TotalEnergies has joined NextLoopp, an initiative bringing together 48 companies from the plastics value chain that aims to create food-grade recycled polymer from advanced mechanical recycling.
Launched in October 2020 by Nextek, NextLoopp is a global multi-participant and award-winning project with the objective to produce high-quality recycled polypropylene (PP) that is suitable for food-grade applications and made from post-consumer packaging material.
The project deploys pioneering technology to efficiently and cost-effectively sort food-grade PP from post-consumer material, and then decontaminate the polymer to comply with stringent food-grade standards.
“The whole of the NextLoopp project is strengthened by TotalEnergies’ adding to the programme their extensive technical capabilities in creating circular solutions for PP resins,” said Edward Kosior, founder and CEO of Nextek.
“They contribute to the growing body of expertise in controlling the properties and formulation of their range of both virgin and recycled PP for a myriad of applications.”
NextLoopp has recently completed a landmark study of background contamination of post-consumer PP packaging for its submissions to food safety authorities in Europe, the US and the UK.
TotalEnergies is committed to the development of a circular economy for plastics and to meet the growing customer demand for high-quality recycled polymers.
In that context, TotalEnergies will leverage this technological partnership to accelerate the feasibility review of advanced mechanical recycling projects targeting food contact, and further expand its recently launched RE:use polymers range, which contain mechanically recycled raw materials.
“We are delighted to join and support the NextLoopp project, alongside other major industry players,” said Nathalie Brunelle, vice-president polymers at TotalEnergies.
“This initiative will allow us to go one step further in developing technologies to produce food-grade recycled material from advanced mechanical recycling, and broaden our options for projects that contribute to our ambition to produce 30 per cent circular polymers by 2030.”
Kosior told PKN that talks are underway with interested parties, which could see the roll-out of NextLoopp in Australia in the near future. More to come.
