Food-grade Recycled Polymers
TotalEnergies joins NEXTLOOPP to accelerate the development of food-grade recycled polymers
The goal of the NEXTLOOPP initiative, which unites 47 companies from the plastics value chain, is to produce food-grade recycled polymer through advanced mechanical recycling. TotalEnergies has joined this initiative.
NEXTLOOPP, an international multi-participant initiative that has won awards, was introduced by Nextek Ltd. in October 2020 with the aim of producing high-quality recycled polypropylene that is created from post-consumer packaging waste and suited for food-grade applications.
The initiative uses cutting-edge technology to sort food-grade polypropylene (PP) from post-consumer waste rapidly and economically. The polymer is then decontaminated to meet strict food-grade requirements.
NEXTLOOPP has recently completed a landmark study of background contamination of post-consumer PP packaging for its submissions to food safety authorities in Europe (EFSA), in the United States (USFDA) and in the United Kingdom (UK FSA).
TotalEnergies is committed to the development of a circular economy for plastics and to meet the growing customer demand for high-quality recycled polymers.
In that context, TotalEnergies will leverage this technological partnership to accelerate the feasibility review of advanced mechanical recycling projects targeting food contact and fur-ther expand its recently launched RE:use polymers range which contain mechanically recy-cled raw materials.
“We are delighted to join and support the NEXTLOOPP project, alongside other major industry players,” said Nathalie Brunelle, Senior Vice President Polymers at TotalEnergies.
“This initiative will allow us to go one step further in developing technologies to produce food-grade recycled material from advanced mechanical recycling and broaden our options for projects that contribute to our ambition to produce 30% circular polymers by 2030.”
Professor Edward Kosior, founder and CEO of Nextek Ltd and NEXTLOOPP says: “The whole of the NEXTLOOPP project is strengthened by TotalEnergies’ adding to the programme their extensive technical capabilities in creating circular solutions for PP resins. They contribute to the growing body of expertise in controlling the properties and formulation of their range of both virgin and recycled PP for a myriad of applications.”
