The teams will focus on leveraging their industrial and research and development (R&D) expertise to enhance the traceability of feedstock from post-consumer plastic wastes used in the production of recycled polymers

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Recycling Technologies consortium will focus on the development of blockchain-enabled traceability solution for recycled plastic waste. (Credit: Recycling Technologies Ltd)

UK-based Recycling Technologies has joined forces with TotalEnergies and Circulor to develop a blockchain-enabled traceability solution for hard-to-recycle plastics (HTRP).

Innovate UK is funding the Project TRACKCYCLE, which will integrate blockchain technology into the advanced recycling value chain.

The project aims to provide a fully traceable and precisely labelled record of recycled materials ranging from waste sourcing to the use of recycled polymers in new production streams.

The process will allow all the stakeholders in the polymers industry to view the provenance and quality of the materials entering and exiting their facilities.

TotalEnergies polymers senior vice-president Valérie Goff said: “This collaboration with Circulor and Recycling Technologies is an excellent example of innovation to develop more traceable recycled polymers.”

Under the project, TotalEnergies and Recycling Technologies teams will focus on leveraging their industrial and research and development (R&D) expertise to enhance the traceability of feedstock from post-consumer plastic wastes used in the production of recycled polymers.

The consortium will also coordinate with various plastic waste suppliers, including a multinational FMCG firm that offers post-industrial waste.

The UK government is set to introduce a plastic packaging tax on packaging, which fails to contain 30% recycled plastic. The European Union will also launch a packaging levy.

Both initiatives are indicating the significance of accurate information on plastic recycling and its use in new materials, said Recycling Technologies.

Recycling Technologies CEO Adrian Griffiths said: “We believe this project will bring about the benefits of linking inbound waste provenance with outbound quality and destination for each unit of Plaxx produced.

“Full transparency is key to gain trust, incentivise sustainable practises and provide stakeholders with an optimised supply and logistics value chain, contributing to increased recycling rates.”

Circulor is a provider of sustainable supply chain and dynamic CO2 traceability, while TotalEnergies is a producer of oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity.

Recycling Technologies offers advanced technologies to transform hard-to-recycle plastic waste, including polystyrene and flexible packaging, into feedstocks for new plastic production.