Today on Packaging Today, we’re peeling back the headlines and digging into what's really happening in the packaging world:🧾 Packaging Tax Pain in the UK: UK food firms say the new packaging tax—part of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme—is pushing up prices. For example, one brand reported £153,000 in extra costs this year just from this levy. We’ll talk: which packaging formats are hardest hit? Will brands shift to less‑sustainable materials just to avoid the fees?📉 Waste Declining, But Can We Trust It?: According to the Eurostat data, plastic packaging waste in the EU fell by 1.0 kg per person in 2023 (to 35.3 kg each). European Commission But we’ll ask: is this real progress—or clever accounting? What’s the catch behind “less waste per person”?🏆 Award‑Winning Packaging: Innovation or Same Old?: We’ll look at a recent gold‑winning design in the packaging awards world and ask the hard question: are we really innovating—or just dressing up the same ideas in shine and polish?Join us as we break down:Why packaging taxes are already changing brand material strategyHow “waste reductions” may hide new problemsWhether “award‑winning design” still moves us forward—or keeps us spinningIf you’re in packaging design, sourcing, supply‑chain or brand strategy, this episode is your mid‑week wake‑up.Don’t forget to subscribe, share the show, and drop your thoughts in the comments. Let’s keep the packaging conversation real.It's also Wednesday so it's time for CAN WE SOLVE IT! brought to you by Smartsolve.com soluble packaging solutions to actually reduce packaging waste.