Amcor joins Danish food packaging recycling project

Amcor has announced support for a three-year plastic recycling project led by the Danish Technological Institute, aimed at establishing full-scale circular recycling of food packaging in polyethylene and polypropylene rigid plastics from household collections.

The co-funded innovation partnership Circular Recycling Innovation for Sustainable Packaging (CRISP) will involve major food manufacturers and waste management specialists alongside Amcor. The company will bring recycling and technical expertise from its CleanStream facility in Leamington Spa, UK, and its packaging production facility in Randers, Denmark.

'Sustainable challenges require industry collaboration, and this partnership will demonstrate what can be done when the supply chain comes together,' noted Christian Bruno, R&D director for North East Europe at Amcor. 'We are proud to be part of a project that could potentially have a significant environmental impact in Denmark and set new standards worldwide.'

The initiative comes as the EU targets a plastic recycling rate of 55 percent by 2030. The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation stipulates that by the same year, the majority of plastic packaging must be designed for recyclability, allowing materials to be reused or recycled effectively.

The CRISP partnership will help develop and mature a systemic approach to deliver food-grade packaging from post-consumer sources. Focus will be on documented traceability of food contact materials in the recycling loop, with the goal of creating a new, fully circular market for the circular recycling of food packaging in rHDPE and rPP.

'The long-term goal is to establish circular loops for food plastic packaging aligned with the design guidelines from the PPWR,' Bruno added. 'The EU's goals are driving this industry to greater highs; the project will make a strong business case for the entire value chain, with improved traceability of food contact materials in the recycling system.'

Per Sigaard Christensen, business manager from Danish Technological Institute, commented: 'We are delighted to bring together this highly knowledgeable and innovative consortium. This three-year project has the potential to provide a clear pathway towards the circular recycling of PE and PP food packaging.'

The project aligns with Denmark's Extended Producer Responsibility scheme, which obligates producers to pay for the packaging they place on the market while offering financial incentives for more sustainable product design and material selection.

Amcor's proprietary CleanStream technology mechanically recycles domestically recovered household waste into high-purity recycled plastic and can operate within existing waste management infrastructures. In the UK, Amcor's Leamington Spa facility has the capacity to recycle nearly 40 percent of all UK PP waste collected from domestic recycling bins.