Amcor has announced its participation in a three-year plastic recycling project led by the Danish Technological Institute, aiming to establish the full-scale circular recycling of food packaging in polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) rigid plastics from household collections.
The co-funded innovation partnership, Circular Recycling Innovation for Sustainable Packaging (CRISP), will also involve food manufacturers and waste management specialists. Amcor says it will contribute its recycling and technical knowledge from its CleanStream facility in Leamington Spa, UK and its packaging production facility in Randers, Denmark, and its skills and experience in producing and designing food packaging in recycled materials.
The CRISP partnership hopes to significantly contribute to the implementation of a circular plastic economy in Denmark. The project coincides with the EU’s target for a plastic recycling rate of 55% by 2030 and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) which stipulates that by the same year, the majority of plastic packaging must be designed for recyclability, allowing materials to be reused or recycled effectively.
The CRISP partnership is anticipated to help develop and mature a systemic solution to deliver food-grade packaging from post-consumer sources, as well as documenting traceability of food contact materials in the recycling loop. The goal is to create a new fully circular market for the recycling of food packaging in rHDPE and rPP.
This also aligns with Denmark’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, which obligates producers to pay for the packaging they place on the market, while also offering financial incentives for more sustainable product design and material selection.
Earlier this year Henkel Adhesive Technologies launched a ‘fully recyclable’ heat seal coating reportedly made from harmless ingredients, suitable for direct-contact packaging. Seeking to enable customers to adopt paper-based designs for food, pharmaceuticals, home care, and other products, it is said to align with the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) as well as European and FDA guidelines under certain conditions.
Lecta expanded its Metalvac range with the recyclable Metalvac Seal Oxygen Barrier in July, a metallized barrier paper aiming to meet industry demands for technical performance, industrial efficiency and sustainability. The company states that the low aluminium content (0.08 gsm) ensures high barrier performance without compromising the material’s recyclability within the standard paper recycling stream.
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