USABLE Packaging - Unlocking the potential of sustainable biodegradable packaging

Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 836884.

About 

USABLE PACKAGING will develop high performance plastic packaging through a sustainable and fully circular value chain, where the biomass raw material sourcing derives from food processing side streams, to obtain, via a low footprint biochemical processing, bio-based biodegradable building block materials that will enable the realisation of:

  • complex packaging structures, including laminates and multilayer films, to match key functional requirements of commercial petrochemical plastics, such as gas/ liquid barrier properties, mechanical resistance, cold temperature resistance, hot tack, among others
  • a full set of packaging items from rigid to semi rigid and flexible by tuning the functionalisation of base resins through bio-synthesis and the compound processing.

The USABLE PACKAGING concept is designed to retrofit the existing state-of-the-art packaging processing technology by controlling the chemical and physical properties of the base building blocks materials. Unlike its petrochemical peers, USABLE PACKAGING offers a sustainable end-of-life solution, since, on one hand, materials are biodegradable with no harm to the environment, and on the other hand they have potential to deliver additional economic value through:

  • organic recycling for the production of biogas, with the same consolidated disposal route as bio-waste, or
  • biotech recycling, to be used again as feedstock for the production of the same base resins for USABLE Packaging, basically closing again and again the same value chain to re-obtain virgin materials.

Duration

1 June 2019 - 31 May 2022

DICAM Project Responsible

Annamaria Celli

Coordinator

AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DEINVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS, Spain

Participants

  • TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET WIEN, Austria
  • BIO BASE EUROPE PILOT PLANT VZW, Belgium
  • FUNDACION GAIKER, Spain
  • ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITÀ DI BOLOGNA, Italy
  • UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI ROMA LA SAPIENZA, Italy
  • UNIVERSITE DE MONTPELLIER, France
  • NUOVA OMPI SRL, Italy
  • INNOVEN SRL, Italy
  • BIOINICIA SL, Spain
  • INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE POUR L'AGRICULTURE, L'ALIMENTATION ET L'ENVIRONNEMENT, France
  • INNOEXC GMBH, Switzerland
  • BARILLA G. E R. FRATELLI SPA, Italy
  • BIO-BASED AND BIODEGRADABLE INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION (BBIA) LTD, United Kingdom
  • GEOPONIKO PANEPISTIMION ATHINON, Greece
  • SONAE MC - SERVICOS PARTILHADOS, SA, Portugal
  • UNIVERSIDAD DE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain
  • SABIO S.R.L., Italy
  • PUBLI EMBAL, France
  • NOVA ID FCT - ASSOCIACAO PARA A INOVACAO E DESENVOLVIMENTO DA FCT, Portugal
  • EURAMATERIALS, France
  • MATIKEM, France
  • BIO-MI DRUSTVO S OGRANICENOM ODGOVORNOSCU ZA PROIZVODNJU, ISTRAZIVANJEI RAZVOJ, Croatia
  • OROGEL SOCIETA COOPERATIVA AGRICOLA, Italy
  • COOPERATIVE AGRICOLE VITI-FRUTTICOLTORI ITALIANI RIUNITI ORGANIZZATI, Italy
  • POZNANSKA HODOWLA ROSLIN SPOLKA Z OGRANICZONA ODPOWIEDZIALNOSCIA, Poland
  • KORUMA KLOR ALKALI SANAYI VE TICARET ANONIM SIRKETI, Turkey

EU contribution

Euro 4 813 045

Website

https://www.usable-packaging.eu/