Workshop on Recycling of Novel Non-PET Plastics – The highlights

On 21 and 22 October 2025, ILSI Europe organised a high-level expert workshop exploring the safety assessment of recycled polyolefins (PO) and polystyrene (PS) for future food-contact applications.
Although PET is currently the only recycled plastic authorised for food contact in the EU, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) will soon require 10–35% minimum recycled content in plastic food packaging by 2030, making it urgent to expand safe recycling beyond PET.

Over two sessions, international experts from academia, industry, regulatory bodies, and research institutes reviewed the challenges and opportunities in setting evaluation criteria for the safe recycling of PO and PS, aligned with EFSA expectations.

Key Messages

The urgency of clear evaluation criteria

• There is a burning need to define harmonised safety criteria for recycled polyolefins and polystyrene used in food-contact materials.
• Current EFSA criteria for PET cannot be directly applied to other plastics, which require adapted guidance based on their unique properties.

Importance of understanding the feedstock

• A Comprehensive characterisation of the feedstock is a crucial first starting point that would help identify the contaminants and potential safety risks that need to be controlled and eliminated in the recycling process

Why polyolefins are challenging

• additives used for polyolefins, including printing inks, adhesives, pigments, colorants, etc, are highly diverse, making the contamination profile of the input inconsistent. Organisation of this subject, as it happened previously in PET, will facilitate the circularity of polyolefins.
• Mechanical recycling technologies designed for PET cannot be transferred directly to PO.
• Traditional challenge tests used for PET are not suitable for polyolefins and do not guarantee safety.
• Comparing input and output and making the migration tests from the final product can guaranty the safety
• Improved and harmonised analytical methods are critical for the evaluation process

About polystyrene (PS)

• PS behaves more like PET (low absorption, low diffusion), making it technically easier to recycle than PP or PE.
• Although recycling PS is feasible, new oxidation compounds and oligomers may appear, some suspected to be endocrine disruptors, requiring further toxicological evaluation.

Why this matters for E-OilÉ

Although E-OilÉ focuses on biodegradable and bio-based materials, innovations in packaging must coexist with evolving regulatory frameworks for fossil-based plastics.
Understanding safety criteria for recycled plastics helps E-OilÉ stay aligned with EU packaging legislation, anticipate market transitions, and ensure that the project’s biodegradable alternatives integrate smoothly into future circular systems.

More information: https://eoileproject.eu/event/recycling-of-novel-non-pet-plastics/