PACKAGING | INNOVATION


IMAGE: CRISP


Rigid packaging recycling still has problems to solve


Technical and market challenges are continuing for those involved in creating circularity in rigid consumer packaging. Chris Saunders reports on initiatives trying to tackle the issues


Rigid polyolefins are inherently recyclable and can be easily integrated into existing mechanical recycling streams. However, it isn’t all plain sailing for polypropylene and polyethylene circularity. Closing the loop on post-consumer food packag- ing poses technical challenges for PP and HDPE containers as the purity standards are high if these materials are to be re-used in food-contact applica- tions. Contamination can be caused by residues of the packaged foods or drinks, ink from the printed pack, labels and their adhesives. Uncertainty about the future for circular rigid packaging emerges not just from these technical difficulties but also from supply and demand concerns. A recent report by Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) claims that large-scale recycling of PP and PE has largely stalled in Europe, with capacities plateauing as far back as 2023 when installed capacity for HDPE in the EU27+3 region reached 1.7m tonnes and PP reached 1.8m tonnes. These figures indicate a high level of stagnation com- pared to 2022, due to weaker demand amid a global oversupply, high inflation, increased energy


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costs, and competition from imports. The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) sets ambitious recycled content targets that would require an additional 2m tonnes of HDPE and PP recycling capacity by 2030 and a further 5.7m tonnes by 2040, but there are significant concerns about how achievable these targets are. To support further growth in EU recycling, PRE suggests a raft of actions geared towards establish- ing a more level playing field including limiting imported materials, adopting design-for-recycling guidelines, increasing collection rates, and deploy- ing advanced sorting technologies. “Key challeng- es, including insufficient collection, unregulated imports of plastic materials, and a lack of enforce- ment measures, continue to hinder the expansion of the recycling industry,” commented Herbert Snell, Chair of the PRE HDPE Working Group. But there continues to be commitment to


recycling in the rigid packaging value chain. Grane Maaløe, Sustainable Packaging Manager at Arla, the Danish-Swedish dairy products group, said: “For Arla, it is crucial to find packaging solutions


September 2025 | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD 11


Main image: The Crisp project, a new five-year Danish-led collaboration, aims to show that plastic from used food packaging waste can be sorted, purified and recycled into new food-grade packaging


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