Together with industry partners, Amcor is supporting a three-year recycling project in Denmark. Under the leadership of the Danish Technological Institute, a closed-loop recycling system for rigid food packaging made of polyethylene and polypropylene is to be established.
Amcor has announced its participation in the innovation project „Circular Recycling Innovation for Sustainable Packaging“ (CRISP). The aim of the initiative is to establish full-scale, circular recycling of rigid PE and PP food packaging from household collections in Denmark for the first time. The project is coordinated by the Danish Technological Institute and supported by several industrial partners from the food and waste management industries.
According to Amcor, it is contributing technical expertise from recycling practice to the consortium. This includes experience from the recycling plant in Leamington Spa in the United Kingdom and from packaging production at the Randers site in Denmark. Both sites work with recycled plastics for food applications.
Contribution to the circular economy and regulation
The CRISP project is set against the backdrop of European and national requirements. The European Union is aiming for a recycling rate of 55 per cent for plastics by 2030. At the same time, the EU Packaging Regulation stipulates that plastic packaging must be designed to be predominantly recyclable by then. According to those involved, the project aims to contribute to the practical implementation of these requirements and support a functioning circular economy for food packaging.
Focus on food suitability and traceability
One focus of the three-year collaboration is the development of food-grade recyclates from post-consumer waste. In particular, the documented traceability of food contact materials within the recycling cycle is to be improved. The aim is to create a new market for fully circularly recycled food packaging made from rHDPE and rPP.
The project is also in line with the Danish system of extended producer responsibility. This obliges distributors to pay for the packaging they use and at the same time incentivises recycling-friendly design and sustainable material selection.
In this context, Amcor refers to its Cleanstream recycling technology, with which household plastic waste is mechanically processed into high-quality recyclates. According to the company, around 40 per cent of the PP waste collected from households in the UK is processed in Leamington Spa.
Source: Amcor
