Nextek and Coveris Commission Demonstration Plant for Food-Grade Plastic Film Recycling

According to company reports, UK-based technology firm Nextek and packaging producer Coveris have brought a demonstration plant online in Lincolnshire to advance recycling of post-consumer flexible plastics into food-grade materials.

The facility, located at Coveris’ ReCover site, will deploy the COtooCLEAN process to treat polyolefin film waste, including polyethylene  (PE) and polypropylene (PP). The technology is designed to remove embedded contaminants and convert used packaging into high-quality recycled resin suitable for food-contact applications.

The project, supported by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, marks a step toward addressing one of the more persistent challenges in plastics recycling: producing compliant, food-grade material from mixed and contaminated post-consumer films.

COtooCLEAN uses supercritical CO₂ extraction to remove oils, odours and residual substances that conventional mechanical recycling processes often fail to eliminate, according to Coveris. The process targets contamination within the polymer structure, which has limited the reuse of flexible packaging in higher-value applications.

The demonstration plant is expected to generate operational data needed for regulatory approval in Europe while testing scalability under industrial conditions. Trials are scheduled to begin in April 2026 and will run over a two-year period to support compliance requirements.

Edward Kosior, founder of Nextek, said the technology is intended to complement existing recycling processes by improving purification performance and enabling higher-value material recovery.

At Coveris, group innovation manager Bernhard Mumelter said the project builds on the company’s recycling strategy by integrating advanced purification with its existing mechanical and de-inking capabilities. He added that the goal is to expand recycling options for more demanding applications, including food packaging.

Jacob Duer, president and chief executive of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, said the plant represents a step toward demonstrating practical and scalable solutions for flexible plastic recycling.

Flexible films remain one of the least recycled plastic streams due to contamination and material complexity. Industry efforts are increasingly focused on combining mechanical and advanced processes to improve output quality and meet regulatory standards for food-grade applications.

Source: Coveris

SUNSHINE Spotlight: Advanced purification technologies are moving toward commercial validation as the plastics industry seeks viable pathways for food-grade recycling of flexible packaging.