New funding competition to drive innovation in smart sustainable plastics

UK Research & Innovation’s (UKRI) Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge has launched a new £2.5 million Future Plastic Packaging Solutions Round 2 competition for research and innovation projects seeking grant funding from £30,000 to £250,000.

The UKRI says its £60 million SSPP Challenge is working to make plastic packaging fit for a sustainable future, whether this is through new recycling processes or reuse and refill solutions and novel polymers

UKRI says it is the largest and “most ambitious” UK government investment to date in sustainable plastics research and innovation, and is focused on driving a step change in the UK’s ability to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic packaging.

This latest competition is open to applications from projects that help make the plastics packaging supply chain more circular; deliver the objectives and/or targets of the UK Plastics Pact, creating a circular economy for plastics, keeping them in the economy and out of the natural environment; and embed lifecycle thinking and end-of-life in packaging design and decisions.

We are looking for bold and ambitious innovation proposals that keep the value embedded in plastic packaging in the economy.

SSPP Challenge Director Paul Davidson, said: “In building the SSPP project portfolio, we have been aiming for a balanced approach that targets some of the key barriers to increasing the reduction, reuse and recycling of plastic packaging.

“For this competition, we are looking for bold and ambitious innovation proposals that keep the value embedded in plastic packaging in the economy, and out of the natural environment.”

In this funding round, SSPP says it is particularly interested in proposals focused on preventing, mitigating or measuring plastic packaging litter pollution in the environment; facilitating and scaling up the adoption of reuse, refill and prefill packaging systems; and novel chemical recycling approaches for PET (polyethylene terephthalate) packaging.

The competition runs until 9 November and full details of the scope and application process are available on the Government’s website.

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