Advancing Circular Packaging: Sulapac and TripleW Launch Bio-Cup Recycling Pilot

Advancing Circular Packaging: Sulapac and TripleW Launch Bio-Cup Recycling Pilot

Sulapac has partnered with TripleW, a Belgian modernizer in circular biochemistry, for a closed-loop pilot to demonstrate that refillable cups produced from Sulapac Solid can be chemically recycled on a scalable basis. The upcycling process eliminates the need for fossil-based resources. The pilot shows that the shift from one-time-use to reusable cups made from fully bio-based, biodegradable materials can be achieved without relying on fossil-based plastics.

Tal Shapira, CEO at TripleW, expresses: “We upsurge resource efficacy by utilizing biological materials, and our clients can profit from going circular.”

“Composed with Sulapac, we’re screening that bio-based and compostable resources like PLA-based mixtures are not only sustainable substitutes, but they can actually be circular. The chemical upcycling scaleup using the Sulapac cups, leading to complete recovery of the lactic acid, which is a building block of PLA.”

“Our method is completely united with the main European policies, from the Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan to the future Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. It demonstrates how circular bioeconomy inventions can position Europe as a top-most in attaining circularity, reinforce manufacturing competitiveness, and provide scalable substitutes to fossil-based packing.”

The resolution is compatible with standard plastic manufacturing processes and is a configuration designed for repeated use on cruise ships, airplanes, and in quick-service restaurants.

In the pilot, Sulapac Solid cups were assembled, ground, and hydrolyzed into building blocks, which comprise lactic acid. Lactic acid can be used in applications such as pharmaceutical and personal care products or converted into a food-grade biopolymer.

The polymer-to-polymer recycling method permits the resource to be reused repeatedly. The corporations plan to develop the volumes of Sulapac Solid gathered and recycled via TripleW’s platform.

Dr. Heidi Peltola, chief product officer at Sulapac, expresses: “It’s extraordinary that one doesn’t have to select between bio-based or recyclable packing that you can have both, also when it comes to reusables.”

“This collaboration is a tangible step in the direction of an upcoming time where high-performance supportable resources like Sulapac Solid circulate just as traditional plastics but without the ecological burden.”