Project Barrier Design for Recyclability Guidelines for Plastic-Based Flexible Barrier Packaging

Overview:

Pioneer Project Barrier brought together stakeholders from the entire plastic value chain to identify a first set of design principles that help to minimise contamination and highlight areas of innovation and research to increase the value of PBFBP recyclates and the range of applications in which these can be used. It was led by Amcor and facilitated by The Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

The Pioneer Project Barrier guidelines provided an important first step in creating common design standards for flexible barrier packaging, but more work is needed in order to verify, finetune and test the guidelines.

The important next steps are being taken on by the CEFLEX initiative, to develop, test and refine the guidelines further as part of ongoing design for recyclability and circular economy for flexible packaging work.

CEFLEX’s ‘Designing for a Circular Economy’ guidelines build on Project Barrier incorporating additional input, consultation and research across the entire value chain. Phase 1 guidelines for polyolefin-based flexible packaging were published in June 2020. Phase 2 of the guidelines focuses on flexible packaging structures that are not currently widely sorted and/or recycled, and/or cannot yet be classified as being or not being designed for recycling and is supported by a program of independent testing.