Circular FoodPack aims to enable the circular use of plastic packaging, addressing the most sensitive product category: food. The main function of food packaging is the protection of the product during transport from manufacturer to consumer and maximize the food shelf life, thus reducing food waste and its carbon footprint. Therefore, food packaging has to fulfil high requirements, like being light-weight, impermeable, sufficiently tear-resistant and printable, with an appealing haptic and not release chemicals into the food in quantities that are harmful to human health. That is where Circular FoodPack ties in, targeting food packaging (dry food such as packed creamer, cocoa and coffee powder) as well as personal (e.g. face masks) and home care packaging (e.g. detergents, wipes). The project partners investigate newly developed Tracer-Based and Sensor-Based Sorting systems which allow for reliable sorting with new tracers and detection mechanisms. Once sorted, the packaging material will be washed, deodorized, the layers delaminated, deinked, dissolved and purified with the CreaSolv¨ Recycling Process and mechanically recycled. The recycling strategies and generated secondary (raw) materials will continuously be assessed with regards to food and environmental safety, social acceptance, quality, processability, economic feasibility and legal compliance. The recyclates will be incorporated into new high-performance mono-material food packaging that is following eco-design principles and will be easy to recycle at post-consumer stage.
Econzept aimed for the organisation, implementation, and reporting of 2 FG (2 in Madrid).