From April to June 2025, European Bioplastics (EUBP) hosted a five-part EUBP Talk Series around the “Advancements in Recycling of Bioplastics”. It focused on the recycling of bioplastics and the scaling up of recycling technologies. The series offered a platform for researchers, industry leaders, and policymakers to explore solutions, challenges, and pathways to scale up bioplastics recycling across Europe.

Highlights from the Series

Lorette du Preez (EUBP) opened the series with insights into TRL 5+ recycling technologies. Javier Grau Forner (AIMPLAS) presented on the challenges and potential of mechanical recycling for bioplastics.

Chrysanthi Argeiti (AUA) introduced non-thermal air plasma as a sustainable pretreatment for bioplastics. David Costa (GREENE W2H2) discussed thermo-chemical recycling via pyrolysis and gasification, including hydrogen recovery potential.

Arno Cordes (ASA Spezialenzyme) explored the use of enzymes in degrading PLA, PBAT, PBS, and PHA. Jan Pels (TORWASH) shared insights on chemical depolymerization and repolymerization into virgin-quality plastics.

Geoffroy Delvinquier (Futerro) presented their fully integrated PLA biorefinery plan, including Loopla™ chemical recycling. Fortunato Palma Esposito (Anton Dohrn Zoological Station) introduced Next-Generation Industrial Biotechnology using marine extremophiles.

Held during EU Green Week 2025, the final event gathered experts from AIMPLAS, Futerro, TotalEnergies Corbion, DG ENV, and more to discuss how recycling innovations can be integrated within the PPWR framework. Key topics included industrial implementation, policy alignment, and value chain collaboration.

Looking Ahead

The 2025 EUBP Talk Series confirmed that bioplastics recycling is technically feasible and ready to scale up, provided the right regulatory and market conditions are in place. EUBP will continue these vital conversations in its upcoming talk series.

Meanwhile, follow the Bioplastics Recycling Cluster Talk series with the ReBioCycle, MoeBIOs and Prosper projects, starting in September 2025 and spanning until March 2026. The three projects working on the advancements of sorting and recycling of bioplastics will delve into key topics and share their results. Take a look at the series and register here.