Million dollar investment to ensure increased recycling, better reuse and less use of plastic
The Green Platform project Re3-Plast: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, which has been awarded NOK 67 million, will develop and demonstrate circular solutions for plastic packaging for food, thus laying the foundation for a more sustainable and competitive business sector.
“We are really proud to lead this comprehensive collaborative project, which will contribute to reduced plastic consumption and green transition. To succeed, we have gathered 18 key players from the value chains for food, packaging, reuse and recycling. We will cover the entire development process from idea to finished product,” says Bente Torstensen, CEO of Nofima.
Nofima is in charge of the project. The owner of the project is Nortura.
Major societal and business benefits
Nofima Senior Scientist Marit Kvalvåg Pettersen has been responsible for the application and will be the project manager.
“We will focus on developing well-functioning recycling solutions and mechanical recycling. Another important ambition is to reduce the use of materials so that the consumption of virgin plastic goes down,” says Nofima Senior Scientist Marit Kvalvåg Pettersen
Lower material use and technology development in recycling will reduce the use of plastic by a minimum of 42,000 tonnes. These savings result in a direct reduction in the CO₂ footprint of approximately 50,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents. In addition, the technology being developed will contribute to increased recycling and use of recycled packaging from other players. This will result in a reduction of at least 133,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents. Value creation from the project is estimated at more than NOK 2.1 billion.
Relevant societal benefits will be:
- Less plastic waste is sent for incineration or abroad, and reduced amounts of plastic raw materials are imported
- The quality and shelf life of Norwegian food products is ensured
- New technology is being developed with the possibility of use in other industries that have or will be required to increase the recycling and use of recycled plastic material
- A minimum of 400 new Norwegian jobs and maintenance of Norwegian food production.
Reduce plastic use
There are commercially available recyclable solutions for food packaging, but these are not suitable for all current purposes or adapted to today’s packaging machines. This can result in poorer protection and durability.
“We must always have several thoughts in mind at the same time when we develop new packaging concepts with reduced plastic consumption. We will work with recyclable materials, pack sizes and thinner materials. At the same time, we must bear in mind that the most important function of food packaging is to protect the food and ensure the desired shelf life. The new solutions cannot result in increased food waste, and they must be accepted by consumers. This part of the project will be of great importance to the food producers, because it will provide several savings due to reduced plastic use,” explains Marit Kvalvåg Pettersen.
Nofima is leading this work, which will also require the development of packaging machines. In addition, solutions must take into account consumer expectations and wishes. The food producers involved in the project will test and adapt the new solutions on an industrial scale, in collaboration with R&D partners and packaging suppliers.
– Nortura has an ambitious sustainability strategy where reducing plastic use and optimal value chain for plastics is an important area. Nortura therefore chose to take responsibility as project owner and is very pleased that Nofima is taking responsibility for project management. We look forward to future solutions for the benefit of the environment, says Per Berg, Director of R&D and Innovation in Nortura.
About Green Platform
The Green Platform Initiative is an initiative that provides support for research- and innovation-driven green restructuring in the business sector. The initiative is funded by the Research Council of Norway, Innovation Norway and SIVA. Nine new research and innovation projects will receive a total of NOK 573 million through the Green Platform Initiative, to develop climate- and environment-friendly solutions for the business sector.
About the partners
Re3-Plast has a strong consortium representing the packaging value chain through the largest food producers in Norway, packaging manufacturers, technology suppliers for packaging, labelling and sorting, the recycling company that will build new national infrastructure for fine sorting of plastic packaging and the leading R&D partners in the relevant disciplines.
The following 18 partners are: Nortura, Tine, Salmar, Orkla Confectionary & Snacks Norway AS, Tomra, Bewi, MCC, Südpack, Multivac, ROAF, Plastretur, Grønt Punkt Norway, Emballasjeforeningen, Nofima, Norner Research, SINTEF, NORSUS and Future Materials. The project owner is Nortura and the project will be led by Nofima.
