The project brings together packaging producers, food manufacturers and waste management companies. Amcor contributes recycling and technical expertise from its CleanStream recycling facility in Leamington Spa, United Kingdom, as well as from its packaging production site in Randers, Denmark. This includes experience in the design and manufacture of food packaging using recycled materials.
CRISP addresses regulatory and market requirements linked to European recycling targets. The European Union aims for a plastic packaging recycling rate of 55% by 2030. In addition, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation requires that most plastic packaging placed on the market by 2030 is designed for recyclability, enabling effective reuse or recycling.
Within this framework, the partnership focuses on developing processes for producing food-grade recycled materials from post-consumer sources. Key aspects include system-wide collaboration across the value chain and documented traceability of food contact materials throughout the recycling loop. The objective is to support the establishment of a circular market for recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE) and recycled polypropylene (rPP) food packaging in Denmark.
The project also aligns with Denmark’s Extended Producer Responsibility scheme, under which producers finance the management of packaging waste and are incentivised to improve packaging design and material choices.
Amcor’s CleanStream technology uses mechanical recycling to process household plastic waste into high-purity recycled polymers and is designed to integrate into existing waste management infrastructures. The Leamington Spa facility has the capacity to recycle close to 40% of the polypropylene waste collected from household recycling streams in the United Kingdom.
CRISP is intended to provide practical insights into scaling circular recycling systems for food packaging and to support compliance with current and upcoming European packaging regulations.
