Alpla + NTCP: Pilot Project for Food-Grade HDPE Recycling – Testing of Solvent-Based Process in the Netherlands

Recycling specialist Alpla is launching a pilot project together with the research institute NTCP for the production of food-grade HDPE recycled material – (Image: Alpla).

Alpla and the independent technology institute NTCP have launched a four-year innovation project in Heerenveen (Netherlands) aimed at developing an industrially viable recycling process for food-grade high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The initiative is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth and seeks to provide a scalable solution for recycled HDPE intended for food-contact applications in time for the introduction of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) in 2030.

Goal: Food-Grade rHDPE at Industrial Scale
The background of the project is the EU requirement applying from 2030 onward, which mandates that packaging must contain a defined minimum share of recycled material. To date, no approved process exists in the EU for producing food-grade HDPE recyclate. Alpla and NTCP aim to close this gap using a patented, solvent-based technology that thoroughly cleans and processes post-consumer HDPE.

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Following successful laboratory phases, the process is now being tested under real-world conditions at a pilot plant operated by NTCP. The objective is to enable timely submission and approval by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Pilot Operation as the Basis for Industrial Scaling
For this project, Alpla has established its own recycling company in the Netherlands. The pilot plant is intended to generate reliable data for process optimization, quality assurance, and future industrial implementation. Alpla’s recycling business already operates 14 PET and HDPE recycling sites worldwide, with a combined current and planned capacity of 400,000 tonnes per year.

Contribution to the Circular Economy
The project partners see the process as a potential milestone for the European plastics circular economy.

Alpla emphasizes the technological progress and the possibility of supplying HDPE recyclates for food packaging in the FMCG sector in the future.

NTCP highlights the importance of new technologies to close the plastics value chain and reduce waste volumes.

The funded pilot project is thus expected to make a key contribution to developing market-ready solutions for high-quality plastics recycling within the EU.

More information: www.alpla.com, ntcp.nl

Alpla Werke Alwin Lehner GmbH & Co KG, Hard, Austria + Nationaal Testcentrum Circulaire Plastics, Heerenveen, Netherlands

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