Offering technological solutions to increase the quality and rate of recycled multilayer packaging waste is the objective of the Merlin project (2021-2024), coordinated by the Itene technology center and that brings together 14 European partners to work together in the development of disruptive processes for classification, delamination and recycling of multilayer plastic packaging rigid and flexible with a model of circular economy.
The consortium that will develop this project, funded by the Horizon 2020 program, includes technology companies, recyclers, research centers, experts in social innovation and end users. All of them have started this July to design recycling solutions for multilayer plastic packaging waste, both rigid and flexible, from post-consumer and post-industrial sources, in order to obtain new high-value-added packaging applications (packaging flexible and rigid) for the food packaging.
Merlin solutions will be applied gradually, starting with the classification process, which will be carried out by combining optical sensors, artificial intelligence and robotics. Subsequently, both optimized depolymerization routes and solvent-based processes will be used for the delamination process. Finally, work will be done on recycling techniques for the repolymerization and upcycling of polymers and the validation, through the development of rigid and flexible packaging solutions and the demonstration of the circularity of the recovery processes. These solutions will be further developed and tested in a real environment.
Thanks to the developments of the Merlin project, it is expected to recover and recycle more than 3 million tons of multilayer packaging waste in Europe per year, which will lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on imported fuels. fossils. Likewise, this initiative will contribute to comply with the European requirements in terms of circular economy established in the European Plastics Strategy, the Circular Plastics Alliance, the European Green Deal (Green Deal) and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The project started on June 1, 2021 and the consortium held an online launch meeting on July 1. During the meeting, the partners presented their entities, the team involved and the specific activities that each of them will carry out.
