EU backs SupercleanQ food plastics project

Europe – A three-year project called SupercleanQ, aimed at increasing the recyclability of plastics for food contact applications, has received EU funding worth Euro 1.9 million.

SupercleanQ brings together 12 partners, including Aliplast in Italy, Extricom in Germany and the British Plastics Federation, in a consortium that is committing a total of Euro 2.4 million to the project.

The goal is to develop a consistent, reliable process for recycling coloured and laminated PET, 700 000 tonnes of which is produced each year, into food-grade material. This is not possible with current PET reprocessing technology.

Researchers hope that high-level protocols and in-line monitoring systems underpinning the SupercleanQ process should enable potential contaminants such as oxo-degradable additives, biodegradable plastics and bisphenol A to be separated out, providing quality assurance for converters and end-users and expanding PET’s recycling potential.