RE-ASSIGN

As part of the European Green Deal and its objective of a climate neutral Europe in 2050, the transition to a circular plastics economy constitutes a major challenge for a large number of companies. At European level, the use of recycled plastics in finished products is becoming increasingly necessary given the “Circular Plastics Alliance” initiative, the new regulation on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR) and the tax on plastics. The regions of the cross-border territory have also taken clear steps towards an obligation in terms of recycled content. In this context, the cross-border RE-ASSIGN project (REcycling plAStics deSIGN) aims to support companies in the France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen Interreg zone in their transition to a circular economy through the development of plastic products incorporating recycled materials (Design from recycling) from post-consumer or pre-consumer streams. The partnership will bring together skills, expertise and complementary resources from five applied research partners - Certech, CTP, Centexbel, CREPIM and IMT Nord Europe - and seven associated partners - essenscia PolyMatters, Plastiwin, Plastium, Team2, OVAM, Valipac and Lavoisier Circular Transition. The RE-ASSIGN team will articulate its cross-border applied research on the one hand around sampling methodologies and pre-processing technologies, making it possible to characterize incoming flows as completely as possible but quickly and at low cost. On the other hand, research activities will focus on the optimization of recycling processes and the formulation of compounds integrating the maximum content of recycled materials allowing to achieve the targeted specifications. The development of state-of-the-art characterization methods for recycled plastics will help to address critical issues related to legacy additives, substances of concern, degradation products and the presence of NIAS (non-intentionally added substances).