Recycled polymers for food contact from Versalis and Forever Plast

Following the collaboration between Versalis, Eni's chemical company, and Forever Plast, Italy's leading company in post-consumer plastic recycling, comes Refence, an innovative range of recycled polymers for food contact packaging. The range is already available in the market for polystyrene applications such as yogurt pots, trays for meat and fish, and other types of rigid and expanded packaging. These new products will expand the Versalis Revive portfolio of mechanically recycled materials, redefining their application limits and enabling direct contact with food.

Refence has been produced due to Newer technology, which is developed in Versalis' research laboratories in Mantua and industrialised at Forever Plast's facilities in Lograto (Brescia, Italy) under a co-development agreement between Versalis and Forever Plast. Newer enables the purification of recycled polymers in compliance with EU Regulation 1616/2022 on recycling. The technology has also obtained the Non-Objection Letter (NOL) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Adriano Alfani, CEO of Versalis, said: "Circularity is a fundamental strategic lever. For this reason, we are committed to developing complementary recycling processes to enhance the value of end-of-life plastics and integrate ourselves into the Italian national collection chain. We are completing works on our first advanced mechanical recycling hub at Porto Marghera for post-consumer plastics, in particular styrenic polymers. Our collaboration with Forever Plast aims to reach application sectors, such as food packaging, where sustainability and quality requirements are essential, thus strengthening our European leadership in mechanical recycling.”

Piersandro Arrighini, CEO of Forever Plast, added: “We are very pleased with the result achieved, especially as there was no recycling chain for polystyrene from separate waste collection at a European level until a few years ago. The collaboration with Versalis has allowed us to reach this extraordinary milestone."