With €7.5 million in EU funding, the four-year ReBioCycle project, which launched in October, involves 20 companies working to establish technology readiness for recycling technologies for bioplastics such as PLA and PHA.

Hubs will be established for different technologies and technology readiness levels (TRLs) in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and partly in Ireland and will be focus on all aspects of mechanical, chemical, enzymatic and microbial recycling options.

European Bioplastics and its members including Aimplas, Corbion, Kaneka, Novamont, Sulapac and TotalEnergies are amongst the partners looking to develop a new European blueprint for circular bioplastics upcycling solutions, under the lead of the University College Dublin and BiOrbic Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre.

The project aims to demonstrate the higher impact of obtaining the same or superior grade of recycled polymers in higher-value applications.

“The current recycling technologies available for recycling biodegradable plastics are limited, but with this project we are going to make them widely available,” explains Jan Pels CTO and MD of Torwash, the leader of the Dutch hub. “Then nobody can claim that the switch to biodegradable plastics cannot be made because they cannot be recycled.”

“Biobased biodegradable plastics can be kept in the material cycle for as long as possible through innovative recycling technologies thus demonstrating that end-of-life biobased biodegradable plastics can be used in the circular bioeconomy,” adds coordinator of the project Professor Kevin O’ Connor.

European Bioplastics strongly believes that an actionable EU Bioeconomy Strategy should be a top priority to safeguard the strength of European industries.

“This is only possible with a strong collaboration between all stakeholders, more policy support and technological advancement,” says its MD Hasso von Pogrell. “This project is an outstanding example of collaboration and will bring great advancement to the recycling of bioplastics.”

www.europeanbioplastics.org