Amcor-backed CRISP project unites industry leaders to enable circular recycling of PE and PP food packaging in Denmark.
A major step toward advancing sustainable food packaging in Denmark has been launched through a new collaborative recycling initiative supported by Amcor, a global provider of responsible packaging solutions. The three-year project, led by the Danish Technological Institute, brings together key players across the plastics value chain with the objective of enabling full-scale circular recycling of rigid food packaging made from polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) collected from Danish households.
Known as Circular Recycling Innovation for Sustainable Packaging (CRISP), the co-funded innovation partnership is designed to address one of the most pressing challenges in the packaging industry: how to safely and efficiently recycle food-grade plastic packaging back into high-quality materials suitable for reuse in new food contact applications. In addition to Amcor, the consortium includes leading food producers and waste management specialists, creating a broad-based collaboration that spans collection, sorting, recycling, and packaging design.
Within the project, Amcor contributes extensive technical and recycling expertise gained from its advanced CleanStream® mechanical recycling operations in Leamington Spa in the UK, alongside experience from its packaging production site in Randers, Denmark. By combining knowledge of packaging design with hands-on recycling capabilities, the company aims to support the development of closed-loop solutions where post-consumer plastics can be transformed into reliable, food-grade recycled materials.
The CRISP initiative arrives at a crucial moment for Europe’s sustainability agenda. The European Union has set ambitious targets requiring a 55% plastic recycling rate by 2030. Complementing this goal, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation mandates that most plastic packaging placed on the market by that year must be designed for recyclability, ensuring materials can be effectively reused or recycled. The Danish project is expected to directly support these regulatory objectives by demonstrating how compliant, scalable recycling systems can function in practice.
Industry collaboration is central to the project’s philosophy. According to Christian Bruno, R&D Director for North East Europe at Amcor, complex sustainability challenges cannot be solved by individual companies acting alone. By bringing the entire supply chain together, the CRISP partnership aims to showcase how coordinated action can deliver meaningful environmental benefits while also setting benchmarks that could be replicated internationally.
A key focus of the initiative is the development of robust traceability systems for food-contact materials within the recycling loop. Ensuring documented, transparent material flows is essential for building trust among regulators, brand owners, and consumers, and for enabling the production of recycled HDPE and PP (rHDPE and rPP) suitable for food packaging. Ultimately, the project seeks to establish a fully circular market for recycled food packaging plastics in Denmark.
The initiative also aligns closely with Denmark’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework, which requires producers to finance the management of packaging waste they introduce to the market. At the same time, the scheme rewards more sustainable packaging design choices, reinforcing the business case for circular solutions developed through the CRISP partnership.
From a technical standpoint, the project benefits from CleanStream® technology, which mechanically recycles household plastic waste into high-purity recycled polymers and can be integrated into existing waste management infrastructures. In the UK, the Leamington Spa facility already demonstrates the scalability of this approach, with the capacity to recycle nearly 40% of all polypropylene waste collected from domestic recycling streams.
Business Manager Per Sigaard Christensen of the Danish Technological Institute emphasized that the consortium’s combined expertise provides a strong foundation for success. Over the three-year period, the project is expected to deliver a clear and practical roadmap for achieving circular recycling of PE and PP food packaging, supporting both national sustainability ambitions and broader European circular economy goals.
