“Plastic waste free” – A new circular model for the management of plastic packaging in food value chain

Abstract

Plastic packaging has a fundamental role in preserve quality and safety of food, increasing its shelf-life and reducing food waste. However, its current linear management is not sustainable and an urgent transition to an effective circular economy is needed, according to newest EU action plan for the Circular Economy (COM/2020/98 final). Despite plastic packaging has unrivalled technical features for food applications and low cost, the great number of polymer types and the various applications in several sectors make plastic recycling very difficult. The efforts to collect, sort and treat plastic from household waste are not justified (economically and technically) by the recycled plastics, that often are used for down-cycling applications. Among plastic materials, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) has become the most promising packaging resource for food products due to its excellent features, such as high clarity and good barrier properties towards moisture and oxygen, and also for its high potential for reuse after recycling process also for food contact applications. PET trays are widespread in food packaging applications, as they preserve and keep food fresh longer. They contain almost 50% rPET, but they are typically separated from the recycling flow since it is difficult to use them for a third life. The consequence is a great loss of PET tray value after food consumption phase. With the aim to recover the value of PET trays, a new model for the management of plastic packaging in food supply chain, based on the concepts of circular economy, has been designed and implemented in a pilot project in Italy (“Plastic Waste Free”). This paper describes the three pillars of the new model and how they have been implemented in practice: (i) the re-thinking of trays to promote recycling process; (ii) the improvement in collection, sort and recycling of PET trays and (iii) the enlarging of applications for rPET with any down grade. In particular, an integrated value chain, that comprises packaging manufacturer, food brand owners, retailer, consumers and recycler, was established to re-design plastic packaging, following a life-cycle thinking approach. This novel model can really contribute to the achievement of the target for plastic recycling (55%), set by the European Strategy for plastics in 2030.