Unlocking Circularity for Flexible Plastics: 16 Partners Launch InFACT Project
VANA, Nestlé, Arcus, Interzero, and twelve other leading companies are joining forces in a landmark project to turn household plastic waste into new packaging - including food packaging - as Europe tightens requirements for recyclability and recycled content.
Every year, large quantities of soft plastic packaging for everything from coffee and minced meat to chips and candy are burned or downcycled instead of being recycled into new packaging. And today, even less than 15 percent of the soft plastic packaging is recycled, even though it constitutes almost half of all plastic packaging in the European market. InFACT aims to change that.
Read the European Environment Agency's report on flexible plastic in Europe's circular economy
Facts about InFACT
InFACT stands for Infrastructure for the Flexible plastic pAckaging Circular Transition
Project period: 2026–2028
Total budget: EUR 3.2 million
Funded by Innovation Fund Denmark via the TRACE programme, a mission-driven research and innovation partnership focused on circular economy for plastics and textiles
Goal: Demonstrate circular infrastructure in which flexible plastic packaging is converted into new packaging
Partners: Nestlé Danmark A/S, BKI foods A/S, Hilton Foods Denmark A/S, Cloetta Danmark ApS, City of Copenhagen, Interzero GmbH, TotalEnergies, Fraunhofer IVV, ARCUS Greencycling Technologies, Re:Lab AB, Topsoe A/S, Coveris GmbH, Dapofa A/S, University of Southern Denmark, VANA and Danish Technological Institute
PPWR: Regulation (EU) 2025/40, entered into force 11 February 2025
The project is led by the Technological Institute and is supported by the Innovation Fund through the TRACE programme.
A complete value chain from bin to supermarket shelf
InFACT is led by the Danish Technological Institute and brings together 16 international partners, including VANA, covering the entire value chain from collection, sorting, and recycling to packaging and food companies. Together, they will demonstrate how household-collected soft plastic packaging can be transformed into new packaging in a cohesive value chain.
We have brought together partners covering the entire chain from household waste bins to supermarket shelves. That is essential if we are to build a circular infrastructure that works technologically, environmentally and economically.
Business Manager at Danish Technological Institute
Circular solutions can strengthen Europe's resilience
Modern soft food packaging is technically advanced and typically consists of several plastic layers, barrier films, inks, adhesives, and in some cases, metallized surfaces. This makes the material difficult to recycle with conventional mechanical melting. InFACT will therefore combine several complementary recycling technologies to tackle the task.
The project starts at a highly relevant time. The EU Packaging Regulation (PPWR), which enters into force in February 2025, tightens the requirements for recyclable packaging and documented content of recycled materials towards 2030. InFACT aims to help the industry meet these requirements while simultaneously strengthening its resilience.
If we can establish a commercially viable infrastructure for flexible plastic packaging, we can both support the implementation of EU requirements and strengthen the resilience of European industry. InFACT can help reduce Europe's dependence on imported fossil oil and build a more self-sufficient circular plastics economy.
Business Manager at Danish Technological Institute
Partnerships
VANA is part of many forms of partnerships across various fields.
Read more about VANA's partnerships