In this first phase of the project, R3PACK has been laying the groundwork for the forthcoming demonstration phases. However, some substantial achievements were reached during this first period.
Aarhus and CNR carried out studies to get a better understanding of the consumers’ perception of reuse and substitution of plastic with fiber-based alternatives, focusing on the tipping points needed for a reusable packaging solution to be adopted by the vast majority and on the drivers for consumer adoption. The studies’ outcomes set the base of consumer behaviour, and thus of R3PACK’s future marketing campaigns. Innovhub and Polimi conducted 10 LCAs on existing packaging used by the industrial partners involved in R3PACK, for products which are targeted by the project. Their purpose is to proceed with a comparative analysis with the new alternative packaging, to ensure an environmental gain.
Substitution
Laboratories, technical centers, and solution providers are working on new materials and their combination to reach equivalent levels of barriers than the current plastic solution with fiber-based alternatives. Four promising pilots on 2D and 3D formats are currently between the lab and the industrial trial phases. These pilots have the potential to reach high OTR, WVTR, COBB and to fit the needs of a large array of products, ranging from salads to yoghurts and savory biscuits …
Finally, some successful industrial trials have been carried out with already commercialized fiber-based solutions to pave the way for our new solutions and anticipate potential issues.
Reuse
A cutting-edge mathematical model designed to optimize the logistic network of a circular supply chain has been developed specifically for R3PACK It works on balancing economic and environmental benefits, by optimizing the distance between the industrial factories, the washing centers, and the sorting factories for instance. The Coordinator has also managed to align industrial partners into mutualizing packaging solutions between different products. For instance, a bucket of different sizes will be used at the same time for crisps, savory snacks and sweet biscuits. Finally, R3PACK has developed an audit grid to monitor washing practices for industrial reuse, as there is currently no grid at the national or European scale, and a food safety protocol has been established to assess the performance of all kinds of primary packaging (resistance, and hypothetical migrations from the packaging into the food) in the context of industrial reuse. Hygiene and safety are one of the biggest concerns for the consumer, and a scandal regarding the washing of reusable packaging would be a massive blow for industrial reuse, potentially nipping in the bud all future development of reuse schemes at the European scale.
