Truce

Supported by:

Scaling up recycling processes for flexible plastic packaging in a circular economy

Methodology and results

In January 2021, the Flemish pioneering clusters Catalisti and Flanders’ FOOD launched the cooperative inter-cluster project TRUCE (‘True Recycling Upscaling of Flexible Packaging in the Plastic Circular Economy’). In this R&D company project, innovative players from the packaging value chain joined forces to develop new and more sustainable building blocks for functional and flexible packaging. The food company Puratos partnered with innovative players in the packaging value chain, notably Amcor, Borealis, Bostik and Eastman/Synthomer, and with Ghent University (Green Chemistry and Technology Dept.) as a knowledge partner.

The primary goal of the TRUCE project was to develop new building blocks for functional, flexible packaging solutions, which can be combined to produce fully recyclable mono-polyethylene (PE) structures (> 95% PE). The different project partners applied their own specific areas of expertise:

Amcor focused on the extrusion, lamination and printability of the newly developed packaging layers.
Borealis focused on developing modified PE qualities.
Synthomer on the further development of specific additives to fulfil various functionalities of the PE layers.
Bostik on lamination adhesives for high-quality recyclability.
Ghent University on recyclability testing, developing predictive models and a recycling protocol, and on life cycle assessment (LCA).
During the project, Puratos investigated the workability of the newly developed materials on industrial packaging lines, specifically ‘vertical form fill seal’ lines in relation to the technical and barrier functionality of the new materials to protect their bakery, patisserie, and chocolate products.

By bringing together the unique expertise of the various partners, the project resulted in innovative and unique insights for Puratos into the possibility of using recyclable packaging structures for specific high-barrier applications. Moreover, the recyclability protocol that was developed helps analyse the improved recyclability of the newly developed structures in state-of-the-art recycling facilities and accelerate market implementation of recyclable structures.