The EU Horizon Europe project UPCYCLE has officially launched with a two-day kick-off meeting in Ghent, Belgium. Funded by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA) and coordinated by Aalborg University (Denmark), UPCYCLE brings together 19 partners from 12 countries to build new circular value chains that turn today’s hard-to-recycle plastic waste into highly recyclable, non-persistent packaging materials.

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Plastic pollution remains a systemic challenge. Global plastic production exceeds 460 million tonnes per year, yet only 9% is effectively recycled. Packaging is a major driver: it represents 40% of plastic demand and accounts for 60% of plastic waste in Europe. Much of it is used only once, and complex, multi-material or contaminated streams are especially difficult to recycle.

Building on the earlier H2020 project UPLIFT, UPCYCLE aims to accelerate innovation from research to demonstration scale. The project integrates Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design principles, AI-supported process intensification, advanced polymerisation strategies, and eco-design to enable packaging solutions that perform in use while remaining recyclable and environmentally responsible at end-of-life. Target applications include fresh-food flexible packaging, short-lived deli packaging, beverage bottles, and personal care packaging.

A key contributor is AIMPLAS (Plastics Technology Centre), which connects polymer innovation to packaging implementation. AIMPLAS will develop and scale new polyesters and copolyesters (including PEF, PBAF and PLA blends) and support pilot production through processes such as reactive extrusion, compounding, injection moulding and blow moulding. AIMPLAS also leads end-of-life assessment, including biodegradation modelling, compostability testing (industrial and home), environmental evaluation across soil, freshwater and marine settings, and multi-cycle mechanical recycling trials.

By 2029, UPCYCLE aims to deliver packaging materials that are highly recyclable, non-persistent, and—where appropriate—biodegradable, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% compared to today’s bioplastics. The project supports EU priorities such as the plastics strategy, the Single-Use Plastics Directive, and the Circular Economy Action Plan.

Find the original press release here.