Packaging leaders back new EU food-grade recycled plastic material
Key takeaways
- Prevented Ocean Plastic introduces the first EU-approved food-safe rPP, sourced from collected cups in Indonesia.
- Backed by Innovia Films, Spectra Packaging, and Berry Global, the initiative supports large-scale use of rPP across food, drink, personal care, and household packaging.
- Using Starlinger Viscotec technology and Circulate Capital support, the model prevents waste and establishes scalable solutions for hard-to-recycle plastics.
The Prevented Ocean Plastic (POP) material has been announced as the first PP recycled solution that meets EU food-safe standards. The input material recycled into POP includes PP cups collected in East Borneo, Indonesia, at a collaboration center set up alongside Danone.
Innovia Films, a division of CCL Industries, Spectra Packaging, Bantam Materials UK, and PETman, support the Prevented Ocean Plastic initiative. The Prevented Ocean Plastic brand used Starlinger Viscotec’s technology and financing from Circulate Capital.
The initiative already supplies “major manufacturing partners,” including Groupe Guillin, Spectra Packaging, and Berry Global, for offerings across multiple product categories, including food and drink, personal care, pet products, and home cleaning.”
Raffi Schieir, founder at Prevented Ocean Plastic, says: “This world-first is a monumental moment for ocean plastic prevention. This further proves that the Prevented Ocean Plastic franchise model can solve plastic collection problems at scale and with dignity.”
“My hope is that we can grow this model in every at-risk coastal community, so all types of plastic are seen as valuable, and nothing discarded gets left behind. A huge thank you to every stakeholder for their effort and science-based testing over the years to help solve this problem.”
PP is one of the most commonly used yet least recycled plastics globally. Prevented Ocean Plastic aims to recycle PP at scale to divert plastic from landfills and oceans, and turn it into high-quality food-safe packaging for consumer use in accordance with the European food-safe standard (EU 2022/1616).
Market adoption
Innovia is an early adopter of POP PP and will produce biaxially-oriented PP flexible films.
Spectra will be blow molding and injection molding bottles and caps, as well as applications, such as trays for fruit, vegetables, and protein.
Neil Hudson, technology expert for Recycling and Sustainability at Innovia Films, a division of CCL Industries, says: “For Innovia a source of EU food contact approved PP from a mechanically recovered post-consumer source is a game changer.”
“We can now make films for label and flexible packaging in the F&B space and contribute to circularity and sustainability. A great team of people has contributed to the process and has accelerated this mechanically recovered post-consumer PP to the eagerly awaited EU food contact rPP.”
Prevented Ocean Plastic’s for-profit mode is financially supported by five separate institutions. It has the capacity to sort and customize input feedstock for high-quality recycling.
Dondi Hananto, associate partner Southeast Asia and Head of Indonesia at Circulate Capital, adds: “We’re proud to support an ecosystem that brings collectors, recyclers, and brands together to tackle even hard-to-recycle plastics like PP. Starting in Indonesia, this milestone shows how collaboration can drive systemic change across global supply chains.”
