Amcor, the global packaging producer, recently went on to announce its support of a three-year plastic recycling project, which is led by the Danish Technological Institute.
This co-funded partnership, which is the Circular Recycling Innovation for Sustainable Packaging – CRISP aims to establish full-scale circular recycling when it comes to food packaging in polyethylene – PE and polypropylene – PP rigid plastics from the household collection. Amcor says that it is going to be joined by certain major food manufacturers as well as waste management specialists on this three-year plastic recycling project.
Amcor further states that it will bring recycling as well as technical expertise from its CleanStream facility, which is based out of Leamington Spa, UK, and its packaging production facility based in Randers, Denmark, using its abilities to go ahead and design as well as produce food packaging having recycled content.
It is worth noting that the CRISP partnership has the potential to prominently contribute toward the execution of a circular plastic economy within Denmark, says Amcor. It further adds that the project aligns with the target of the European Union of a 55% plastic recycling rate by the end of the decade. The packaging producer goes on to note that the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation – PPWR of the EU stipulates that by the same year, the majority of plastic packaging has to be designed for recyclability.
Amcor’s R&D director for Northeast Europe, Christian Bruno, says that sustainable challenges need industry collaboration, and this partnership is indeed going to demonstrate what can be done when the supply chain comes together. He further says that they are proud to be part of a project that could go on to potentially have a major environmental effect when it comes to Denmark and also set new benchmarks across the world.
Amcor says it expects the CRISP partnership is going to help develop and mature a systemic solution in order to deliver food-grade packaging coming from postconsumer sources. The company says this collaboration is indeed the driver for this change, and the focus is also going to be applied to documented traceability of food-contact materials within the recycling loop. The goal is to come up with a new, fully circular market for packaging that is made with recycled high-density polyethylene – HDPE and PP.
The project also syncs with the extended producer responsibility – EPR program of Denmark, confirms Amcor. The scheme, apparently, obligates the producers to pay for the packaging that they place on the market while at the same time offering financial incentives for more sustainable product design along with material selection.
Bruno adds that the long-term objective is to establish circular loops pertaining to food plastic packaging that are aligned with the design guidelines from the PPWR. The EU’s objectives are indeed driving this industry to greater highs, and the project will make a robust business case for the overall value chain, with enhanced traceability of food-contact materials within the recycling system.
As per Amcor, its proprietary CleanStream technology goes on to mechanically recycle domestically recovered household materials into high-purity recycled plastic and can also function within present waste management infrastructures. In the U.K., the Leamington Spa facility of Amcor has the capacity to recycle almost 40% of all U.K. PP scrap that’s collected from domestic recycling bins, claims the company.