Recently, the EU's "Horizon Europe" funded project BioPackMan was established. It is led by the National Technical University of Athens and jointly carried out by 20 institutions. It has received funding of 9.5 million euros and has a research and development cycle of 4 years. The goal is to develop high-performance bio-based packaging solutions that can replace fossil plastics.
The project focuses on packaging in the fields of food, cosmetics, detergents, etc., focusing on the "high performance + short life + difficult to recycle" pain points of plastics. It hopes to use bio-based and biodegradable materials to cover the entire cycle of "production-use-recycling-composting" to achieve a true circular economy: first bio-based carbon reduction, then multiple recycling to extend life, and finally compost disposal.
The core materials are two biodegradable polymers: PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) produced by fermentation by Bioplastech in Ireland, and PLA (polylactic acid) supplied by Futerro in Belgium. The performance of the two alone is insufficient, and they need to be compounded with additives and blended and modified to approach the flexibility, rigidity, barrier, chemical resistance and other properties of traditional plastics.
This solution is mainly used to replace disposable or short-lived plastic packaging such as food packaging films, semi-rigid packaging, shampoo/cosmetic bottles, detergent bottles, etc. to avoid "sacrifice of performance for environmental protection." The project team emphasized that packaging waste accounts for the majority of plastic waste and the recycling rate is low. The fundamental solution is "prevention + reduction", and use bio-based recyclable/compostable materials when necessary, rather than unlimited expansion of fossil plastics.
