Pioneering EU solutions for plastic waste

The transition towards sustainable packaging has always been a lofty goal, but the success of the CIRC-PACK and FRESH projects has brought that vision closer to a reality. Both initiatives disrupt the traditional take-make-waste model and prove that industrial efficiency and environmental responsibility can coexist.

The CIRC-PACK project has taken on the mammoth task of remaking the entire plastic packaging lifecycle by introducing biodegradable polymers and sophisticated eco-design to its products, ranging from shampoo bottles and plastic bags to coffee capsules and food trays.

As a Horizon 2020 initiative, it synchronised the efforts of 22 partners across Europe, bringing together chemical engineers, waste management businesses, and consumer brands, to ensure that a solution designed in a lab would actually work in a real-world recycling facility

Rather than focusing on a single fix, CIRC-PACK attacked the problem from three sides: replacing fossil-derived chemicals with bio-based polymers, redesigning complex multilayer food trays that can be easily separated into their original materials, and upgrading infrared scanners of sorting facilities to ensure no material was lost to landfills.

This multi-sector approach enhances sorting and recycling processes, reduces fossil resource scarcity, water consumption and global warming potential.

Today, its legacy lives on through specialised consultancy services that help brands navigate the transition towards cleaner, circular packaging, ensuring that the environmental footprint of hygiene and food products is permanently minimised.

Biodegradable trays take flight

While CIRC-PACK addresses the wider consumer market, the FRESH project has focused its innovation on a specific, high-waste sector: the ready-to-eat meal industry.

Traditional fossil-based plastic trays, widely used in airline catering, military operations, and meal delivery services, have long been an environmental headache. FRESH has stepped up to the plate by challenging the status quo and developing a fully bio-based and biodegradable alternative.

Utilising a cellulose-based composite paired with innovative lamination technologies, the project has demonstrated that bio-based alternatives do work. The resulting trays meet every rigorous consumer requirement, including extended shelf-life and microwave safety.

The impact has been immediate and measurable. In just three and a half years, the project has reduced plastic consumption by nearly 200 tonnes by replacing the packaging for approximately 9 million meals within the UK retail market (the lead commercial partner for FRESH was Finnish company Huhtamaki, which has many manufacturing operations in the UK). 

By swapping unrecyclable black plastic for fibre-based trays across supermarkets' entire product ranges, the project successfully eliminated nearly 40% of retailers' plastic footprint for that category.

On the road to sustainability

The success of CIRC-PACK and FRESH is not just a win for innovation, but also a vital contribution to the EU’s ambitious roadmap for a waste-free future.

As the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) begins to take effect this year, both projects provide a technical blueprint for the EU’s mandate that all packaging be recyclable or reusable by 2030. By pioneering high-quality, bio-based materials, they align perfectly with the upcoming Circular Economy Act, which seeks to double Europe’s circularity rate.

Both projects demonstrate that reducing waste and plastic pollution are possible, and that the EU's green goals are achievable sooner rather than later.

See how the CIRC-PACK and FRESH projects are changing the way we think about plastic waste.

Discover the EU's Zero Pollution Action Plan