Project R-12779

Evaluation of the recyclability of flexible food packaging materials in function of their composition and the resulting shelf-life of food products (Research)

Plastic packaging plays an important role in the preservation of food, greatly extending its shelf life. Seemingly 'simple' films for food packaging often consist of multiple layers of (different) materials, each offering a different functionality to the package. By combining thinner packaging with the necessary high barrier properties, multi-layer packaging is a cost-effective way to extend food shelf life and reduce waste. However, these multilayer packs are difficult to sort and subsequently recycle, which is why much of this food packaging has to date been valorized via downcycling or incineration with energy recovery. In addition, the negative impacts of plastic packaging, such as ocean soup, microplastics and litter, cannot be separated from the strong focus on circular packaging. This leads to ambitious targets around circularity. According to the European 'Plastics Strategy', 55% of all plastic packaging must be recycled by 2030. In addition, FEVIA states that all food packaging must be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. In the roadmap "Food packaging of the future", one of the important pillars to realize this transition to circular packaging is recycling-oriented design. The development of recyclable multilayer plastic packaging by e.g. combining one type of polymer with a coating or other barrier material, so that the desired shelf life can be guaranteed, therefore fully fits into the vision of this roadmap. The OPTIBARRIER project showed that simplifying packaging materials is possible for some food products, however, for other products the retention of multilayer packaging is necessary to guarantee the desired shelf life. Hence, making multilayer packaging recyclable is (still) very important. The ReFOIL project showed that through the 'Design from Recycling' principle and compatibilizers, the recyclate of certain multilayer packaging can be upgraded. Despite the various initiatives, such as Ceflex and RecyClass, the food and packaging sector is still struggling with the question of how a multilayer plastic packaging can be mechanically recycled and at the same time has the necessary functionalities so that the shelf life of food products is not compromised. This question is therefore central to the current Multi-2-Recycle project. The general objective is to make multi-layer plastic packaging films for food recyclable with the necessary functionalities so that the desired shelf life of food products is not compromised. The project will focus in PART A on 3 different types of multilayer PP packaging films: (i) PP films with a coating, (ii) PP films with a barrier polymer, and (iii) PP films consisting of different structural layers of PP. Subsequently, the results can be translated to other material groups (e.g., PE) in PART B of the project. The broad target group of the project consists of the plastic packaging sector, food companies and the sorting and recycling sector. These sectors together represent more than 3900 Flemish companies

01 January 2022 - 31 December 2024