What does it take to move a more sustainable packaging material from an innovative idea to a solution that can actually run at scale?
Allison Scales, Atlantic Packaging Senior VP responsible for Atlantic’s Printing and Graphics division, joined Ved Krishna on the Good Garbage Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about the realities of printing, converting, and advancing more sustainable packaging solutions.
Drawing on nearly two decades in the printing industry, Allison shares how her career began almost by chance in Clemson University’s Graphic Communications program and eventually led her to Atlantic, where she now leads a team working across a diverse range of printing and converting capabilities.
A central theme of the conversation is that packaging innovation has to work within the whole system. Materials have to print and convert. They have to run on existing equipment, protect the product, survive the supply chain, meet cost expectations, and ultimately have a viable end-of-life pathway.
Allison brings that practical perspective to a discussion of flexible packaging, including why plastic has historically performed so well, the challenges surrounding multilayer structures and recycling, and the balance between sustainability goals, product protection, shelf life, cost, and runnability.
The conversation also offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to move new materials from concept to the press, through converting and testing, and eventually toward commercial-scale applications. Allison shares experiences ranging from Atlantic’s investment in printing equipment designed specifically for paper to the trial-and-error involved in printing Sway’s seaweed-based material.
As Allison explains, meaningful progress requires collaboration across the packaging value chain:
“Good garbage is something that starts long before it ever becomes garbage. It is designed thoughtfully for the total system.”
The episode also explores lightweighting, fiber-based alternatives, recycling, and the practical role existing manufacturing infrastructure will play in advancing new packaging solutions.
Ultimately, Allison offers a thoughtful definition of “good garbage”: packaging that is designed with the entire system in mind, from printing and converting through product performance, economics, and end of life.
Listen to the full episode of the Good Garbage Podcast to hear Allison and Ved explore the challenges, experimentation, and collaboration shaping the future of packaging: Flexible Packaging Masterclass: Plastic, Paper & MLPs | Allison Scales