The trial, part of the HolyGrail 2030 – Circular Packaging Consortium, will assess the technology on wrappers, films and other plastic food packaging collected through Belgium’s household recycling system.
Digital watermarking is being tested as a potential way of identifying whether packaging previously contained food, which could enable more targeted sorting streams and support the production of recycled material for food-grade applications.
A digital watermark is an imperceptible code applied across the surface of packaging during the printing process.
In the trial, Digimarc watermarks will be detected by specialist sorting equipment, with the technology able to identify characteristics including the material type and whether packaging has been used for food.
The project brings together brands, technology providers, packaging converters, sorting companies, recyclers and research institutes to assess the technology under real-world conditions.
Digital watermark trial
The trials are being led by Fost Plus, the organisation responsible for packaging waste recycling and reuse in Belgium.
Sorted bales of film collected through Belgium’s household recycling system will be sent to Hündgen Entsorgungs’ sorting centre in Germany.
There, high-resolution cameras supplied by machine manufacturer Pellenc ST will scan the material and read the digital watermarks.
The trial forms part of HolyGrail 2030, facilitated by AIM – European Brands Association. The consortium brings together around 79 companies and organisations to investigate intelligent sorting and new recycling technologies.
Richard Akkermans, European R&D Packaging Productivity and Sustainability Manager at Mondelēz International, said: “HolyGrail 2030 is a pivotal, cross-industry initiative for better sorting and recycling of flexible packaging in the EU.
“Achieving circularity for food-contact flexible plastics isn’t just an ambition, it’s a necessity.
“In order to be ready for the ambitious recycled content targets in the upcoming EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, this market demonstration aims to provide the real-life technical learning that the value chain needs in order to increase the availability, compatibility and affordability of recycled plastic coming from new technologies.”
Food-grade recycling
Flexible food packaging remains difficult to recycle into high-quality and food-grade applications, partly because of the challenges involved in accurately identifying and sorting the material.
Food-grade recycling also requires appropriate recycling and decontamination processes, with accurate sorting forming one part of the wider process.
Liz Morrish, CEFLEX Leadership Team – Operations Director, added: “Food-contact recycled content is where the industry has some of the biggest challenges and the least time.
“This trial moves testing from evidence-gathering into commercial reality, which is exactly what bridging the gap between ambition and the 2030 targets requires.”
The trial comes ahead of new requirements under the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which will introduce recycled content requirements for certain plastic food packaging categories from 2030.
These include a minimum 10% recycled content requirement for some contact-sensitive packaging applications.
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