The IOM3 Circular Economy Award has been won by a recycling technology designed for plastic film

• Nextek, a plastic recycling consultancy, has been awarded the IOM3’s Circular Economy Award for its COtooCLEAN technology.
• This innovative process uses supercritical carbon dioxide (ScCO₂) to clean and decontaminate post-consumer polyolefin films to food-grade status, increasing the circularity of food-grade films.
• The ScCO₂ solvent selectively removes contaminants, including oils, inks, adhesives, labels, and chemical contamination, while recycling the non-toxic solvent and separating the residues.
• Partners for the COtooCLEAN project include Viridor Ltd, Unilever, Allied Bakeries, Amcor, the University of Nottingham’s School of Chemistry, the Biocomposites Centre at Bangor University, and Suprex.
• The technology has the potential to provide true circularity for food-grade plastic film packaging when scaled up.

Learn more: Interplasinsights.com