Can digital watermarks on packaging help to simplify waste sorting? The European brand association AIM wants to prove this with several partners along the value chain and has launched the HolyGrail 2.0 initiative. Mondi is now also a partner.
A new important partner in this initiative is the packaging and paper company Mondi. HolyGrail 2.0 has set itself the ambitious goal of evaluating whether this digital technology can contribute to better sorting and higher quality recycling for packaging in the EU. The goal: to develop a truly efficient circular economy.
More than 85 partners co-operate
Mondi was a founding member of the original pioneering project HolyGrailwhich was sponsored by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. More than 85 partners are now working together to further develop this concept and make it marketable, and Mondi is continuing its active role in trialling the innovative technology.
Materials should be separated more accurately
Stamp-sized watermarks on packaging, which are not recognisable to the naked eye, make it possible to effectively sort the material into specific waste streams. Conventional sensor technologies (e.g. near-infrared spectroscopy) are not able to reliably recognise multi-material packaging, so it can end up as a contaminant when recycling mono-materials. The new technology makes it possible to separate materials more accurately and generate new waste streams that can then be reutilised with improved recycling technologies.
However, digital watermarks offer even more possibilities. For example, consumers can use a smartphone app to obtain details about the packaging and its recycling process. Brand manufacturers can also add product details. Mondi intends to carry out large-scale industrial trials with key customers in the near future.
Source: Mondi
