Multi2Recycle

Why this project?

Plastic food packaging materials preserve and protect the quality of food products and extend shelf life. Seemingly ‘simple’ films used to pack a wide range of products (e.g. cheese, meat) often consist of multiple layers of different polymers, each of which contributes to the overall functionality of the food packaging. Due to the strong physical adhesion between these layers, separation at polymer level is not always possible, which complicates mechanical recycling. As a result, the main valorisation route for these multilayer food packages is incineration with energy recovery. Ambitious targets for the recyclability of food packaging have been set at both European and Belgian level. Under the European Plastics Strategy, 55% of all plastic packaging must be recycled by 2030, while the Belgian food industry (Fevia) states that 65% of plastic food packaging must be recycled by 2023. The European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) presents a major challenge for the food industry. This is why the search for recyclable alternatives with comparable functionality is high on the agenda of food and packaging companies.

Research approach and results

The research approach consisted of two main segments:

• A knowledge-based segment providing an overview of the latest trends and innovations in the packaging industry and the sorting and recycling industry, relevant to increasing the circularity of food packaging.
• A research-based segment focusing on selected generic case studies and company-specific use cases and addressing the following topics: 
  • evaluation of the impact of packaging composition on the mechanical recyclability of polypropylene (PP) packaging, with the aim of assessing film-to-film mechanical recyclability
  • evaluation of the mechanical recyclability of mixed polypropylene (PP) streams
  • evaluation of the impact of multiple cycles of mechanical recycling of polypropylene (PP) films on foil properties (gas and vapour permeability, seal performance, shelf-life)
  • evaluation of the recycling limits of barrier materials used in multilayer PP films
  • company-specific use cases using food packaging based on recycled PP materials

The results of this Multi2Recycle project facilitates decisions regarding the design of currently used multilayer plastic food packaging materials and future food packaging.

Access to the project results

The Multi2Recycle project has been completed since the end of 2024. For more information about the project results and the case studies, please contact the project manager.

Target group

This project focused on packaging producers and processors, food companies, and sorting and recycling companies.

The output of this project should facilitate decisions regarding the design of future packaging and currently used multilayer plastic food packaging materials.

Project partners

Flanders’ FOOD managed the project. Pack4Food coordinated the project in collaboration with the project partners: VKC Centexbel, UHasselt (MPR&S), Flanders’ FOOD and Catalisti.