Like many people, I work from home a lot more than before the pandemic. Knowing that someone is likely to be in, my children (who live nearby) used me as recipient for their online purchases.

They would come by and open the boxes and bags, taking their goods and leaving the packaging with us. This resulted in me fighting to squash the contents down in the recycling bin to make sure the lid can close, sometimes neatly stacking collapsed corrugated boxes beside the bin hoping the collection crew would take them. We still made regular visits to the local waste center, sorting the stuff into the correct bins.

I am sure many of you have had similar experiences, changing your consumer behavior in reaction to two megatrends shaping the future of packaging: sustainability and the growth of e-commerce.