Collections and Packaging Reforms – What manufacturers of packaging adhesives and brand owners of packaged products need to know– George Atkinson, Head of Policy, Valpak

George’s will use this session to outline the basics of Extended producer Responsibility. He will outline the proposed fee and reporting structure and explain how EPR and Packaging Recycling Notes (PRN) work together. He will explain what is exempt and how to mitigate the costs and will explain the shift in responsibility from the supply chain to the brand owners and importers outline the new reporting requirements for brand owners and what this is likely to mean in terms of costs.

A look at how food Contact legislation for packaging materials is developing in GB and the possible challenges facing manufacturers– Lorna Williams, BASA Executive Officer

Lorna Williams is an independent consultant for the Chemicals and Materials sector, holding a rolling contract to run the Secretariat for the British Adhesives & Sealants Association (BASA). In her roles for the Association and previous raw material manufacturing employers, Lorna has been inputting into both UK and EU packaging adhesives discussions for over 15 years and is now the chair of the Food Packaging Value Chain Alliance Packaging. In today’s session she will outline the EU derived Food Contact legislation in GB and will explain how the adhesives sector approaches compliance with the relevant legislation. She will also look at some particular substance issues that impact adhesives and sealants and will discuss the likelihood of divergence between GB and EU legislation in future and will touch on difficulties that the devolved powers to the nations within GB may cause in future.

The importance of communication within the supply chain– Dr. Geoff Mackey, UK Country Manager – Plastics Europe

Geoff’s passion is to close communication gaps including that between industry and education and ensure a sustainable future for all, with future business needs to the fore. In this session, Geoff will take a brief look at the role of the various actors in the supply chain and why it is vital that all parties share the information they have which each other, but also the difficulties that this can pose in respect of Intellectual property.

Polymers and UKREACH, why this is so challenging for packaging adhesives manufacturers– Caroline Raine, Independent Consultant

Caroline Raine is a regulatory expert in interpreting and implementing EU legislation relating to hazardous chemical substances and her knowledge and expertise are wide ranging and has been developed whilst working directly in the chemical industry. In this session  Caroline will outline the real concerns that BASA has in regard to EU proposals to include polymers in the EU REACH registration process. She will explain why this is so difficult for adhesives manufacturers and also look at the challenges we face with divergence with UKREACH in future.