Charlie Flounders Photography Charlie Flounders Photography
Packaging plays an essential role in daily life, providing convenience to consumers who often discard it immediately after use. To mitigate its environmental impact, increasing plastic recycling rates and improving the quality of recycled plastic are critical to advancing the circular economy. The benefits are clear: resources are continuously reused, waste is minimised and packaging’s footprint is significantly reduced.
Yet, there is still a long way to go. Recent data from the European Environment Agency shows that the EU average recycling rate for municipal waste is 40.8% (varying by country from a high of 68% down to 11%), with 24% still sent to landfill. One way to improve these figures is by ensuring the appropriate infrastructure exists to successfully process and repurpose this waste, enabling more plastics to be reintroduced into the circular economy.
With a robust recycling infrastructure in place, these discarded plastics can be efficiently collected, sorted, and processed into high-quality recycled materials, ensuring they remain valuable resources rather than becoming waste. Berry Global’s proprietary CleanStream® technology is playing a key role in this effort. Our closed-loop system mechanically recycles household polypropylene (PP) waste into high-purity recycled plastic suitable for contact-sensitive applications. The advanced plastic recycling facility at Leamington Spa processes approximately 50,000 tonnes of kerbside-collected PP waste annually, which is equivalent to over 1 billion individual packaging items.
This ability to produce high-quality post-consumer recycled (PCR) PP for both contact and non-contact sensitive applications is a significant step forward in enhancing plastic circularity. CleanStream® enables Berry to provide a compelling value proposition for recycling and packaging, demonstrating how companies can achieve sustainability while driving business success.
For example, by creating greater opportunities for recycled content in contact-sensitive applications, CleanStream® helps to meet the UK Plastic Pact’s target of 30% average recycled content in plastic packaging. The process is also helping to increase demand for PP, which in turn will help to grow pull-through and recycling rates, in particular helping to increase collection rates for pots, tubs and trays (PTTs) - which currently lag behind other easier-to-identify product streams such as bottles.
By integrating recycling and converting services, CleanStream® delivers a closed-loop solution that helps customers advance their sustainability goals quickly. One of its key advantages is its compatibility with existing waste management infrastructures, ensuring a consistent and reliable supply chain. The CleanStream® process goes beyond simple material-based sorting by employing multiple AI-driven sorting steps, including automated identification, sorting, and decontamination to achieve exceptionally high polymer purity.
An in-depth life-cycle analysis carried out by Quantis found that packaging made with CleanStream® has around 35% lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than virgin plastic – a reduction of about 36,000 tonnes of CO, annually when the plant is at full capacity. This equates to the production of around 26 million five-litre paint containers.*
Furthermore, as global waste collection infrastructures continue to expand, Berry offers a scalable and exportable technology that positions us to better support companies’ evolving sustainability needs.
Importantly, the development of high-quality PCR plastic is just one way in which Berry is supporting its customers in achieving their sustainability goals. Our B Circular portfolio of products also includes initiatives such as reusable and refillable packs; designs that improve recyclability; and the use of renewable resources.
Berry remains committed to leading the development of innovative recycling technologies that extend the lifecycle of natural resources. By increasing the demand for recycled materials, promoting circularity and reducing emissions, CleanStream® contributes to the goal of a net-zero economy - one that requires industry-wide collaboration and collective responsibility.
We welcome brand owners to visit our Leamington Spa facility to see CleanStream® in action and explore how Berry can support their transition to more sustainable packaging solutions.
Find out more here: https://www.berryglobal.com/en/news/articles/cleanstream-the-future-for-contact-sensitive-mechanically-recycled-plastic
*LCA carried out using The SPICE Tool, developed by Quantis on behalf of the SPICE initiative. The methodology used in SPICE follows the main principles of PEF guidance [1] and ISO 14040 [2] & ISO 14044 [3] standards. However, it does not allow to be fully compliant with PEF guidance, ISO 14040, and ISO 14044.