A project that aims to find new recycling methods for multilayer food packaging has been instigated by Spain’s AIMPLAS (Plastics Technology Centre).

RECIPAM, which is funded by the Valencian Innovation Agency (AVI), is targeting improved materials so that they can be incorporated into value-added applications.

The recyclability of multilayer structures has come under scrutiny in recent times and traditional ways of separating layers are technically challenging and expensive.

The project aims to develop new recycling processes to obtain polyamides (PA) from multilayer packaging waste for foodstuffs. A delamination process will be included to separate the PA, as well as a compatibilisation process to reprocess them with other plastics in order to obtain compounds of sufficient quality.

The goal is to create a multilayer packaging recycling chain by involving and collaborating with the entire value chain through the industrial implementation of the recycling processes developed, and following the validation of the technical performance and quality of the recycled PA by using them instead of virgin plastics in high value-added applications, including those involving food contact.