The SSPP Collecting flexible plastic packaging waste at home competition is now open for submissions that showcase “innovative design solutions” to capture household flexible plastics for recycling.
The competition is looking for containment solutions to encourage and support householders to collect flexible plastic packaging in the home for recycling. Innovate UK says the competition also supports the objectives of the FPF FlexCollect project, the “most extensive” pilot for household collection and recycling of flexible packaging to be undertaken in the UK to date.
Commenting on the competition, SSPP’s deputy director Nick Cliffe, said: “One of the key barriers to developing an effective recycling route for household flexible plastic packaging is that it needs to be separated from other recyclables.
“The SSPP-funded competition is looking for innovative, user-friendly solutions to help householders collect flexible packaging as a separate waste stream for collection at the kerbside or to take to a supermarket collection point.”
One of the key barriers to developing an effective recycling route for household flexible plastic packaging is that it needs to be separated from other recyclables.
Proposed solutions must be easy to store in the home and to carry, designed to encourage the collection of as much material as possible and ideally include a volume reduction capability to squeeze some of the air out of the packaging. Designs must also be user-friendly for all householders and easy to clean if designed for multi-use, or able to be recycled along with the collected materials.
The deadline for applications is 12 April. The winning applications will be eligible to receive a grant between £25,000 and £50,000 from Innovate UK to develop “innovative ideas” that help with the collection of flexible packaging waste from households.
They will also have the opportunity to develop their concept, and then present and prototype their idea as part of a nationwide trial to collect flexible plastic packaging waste from UK households, Innovate UK says.