After eight years of extensive research, Nextek Ltd has launched a global multi-participant project (NEXTLOOPP) to address a missing link in the plastics recycling chain - polypropylene (PP).

PP makes up about 20 percent of the world's plastic. 1 It is mainly used in jars, cups, trays and films for food packaging, and is also common in non-food household and personal care products, making recycling of the 700,000 tonnes / year difficult in the UK alone. 2

Currently, PP packaging is either being transported to waste incineration plants or landfills, or it is being downcycled in low-performance applications, which wastes valuable resources. The fact that there is no food-grade recycled PP (FGrPP for Food-Grade Recycled PP) means that all PP food packaging is currently made from new plastic.

Impending plastic packaging levies have increased the focus on including at least 30 percent of the recycled materials in packaging and are changing the way we manage our ephemeral materials to minimize and reduce current levels of waste.

NEXTLOOPP relies on commercially proven technologies to separate food-grade PP using marker technologies. These include groundbreaking decontamination stages to ensure EU and US food quality standards are met. So we are finally able to close the circle of FGrPP.

Large organizations, including brand owners, suppliers, universities and industry associations through to end users in the PP supply chain, have joined NEXTLOOPP to create a world's first high quality FGrPP that will be available in the UK by 2022.

Professor Edward Kosior, Founder and CEO of Nextek Ltd, explains that creating a circular economy for waste from food grade PP packaging will fill the huge void in the packaging recycling sector and help achieve the goal of reducing carbon emissions to zero . “ Brand owners will be able to meet their recycling goals and significantly reduce the use of new plastics made from petrochemicals. It will also significantly reduce CO2 emissions and divert waste from landfills and waste incineration plants. "

UK based WRAP has confirmed that the UK Plastics Pact is delighted to support the NEXTLOOPP project in delivering a technology that will enable food grade polypropylene. WRAP Acting Director Insights and Innovation Claire Shrewsbury says finding a way to successfully recycle polypropylene that has come into contact with food is a key task. "If this is achieved, signatories to the UK Plastics Pact can achieve the target of an average of 30 percent recycled materials in all packaging by 2025. WRAP believes NEXTLOOPP offers a potential solution to this and we will work closely with stakeholders to further develop the project. "

Viridor’s Director of Business Development (Polymers), Luke Burgess, said the company's participation in the pursuit of food quality is in line with Viridor’s ongoing commitment to the UK’s circular economy. "Viridor believes that building its polymer knowledge and recycling experience in cross-industry collaboration and innovation is critical to ensuring that more waste is upgraded as a resource and returned to the circular economy it belongs in. By reducing our reliance on new plastics, not only are we building a stronger cycle, but the reuse of recycled materials also offers significant energy savings, thereby contributing to significant broader environmental benefits for the UK. "

Lubna Edwards, Robinson Packaging's Group Sustainability and Marketing Director, said: “ NEXTLOOPP is fully in line with Robinson’s and our consumers’s goals for circular solutions and with the government’s circular economy goals. The demand for this high quality recycled material will continue to grow as we move away from using new materials. Many of our UK businesses are dependent on PP and this groundbreaking project gives us the chance to take advantage of cutting edge technology, learn from industry partners and try the material for sustainable use in our packaging. ”

Andrew Fisher, Managing Director of leading plastic packaging manufacturer Sharpak Yate , says: “ As part of the Guillin Group, Sharpak is recyclable. NEXTLOOPP is an industry leading initiative and we are proud to work with multiple participants on this project. "

Adam Elman, Group Sustainability Director at Klöckner Pentaplast says: “ Capturing the value of plastics by keeping them within the economy and outside of our natural environment is critical to achieving the Plastics Pact goals and an important part of our corporate strategy. Moving from the traditional linear 'take-make-waste' model to a circular system is also one of the many important steps we can take to significantly reduce our carbon emissions. We are proud to work with NEXTLOOPP on this important project. "

On March 23, 2021, 29 organizations from the entire PP supply chain joined NEXTLOOPP. More multinational companies will follow.

About Nextek Ltd

Nextek is a global sustainability consultancy providing strategic advice to corporations and recycling companies. Founded in 2004, Nextek has been researching and developing innovative strategies and processes in the recycling ecosystem - from designing recycling facilities to developing groundbreaking projects for governments and large corporations. Nextek has launched NEXTLOOPP, a multi-participant project to close the loop for food-grade rPP. This project integrates the unique technological breakthroughs, which include innovative sorting and breakthrough decontamination technologies.

www.nextek.org

www.nextloopp.com

WRAP ( www.wrap.org.uk ): PlasticFlow 2025 - Plastic Packaging Flow Data Report. August 2018
PlasticsEurope Market Research Group ( www.plasticseurope.org/en/resources/publications/4312-plastics-facts-2020 ): AF_Plastics_the_facts-WEB-2020-ING_FINAL.PDF; Slides 23 & 25.
The source language in which the original text is published is the official and authorized version. Translations will be included for a better understanding. Only the language version that was originally published is legally valid. You should therefore compare translations with the original language version of the publication.

Contacts
Janine Wood
+44 (0) 7831582659
janinewood@nexteklimited.com

 

Source: businesswire.com

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