Sustainable food Packaging from AgriCultural residues: from nature to nature – AgriCo.Pack
World plastic production reached 360 million tons in 2017. Of these, 62 million were produced in Europe, of which 40% went to the packaging sector. The current way of producing, using and disposing of plastic cannot benefit of a more “circular” approach, to the detriment of the environment. Reducing the use and consumption of this material, especially of disposable plastic products, is the first objective of the European Commission’s environmental policy. In accordance with the requirements of prevention in the production of waste, reuse, recovery and recycling of packaging, imposed by Directive 94/62 / EC and taken up by the most recent Directive 852/2018 / EC, the result of the project will be an innovative compostable packaging starting from sustainable biopolymers and agricultural production waste instead of materials derived from non-renewable sources.
The objective of the project is to improve the competitiveness of farms by better integrating them into the agri-food chain through eco-design and the creation of a sustainable and innovative food packaging for fresh products, obtained from compostable bio-based polymeric material to which it is added, during the process, a significant percentage of agricultural waste as a filler, in order to obtain a new bio-composite. The project will enhance the waste from organic agricultural production, having them a higher added value.
The project includes training activities for farms according to Measure 1 of the Rural Development Programme of the Emilia-Romagna Region.
a composite material, characterized from the chemical, morphological, thermal and mechanical properties point of view, obtained by mixing a commercial biopolymer with agricultural production waste; a food packaging for fresh products obtained with the developed composite material and its complete characterization; a study on the environmental sustainability of the packaging and of the processes used to produce it, through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis; a product and packaging traceability system; dissemination and training activities for farms in the Emilia Romagna Region. The Operational Group of the two-years project is composed by Open Fields (coordination), the University of Parma (CIPACK-UNIPR, scientific management), Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna (DICAM-UNIBO), Ortigiani farm, Brugnoli F.lli farm, EcorNaturaSì, Centoform and Reipack Foil as associate partner.
WEBSITE: www.goagricopack.it
ROLE: Coordinator
TIMING: 03/2021 – 03/2023
FUNDING: 182.257,68 euro
CALL: Rural Development Programme of Emilia-Romagna, measure 16.1.01 – Focus Area 3A
Website European Commission – FEASR: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=LEGISSUM%3Al60032
