Prevented Ocean Plastic™ is so proud to announce a world-first innovation– the first ever polypropylene recycled to the European food-safe standard.
- Polypropylene (PP) – a plastic used in cups, trays, bottles and caps, and flexible films – is one of the most common plastic types polluting our oceans but only 1% is recycled.
- For the first time, a recycled PP has achieved food-safety to European standards, enabling it to be turned into high-quality packaging.
- One key input material is PP cups collected in the East Borneo centre that was opened as a collaboration between Danone and Prevented Ocean Plastic in 2024.
- The initiative is expected to stop 500 million plastic cups from entering the ocean in its first year, enough to wrap around the Earth.
Today, Prevented Ocean Plastic, alongside major industry stakeholders, announces the first ever food-safe recycled polypropylene (PP, one of the most commonly used yet least recycled plastics on the planet) to the European food-safe standard (EU 2022/1616). PP is a part of everyday items like plastic cups, bottles and caps, and flexible films but despite its prevalence, has a global post-consumer recycling rate of just 1%, making it the second most common type of plastic polluting the ocean.
Now, a global partnership representing all stages of the supply chain has worked together to develop the recycled Prevented Ocean Plastic PP offering that has achieved food-safe status, a European first for this type of plastic. This breakthrough means the collection of discarded PP can be properly incentivised, and the material can finally be recycled at scale, preventing it from reaching landfills and oceans, and turned into high-quality food-safe packaging for consumer use.
While recycling rates have improved for certain materials, such as those found in plastic drinks bottles (PET), other forms, such as PP, remain difficult and costly to recycle at scale. Where they are recycled, they tend to be downcycled into lower quality products. Where they aren’t able to be recycled, they are left to litter the natural environment and pollute waterways. This breakthrough changes that.
This new initiative brings together global partners – Innovia Films, a division of CCL Industries, Spectra Packaging, Bantam Materials UK Ltd and PETMAN, using Starlinger Viscotec technology, as well as Circulate Capital and Danone backed Prevented Ocean Plastic collection in Indonesia – to deliver the first fully circular food-safe recycling solution for PP. In its first year, this novel technology is expected to prevent 500 million PP cups from entering the ocean each year, with capacity to expand rapidly. Laid end to end, that’s enough plastic to circle the Earth 1.25 times.
Dondi Hananto, Associate Partner Southeast Asia & Head of Indonesia, Circulate Capital said: “We’re proud to support an ecosystem that brings collectors, recyclers, and brands together to tackle even hard-to-recycle plastics like polypropylene. Starting in Indonesia, this milestone shows how collaboration can drive systemic change across global supply chains”
Prevented Ocean Plastic has established a franchise model for collection, already supported by Danone Aqua since October last year. This scalable franchise model which can be repeated in any at-risk coastal community to drive greater impact and prevent this hard-to-recycle plastic from being left to pollute oceans, waterways and the open environment. Prevented Ocean Plastic intervenes before this material reaches the ocean and open environment, via its controlled collection.
The for-profit model, launched at the beginning of the decade, has since been financially supported by five separate institutions, establishing the unique capability to sort and customise input feedstock for high quality recycling. This capability is key to solving the problems of plastic recycling.
Neil Hudson, Technology Expert – Recycling & Sustainability, Innovia Films, a division of CCL Industries, said:, said: “For Innovia a source of EU food contact approved polypropylene (PP) from a mechanically recovered post-consumer source is a game changer. We can now make films for label and flexible packaging in the food and beverage space and contribute to circularity and sustainability. A great team of people have contributed to the process and have accelerated this mechanically recovered post-consumer PP to the eagerly awaited EU food contact rPP.”
Once collected, sorted and washed, the material is then processed by PETMAN using world-first novel technology from Starlinger Viscotec, turning it into high-quality, food-safe recycled polypropylene (rPP) and then supplied by Bantam Materials UK Ltd (Owner of the Prevented Ocean Plastic programme) to offtakers. Early adopters include Innovia, who will produce BOPP flexible films- a major milestone, as flexible plastics have historically struggled to incorporate recycled content- Spectra, who will be blow molding and injection molding bottles and caps, and further applications, including trays for fruit, vegetables and protein. The innovation in the novel technology stage sees each batch third-party scientifically tested according to industry standards. Every stakeholder has walked the Prevented Ocean Plastic supply chain.
Our progress is maintained by the European Commission and is available publicly on their website: https://ec.europa.eu/food/food-feed-portal/screen/fcm/rin. This resource enables verification of official RIN, RON and RFN entries related to recycling facilities of food contact materials. Type “PETMAN” in the Name of Recycling Facility field and you will see the PETMAN Starlinger Visco Zero identification numbers.
This same approach to collection and sortation can be aimed at virtually every discarded plastic type on the planet.
Raffi Schieir, Founder of Prevented Ocean Plastic said: “This world-first a monumental moment for ocean plastic prevention. This further proves that the Prevented Ocean Plastic franchise model can solve major plastic collection problems at scale and with dignity. My hope is that we can grow this model in every at-risk costal community, so all types of plastic are seen as valuable, and nothing discarded gets left behind. A huge thank you to every stakeholder for their effort and science-based testing over the years to help solve this problem.”
Prevented Ocean Plastic™ is high quality, compliant recycled plastic that has been collected from coastal communities at risk of ocean plastic pollution. Used by supermarkets and brands around the world, it meets regulatory health and safety standards, is traceable back to source and can be identified on-pack through its distinctive triangular logo. Prevented Ocean Plastic™ supply major manufacturing partners such as Groupe Guillin, Spectra Packaging, and Berry Global for offerings across multiple product categories, including food and drink, personal care, pet products and home cleaning. Prevented Ocean Plastic™ is an award-winning, three-time Earthshot Prize nominee, and has collected over 2.5 billion plastic bottles from where they don’t belong since 2020
