Innovation Forum 4 Plastics highlights EU innovations for plastics circularity
The 2024 edition of the “Innovation Forum 4 Plastics” was held in Brussels on 19 April, and showcased different innovative solutions of EU-funded projects aiming at reducing plastic waste and boosting plastic recycling and circularity.
Hosted by EuRIC on behalf of the CIMPA project, supported by the European Commission’s Research Executive Agency (REA) and as a side event of the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF), the event attracted approximately 70 participants.
The aim of the internal workshop, organised by DG RTD of the European Commission and REA, was to enable the co-creation of mapping of R&I needs, gaps and priorities in the plastics sector, which could feed into the programming of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 26-27 and beyond. Organizers selected 4 main areas to structure the discussions, notably 4 types of barriers to the transition to circular and sustainable economy:
- Regulatory barriers – What are the legislative challenges/inconsistencies/gaps?
- R&I gaps and needs – What are the R&I gaps that need to be addressed to advance technologies/solutions closer to the market?
- Technical barriers – What are the technical limitations/challenges that prevent advancing the technology/solution to higher TRL?
- Financial barriers/needs – What are the gaps in access to public/private capital and to scale up solutions at high TRL level?
Sophie Sicard, President of EuRIC’s European Plastic Recycling Branch (EPRB) said in her opening remarks: “While our industry drives innovation, we also require innovation from the EU legislation. Achieving economic profitability in plastics recycling and circularity is the main challenge and demands political solutions.”
Evdokia Achilleos, Head of Sector “Circular and Bio-based Economy and Zero Pollution” at the European Commission’s Research and Executive Agency (REA), highlighted the importance of collaborations in enhancing efforts to increase plastics circularity and the role of R&I projects in achieving the EU’s green objectives.
The event introduced the Circular Plastics Cluster, a coalition of 7 EU-funded projects, and results from partner projects CIMPA, Circular FoodPack, SOL-REC2, and Merlin, focusing on multilayer plastic recycling, were highlighted. Additionally, presentations on sustainable food plastic packaging were provided by recently funded projects STOPP, MAGNO, VISS, and REBIOLUTION. The event also showcased project outcomes on circular technical plastics, including PRIMUS, Green3D, Circular Flooring, and PLAST2BCLEANED.
Concluding the event was a panel discussion addressing the role of R&I projects in EU policy. Panelists Pierre Fiasse (Groupe Comet), Katharina Schlegel (Plastics Europe), Wolfgang Trunk (European Commission, DG ENV), Silvia Maltagliati (European Commission, DG RTD), and Olga Pozlevic (European Commission, DG GROW) shared insights on legislative developments and challenges in advancing plastic circularity.
On the MAGNO side, there were three important contributions from our partners, FHF, DNV and UOB, made by Phil Rosenow, Luigi Operato and Wael Hamd respectively.
On regulatory complexity, Phil Rosenow from Fraunhofer IVV, states that Practical implementations of packaging solutions on the market are subject to a host of different regulations (e.g. PPWR, SUP, REACH, …). The resulting regulatory jungle poses possible hindrances to companies. While large companies can support legal departments, SMEs are affected more strongly. At the same time, it is to be acknowledged that food packaging must be well regulated due to possible health effects. Streamlining the regulatory process may be worth investigating.
On regulatory barriers, Wael Hamd from University of Balamand, stated that plastics are chemically recycled by breaking them down into molecular building pieces that can be reused. This procedure, also known as advanced recycling, is different from mechanical recycling. This latter, which is still in use, chops up used plastic into parts that are blended into virgin plastic, which is made from oil or natural gas, to add recycled content. Although advanced recycling plays an important role in the general recycling scheme of plastics, it is considered as energy extensive and pollution generating process. Thus, the undesirable effect of chemical recycling deserves to be discussed. 
On technical barriers, Luigi Operato from DNV, said that the recyclability and environmental viability of bioplastics are heavily dependent on its base design and the choice of raw materials. Although most of the bioplastics are claimed to be biodegradable, their complete degradability is realized under specific conditions. So, while promoting the use of bioplastics, the development of necessary infrastructure should also be encouraged to close the loop.
