Periodic Reporting for period 1 - STOPP (Strategies to prevent and reduce plastic packaging pollution from the food system)
Période du rapport: 2024-01-01 au 2025-06-30
The overall aim of STOPP is to STOP ways of operating that lead to environmental pollution, use of unsustainable virgin fossil resources, excess use of resources, insufficient use of products, high levels of generated plastic waste, incineration and landfilling, and contribute to climate change. We aim to Produce strategies for food plastic packaging circularity within the categories of Refuse, Reduce, Redesign, Reuse and Recycle. We target to support sustainable and circular use of plastic food packaging and decrease the amount of generated plastic food packaging waste while reducing the environmental impact. This is achieved through the development and implementation of several circular strategies together with an extensive network of plastics packaging value chain actors and stakeholder types as well as citizens and consumers. Wider impact is created through the novel approaches and the ReUse and Recycling Use Cases, which are further catalysed via the STOPP Multi-actor Community.
The project investigates the impact of post-consumer plastic food packaging (PFP) waste collection, sorting, decontamination, and recycling methods for contact-sensitive applications, focusing on rigid polypropylene (PP), which lacks a recycling standard for such uses. A precise sampling method was developed using plastic waste from Finland and Germany to assess how regional collection systems affect recycled plastic quality. Dry compost from these regions and Slovenia was analysed for microplastic contamination. A state-of-the-art review examined the ecological effects of PFP litter.
A methodology for analysing non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was established to evaluate the impact of packaging decorations and the effectiveness of current waste handling techniques. The role of bioplastics and smart packaging in sorting and recycling efficiency was tested in lab-scale scenarios.
Reuse in food packaging is being explored through material safety, consumer behaviour, business models, digitalisation, and convenience. An accelerated ageing method was developed to simulate reuse cycles and assess risks. Polyolefins and polyesters were studied for durability using wear, scratch, and washing degradation tests.
Reuse potential and barriers are being assessed in Finland (no current reuse market), France, and Switzerland (established/emerging markets). Pilots include zero-waste pizza delivery in Finland, with retailer pilots pending. Pilots in France and Switzerland are planned for 2026. A review of digitalisation technologies was conducted, with further pilot testing to follow.
A comprehensive analysis of circular business models identified innovation mechanisms and barriers, proposing system change interventions. Future scenarios were developed and validated through stakeholder workshops. Interviews with 40 stakeholders across Europe informed a quantity-quality match model to align recyclate supply and demand, assessing desirability, feasibility, and viability.
In monomaterial development, film processing and bi-axial stretching parameters were studied for their effect on oxygen permeability in PP, aiming to raise the technological readiness level (TRL) of recyclable monomaterial packaging from 2 to 4.
The STOPP Multi-Actor Community (MAC) was launched to foster stakeholder collaboration, with 112 of 150 targeted members registered by Month 16. An Adaptation Readiness Level Self-Assessment tool was created to help stakeholders evaluate their preparedness for sustainable practices. A preliminary LCA model (ISO 14040/44) was developed to compare industrial washing systems, alongside a system dynamics model for life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) of the STOPP project.
A large-scale study of 5,760 participants across four European countries explored the cognitive, affective, and social meanings of reuse and recycling. An online experiment was partially implemented to test how different information delivery strategies influence consumer choices between recyclable/reusable and single-use packaging.
A methodology for analysing non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was established to evaluate the impact of packaging decorations and the effectiveness of current waste handling techniques. The role of bioplastics and smart packaging in sorting and recycling efficiency was tested in lab-scale scenarios.
Reuse in food packaging is being explored through material safety, consumer behaviour, business models, digitalisation, and convenience. An accelerated ageing method was developed to simulate reuse cycles and assess risks. Polyolefins and polyesters were studied for durability using wear, scratch, and washing degradation tests.
Reuse potential and barriers are being assessed in Finland (no current reuse market), France, and Switzerland (established/emerging markets). Pilots include zero-waste pizza delivery in Finland, with retailer pilots pending. Pilots in France and Switzerland are planned for 2026. A review of digitalisation technologies was conducted, with further pilot testing to follow.
A comprehensive analysis of circular business models identified innovation mechanisms and barriers, proposing system change interventions. Future scenarios were developed and validated through stakeholder workshops. Interviews with 40 stakeholders across Europe informed a quantity-quality match model to align recyclate supply and demand, assessing desirability, feasibility, and viability.
In monomaterial development, film processing and bi-axial stretching parameters were studied for their effect on oxygen permeability in PP, aiming to raise the technological readiness level (TRL) of recyclable monomaterial packaging from 2 to 4.
The STOPP Multi-Actor Community (MAC) was launched to foster stakeholder collaboration, with 112 of 150 targeted members registered by Month 16. An Adaptation Readiness Level Self-Assessment tool was created to help stakeholders evaluate their preparedness for sustainable practices. A preliminary LCA model (ISO 14040/44) was developed to compare industrial washing systems, alongside a system dynamics model for life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) of the STOPP project.
A large-scale study of 5,760 participants across four European countries explored the cognitive, affective, and social meanings of reuse and recycling. An online experiment was partially implemented to test how different information delivery strategies influence consumer choices between recyclable/reusable and single-use packaging.
During the first reporting period, the STOPP consortium provided an overview of the plastic food packaging landscape and synthesised the current state of the art related to recycled and reusable plastic food packaging (D3.1); detailed circular business models for plastic packaging, highlighted current barriers and limitations of circular solutions, and identified systems change interventions enabling the development and implementation of reuse and recycling systems with a future-oriented approach (D3.2); provided new insights into the needs, perceived risks, incentives, and motivations of representative stakeholders to transition to more circular and sustainable solutions for plastic food packaging, and developed a Quality-Quantity Match Model to align alternative materials (recyclates) with produced volumes and their suitability for different food packaging solutions (D3.3); analyzed how different plastic food packaging strategies influence waste and litter generation and offered insights into mitigation approaches (D2.1); and examined the meanings attributed by European consumers to four plastic packaging disposal behaviours—general trash, recycling, reuse, and littering—across three food consumption situations (D6.1). To facilitate the transition, several levers should be activated, including process innovation, business model innovation, data and technology, regulation, legislation, fiscal incentives, funding and research, innovative partnerships, awareness raising, and environmental assessment (D3.3). These levers will help overcome barriers and drive the adoption of circular practices in food packaging.