On 16 September 2025, VALUE4PACK hosted the third and the last in its series of thematic Working Group Talks – this time zooming in on RECYCLE. Curious about the main insights and highlights? Keep reading to discover how partners are tackling one of the toughest challenges in sustainable packaging.

🔍 Understanding the Challenge

Through a cross-European stakeholder survey, three priority challenge areas were identified for recycling in the food packaging sector:

• Ensuring safe, high-quality recyclates – overcoming barriers in food-contact safety, decontamination, and mono-material design.
• Building efficient and transparent systems – from deposit return schemes (DRS) to extended producer responsibility (EPR), and digital traceability.
• Making recycling economically viable – narrowing cost gaps, securing offtake, and aligning policy incentives.

🤝 Collaborative Innovation in Action

The workshop gathered SMEs, brands, recyclers, clusters, policymakers, universities and researchers across Europe. Concrete innovations showcased included:

• Closed-loop PET in Latvia (ITERUM) enabling 100% rPET beverage bottles.
• Mono-material recycling (Nordic Plast, CleanR, SOFLEX) improving the quality of pellets and flexibles.
• Advanced decontamination technologies (Super PE, France) removing up to 95% of contaminants in PE/PP.
• High-performing DRS systems in Latvia, Finland, and Sweden achieving >90% return rates.
• AI-powered sorting upgrades and multilayer separation pilots.
• Long-term “PlastContracts” to stabilize prices and create market confidence in recycled materials.

🗣️ Beyond Technology: Driving Systemic Change

Participants stressed that recycling cannot rely on technology alone. Broader system shifts are needed, including:

• Harmonized regulations and eco-modulated fees across EU regions.
• Transparent consumer engagement through on-pack guidance and QR tools.
• Green public procurement and targeted incentives to bridge cost gaps.
• Stronger interregional collaboration, from DRS knowledge exchange to digital product passports.

🎯 What’s Next?

The RECYCLE session underscored the urgency of redesigning packaging portfolios around mono-materials, investing in sorting and decontamination capacity, and securing long-term offtake agreements.

Stay connected for updates on how we’ll act on the outcomes of this working group.

Together, we are proving that recycling is not just an end-of-life solution, but a cornerstone of Europe’s circular packaging future.