Upcycling of PE and PET waste – upPE-T is a four-year project implemented by the Institute for Development and Innovation in the period from 2020 to 2024, together with twenty organizations from 10 European countries (Spain, Germany, Austria, Finland, Italy, Estonia, Greece, Turkey and Croatia).
The objective of the project is to find innovative solutions for recycling waste from PE (polyethylene) and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) packaging, ie their conversion into a series of biodegradable plastics for the production of food and beverage packaging.
Polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are the leading plastics in use for the production of food and beverage packaging (43% PE and 19% PET). Managing this plastic waste is a major challenge for global society, especially given that plastic packaging accounts for 60% of total plastic waste in Europe.
The main activities of the project are related to finding innovative solutions for recycling waste from PE and PET packaging. The Institute for Development and Innovation is preparing the research of social-humanistic disciplines and gender aspects in this whole process, ie it conducts research on the attitudes of citizens and companies on recycling in three countries – Finland, Italy and Serbia. Also, the analysis includes an analysis of the legislative framework in the field of recycling in these three countries.