Wednesday, 02 March 2022
Research into new sustainable ways to decontaminate plastic packaging for recycling has been given a boost with funding from UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge.
The University of Nottingham project is part of £30 million in funding awarded today to 18 groundbreaking collaborative projects that support the achievement of the UK Plastics Pact and have the potential to alter the UK’s relationship with, and management of, plastic packaging.
The SSPP Challenge represents the largest Government investment into sustainable plastic packaging and waste management, and the results of the two funding competitions announced today leading to 5 large-scale demonstrator projects and 13 business-led research and development projects benefit from this backing.
Each has demonstrated its value in addressing the need to transform the UK’s retail and packaging supply chains and support the development of more sustainable approaches to plastic packaging use through a range of circular economy business models, novel polymer materials and new recycling technologies.
The University of Nottingham’s School of Chemistry is part of the COtoCLEAN multi-partner project led by NexTek Ltdthat is developing a disruptive waterless, non-toxic cleaning process for polyolefin films that are commonly used for packaging edible and non-edible goods. The process is based on using low-pressure super-critical CO2 (scCO2) combined with green co-solvents to remove oils, fats and printing inks.
Professor Steve Howdle, Head of School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham is leading the research that is being undertaken in collaboration with Unilever, Amcor, Viridor, Allied Bakeries, SUPREX and Bangor University.
Plastic film waste is one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges as these materials are some of the most difficult plastics to recycle yet are produced and used in huge quantities each year. Using Nottingham’s expertise in supercritical carbon dioxide, the COTooCLEAN project aims to deliver a revolutionary commercial process that can efficiently and sustainably decontaminate post-consumer plastic film with the aim to get them back to food grade status so that they might be recycled.
Professor Edward Kosior, founder of Nextek Ltd, concurs, saying: “To date post consumer polyolefin films are missing from the recycling stream as there has been no effective decontamination technology to turn them back into food-grade films. COtooCLEAN’s purpose is to fill this gap with a unique commercial process that can be integrated into mechanical recycling operations. This innovative process targets high-quality film applications to ensure that recycling targets can be met.”
The other projects cover a range of innovative concepts to improve plastic packaging sustainability and support greater recycling, from novel separation and sorting to RFID and AI technologies to trace reusable food-grade plastic packaging, and new recycling-friendly coatings and barrier materials.
The key to the design and development of this funding competition, along with fostering cross-supply chain collaboration, is to encourage and support ambition at a scale that matches the size of the plastic packaging problem. If successful, these projects have the potential to rewrite the relationship we all have with plastic packaging.
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More information on the is available from Professor Steve Howdle on Steve.Howdle@nottingham.ac.uk
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About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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