UKRI invests £8million in university-led research projects to tackle plastic waste in the UK

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has announced ten university-led research projects that will receive £8m in funding as part of its Enabling Research competition in the Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge.

The research awarded funding as part of the SSPP programme aims to find solutions to existing issues with plastic packaging, reduce plastic pollution and unlock barriers to create fundamental changes in the industry.

The winners have designed innovative research projects, including increasing the use of compostable plastic, utilising smart-technology to change the way food-to-go is packaged and creating new circular approaches to plastic waste management.

Winning projects are from universities across the UK and are working with industry partners to ensure solutions are responding directly to industry needs.

The University of Strathclyde project aims to optimise the use of compostable plastics for multiple food packaging applications. This will result in the decline in the reliance on plastic, and increase the reuse of plastic as much as possible, while keeping food fresh and hygienic.  

At the University of Manchester, the ‘One Bin to Rule Them All’ project aims to improve compliance with recycling through a systemic approach to plastic waste management. The project aims to demonstrate a viable system to reduce and then eliminate plastic released in the environment by identifying and creating value in plastic packaging waste streams and simplifying recycling for consumers.

While Brunel University, London will address the problem of ‘hard-to-recycle’ plastic packaging and aim to create new management of waste streams, so high value, ‘food grade’ materials and non-food grade plastics are kept separate.

The SSPP Challenge aims to establish the UK as a leading innovator in smart and sustainable plastic packaging for consumer products, delivering cleaner growth across the supply chain, with a significant reduction in plastic waste entering the environment by 2025.

The Future Plastic Packaging Solutions competition is now open to applications; funding available up to £150,000.

Paul Davidson, challenge director of the SSPP challenge, said: “The Enabling Research projects are a huge step forward in enabling the UK to find better solutions to existing problems in how plastic packaging is made, used and disposed of. It aims to fundamentally change how we package and recycle items for the benefit of the environment.

“This funding will help experts from across the country address the important issue of making plastics more environmental-conscious. We look forward to hearing the outcomes of this project investment and how this will benefit both the UK and global environment.”