en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Flexible Plastic Fund, comprising organizations including Ecosurety, CEFLEX, RECOUP, and WRAP, has launched a program called FlexCircular, aiming to help the UK recycle up to 400,000 tonnes of post-consumer flexible packaging by 2030.

FlexCircular builds on the Flexible Plastic Fund's previous FlexCollect project, which demonstrated the feasibility of large-scale collection of household plastic packaging waste. The new initiative is seen as the "next critical step" towards achieving flexible plastic recycling and full circularity.

The project will conduct comprehensive research to assess the scale of investment required to meet the 400,000-tonne flexible plastic recycling target, with a focus on recycling and reusing food contact packaging for the same purpose.

The project aims to drive recyclability and system-wide circularity, helping industry and policymakers clarify key issues, including: the demand for recycled flexible plastics in the UK from 2030 and whether supply can meet that demand; the types and capacities of recycling facilities—such as mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, or future technologies—that the UK may need to build; the investment requirements for related infrastructure; and the costs and risks of continuing to use virgin plastics, along with the policy and incentive mix needed to coordinate the value chain and support investment in UK recycling infrastructure.

Contributors to FlexCircular include a specially commissioned project team with members from Suez, CEFLEX, WRAP, and RECOUP, working in collaboration with the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the extended producer responsibility scheme administrator PackUK, the Welsh Government, and Zero Waste Scotland. The research findings are expected to be reported by the end of this year.

Gareth Morton, Discovery Manager at Ecosurety, said the team is delighted to build on the success of the FlexCollect project and continue working with industry experts to take flexible plastic recycling to the next level. FlexCircular aims to transform the proof of collection into an investable circular system. By understanding the UK's needs in terms of investment, infrastructure, and policy, the opportunity to scale up flexible plastic recycling can be maximized, creating benefits for industry, consumers, and the environment.

Richard Akkermans, European R&D Packaging Sustainability Manager at Mondelēz International, noted that the FlexCircular project is a critical moment for flexible packaging in the UK. Large-scale collection has been proven feasible, and the next opportunity is to close the loop by investing in matching recycling infrastructure. For the Flexible Plastic Fund, achieving circularity for food contact flexible plastics is not just an ambition but a necessity. The research aims to provide a roadmap that enables the value chain to invest confidently in the UK, delivering positive environmental outcomes for the future.

This development follows a warning from CEFLEX, which stated that EU member states must source an additional 440,000 tonnes of post-consumer recyclate from flexible polyolefins annually to meet the recycled content targets of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. CEFLEX believes the entire value chain must coordinate actions to develop packaging and non-packaging end markets, ensuring the sustained use of recycled materials rather than only when market conditions are favorable.

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste has also released a report outlining the technical and economic requirements for an advanced mechanical recycling plant with an annual capacity of 50,000 tonnes of flexible plastics, identifying the conditions needed for commercial scaling. The report is based on key learnings from the ValueFlex project, initiated in 2022 by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, CEFLEX, Roland Berger, and HTP Engineering.

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