1 | What is “RoFlex”?
The industry initiative CEFLEX (Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging) launched the pilot project “RoFlex” (Romania Flexible Packaging Recycling Pilot) in Romania in mid-July. Together with local collection, sorting and recycling companies as well as brand owners, a complete value chain for flexible plastic packaging is to be established there for the first time and tested under real conditions. The aim is to achieve the EU requirements of the PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation) – in particular a recycling rate of 55% by 2030 – in a practical manner.
2 | How the pilot model works
| Prozessschritt | Partner & Technik | Besonderheiten |
|---|---|---|
| Separate collection | Municipal service providers & EPR systems (Extended Producer Responsibility systems) | Flexible films are collected separately to minimise contamination. |
| Sorting | NIR scanner (near-infra-red scanner) + ballistic separator | Initial tests show over 80 % sorting purity for mono-material PE. |
| Recycling | Mechanical regranulation + quality monitoring | ISCC PLUS (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) compliant rPE/rPP (recycled Polyethylene / recycled Polypropylene)-granules for non-food films |
Initial term: 12 months, accompanied by material flow and cost analyses that are to serve as a blueprint for other EU regions.
3 | Relevance for D | A | CH companies
- Technical learnings
- Data on sorting efficiency and yield provide information on which additives or design features hinder recycling – valuable for your design-for-recycling.
- Kooperationschancen
- CEFLEX is expressly looking for partners for material tests and best-practice transfer – the ideal platform for laboratory service providers such as Innoform.
- Regulatory preparation
- Results flow directly into national PPWR action plans. Those who are involved at an early stage can help shape future standards.
4 | Classification by industry analysts
According to AMI Plastics, the modernisation of sorting and recycling technology is an essential prerequisite for increasing the European market for recyclable packaging to over USD 12 billion by 2034. RoFlex provides the proof of concept for such investments.
Flexible Packaging Europe also welcomes the pilot project as a “concrete step from strategy paper to implementation” and sees RoFlex as a model for other member states that still need to develop their infrastructure.
Conclusion: For the first time, RoFlex provides hard figures on how flexible packaging can be collected, sorted and recycled under real-life conditions. For companies, this is an opportunity to get involved in shaping Europe-wide standards at an early stage – and to make their own materials fit for the circular economy.
Sources
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