COPPA

Initial situation

According to the latest packaging check by Deutsche Umwelthilfe, the amount of packaging waste in Germany is reaching new record levels from year to year. At just under 228 kilograms per capita per year, we are the European frontrunner. Consumers expect food retailers to also take action against this packaging waste crisis.

At present, however, various informational and market conditions, the development of which can be traced back to a linear economy, prevent increased closed-loop recycling as well as the reduction of material use, even in the application case of plastic packaging for food.

Solution Approach

The goal of ‘COPPA’ is to develop an open and scalable Circular Collaboration Platform (CCP) that creates the following functionalities for recyclers, plastic reprocessors / converters, packaging manufacturers and food retailers:

1. Establish seamless tracking of plastics from packaging
2. Thereby enabling more accurate and efficient information exchange for automated quality proofing, availability prediction, etc.
3. Verification of recyclate content and recyclate quality of products and material batches
4. Proof of origin or owner as a dynamized property per batch / main component
5. Development of a smart contract model for value chains - in the sense of democratized and notarized plastics processing
6. Provide decision support for packaging material reduction and recyclate use as a conceptual approach or as a steering tool (dashboard)
7. Precise verification of sustainability effects through reduced material consumption and increased use of recyclates (CO2 or resource savings by relevant material groups)

Expected Result

The project result is intended to be a practical demonstrator that is freely accessible to all companies in the entire food chain at the end of the implementation phase.

Benefits for the Target Group

The CCP enables an accurate and efficient exchange of information on the recyclate content and quality of plastic packaging. At the same time, by linking relevant environmental information, 'COPPA' makes the increase in individual and industry-related sustainability performance calculable and verifiable for well-founded communication.