Two EU-backed projects tackling plastic waste on World Environment Day

On World Environment Day 2025, two European Innovation Council supported initiatives showcased different technical routes to reduce plastic pollution and extract value from materials currently deemed unrecyclable. EcoPlastiC, funded through the EIC Pathfinder and led by the Technological University of the Shannon in Ireland, pursues a hybrid mechanical, chemical and biological route to convert low-grade and mixed PET streams into polyhydroxyalkanoate biopolymers. OpenLOOP, coordinated by Slovenia's Institute of Environmental Protection and Sensors and backed by EIC Accelerator Blended Finance, focuses on chemical depolymerisation of PET and cellulose to yield high-purity industrial feedstocks such as regenerated terephthalic acid and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural. Both projects present promising lab and pilot results but face familiar barriers when moving from experimental demonstration to industrial reality.

Why these projects matter

Global plastic production exceeds 400 million tonnes per year and a very small share of historic plastic remains in circulation as recycled material. Mixed and multilayer packaging is particularly challenging for conventional mechanical recycling because of material heterogeneity and the presence of barrier layers, pigments and additives. The two projects aim to recover value from these difficult streams by producing either new bioplastic polymers or chemical feedstocks that can re-enter polymer manufacturing chains. If successful at scale these approaches could reduce demand for virgin fossil feedstocks and help close circularity gaps in European plastics value chains. That said, technical success in the laboratory does not automatically translate to economically viable industrial operations. Developers must resolve feedstock logistics, energy and chemical inputs, product standards, regulatory approval and market acceptance.

EcoPlastiC: an integrated bio-based conversion of low-grade PET

EcoPlastiC is a three-year Horizon Europe EIC Pathfinder project that started on 1 October 2022 and lists an EU contribution of about 3 million euros. The project teams combine mechanical, chemical and biological processing steps to convert low-grade PET and mixed recalcitrant plastic waste into high-performance biopolymers, principally PHA. The project describes a regenerative, zero-waste ambition in which post-use materials become perpetual feedstock for new polymers with unchanged or improved properties compared with fossil-derived counterparts. Its long-term aim includes expanding the process to multilayer packaging and flexible films which are usually uneconomic to recycle by standard methods.

OpenLOOP: chemical recycling aimed at industrial feedstocks

OpenLOOP is coordinated by the Institute of Environmental Protection and Sensors in Slovenia and supported by the EIC Accelerator Blended Finance instrument. The project targets chemical recycling of mixtures of PET and cellulose waste to produce reusable chemical building blocks that can be fed back into polymer production or into chemical value chains. OpenLOOP positions itself as a technology provider that will sell plants and licences once processes are matured and industrialised.

Explaining key terms and technologies

How the projects compare

Practical challenges that remain

Both research-led and commercial chemical recycling approaches face shared hurdles. Collecting and sorting heterogeneous waste streams at scale is costly and logistically complex. Pre-treatment to remove dyes, additives and barrier layers can add chemical or energy costs that affect life cycle emissions and unit economics. For bioconversion routes, maintaining high yields and polymer properties while avoiding contamination is non-trivial. For chemical routes, achieving consistent monomer purity and convincing downstream manufacturers to accept secondary feedstocks is a regulatory and commercial task. Finally, obtaining building and environmental permits can delay industrialisation timelines by years depending on national frameworks.

Policy and market context in the EU

The European Union has strengthened policy incentives for circular materials through regulations on packaging, recycled content targets and a roadmap towards a global treaty on plastic pollution. EIC funding helps reduce technology risk for early-stage and scaling ventures but companies still depend on market signals such as price parity with virgin materials, demand for recycled content from brand owners, and clarity around how chemically recycled outputs are counted under EU waste and product laws. Any transition requires co-ordination across waste collectors, recyclers, chemical and polymer producers, and regulators.

What to watch next

Key indicators to monitor for both projects include independent verification of reported purity and performance metrics, pilot plant commissioning and continuous operation data, signed commercial contracts or licences, capital commitments for industrial facilities, and regulatory approvals. For EcoPlastiC, demonstrations that PHA made from mixed PET can match the mechanical and thermal properties of targeted applications will matter. For OpenLOOP, proof that rTA and 5HMF can be used in industrial polymerisation processes at scale without contaminant-related failures will be decisive.

World Environment Day is a timely reminder of the scale of the plastics challenge and of the many parallel technical and policy efforts under way. Projects such as EcoPlastiC and OpenLOOP illustrate two distinct technical philosophies for recovering value from problematic waste streams. Both are worth watching but neither is a turnkey solution to the plastic crisis until they demonstrate robust industrial performance, transparent life cycle benefits, and commercially viable business models.

Disclaimer This article synthesises publicly available project materials and announcements. Statements of progress and purity were reported by project partners. Independent verification was not performed as part of this piece. The original project communications include standard EU disclaimers that project views do not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Commission.