New GRECO project on greener and safer bioplastics for food packaging

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The new Horizon Europe-funded GRECO project provides innovative biobased, biodegradable and recyclable food packaging based on novel PLA copolymers, functional coatings, additives and green catalysts. GRECO aims to demonstrate the life cycle and techno-economic feasibility of greener and safer bioplastics value chains for the food packaging sector, based on a safe and sustainable-by-design strategy.



The GRECO project kick-off will take place in Valencia, at AIMPLAS on 16-17 June 2025. European Bioplastics and its members, including TotalEnergies Corbion, AIMPLAS, and INNOTECH COEXPAN-EMSUR, are among the 22 partners that have joined forces to develop and implement “Innovative biobased, biodegradable, recyclable, safe, and circular food packaging” under the lead of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH).

Dimitrios Bikiaris (AUTH), GRECO coordinator, indicates that “The GRECO project aligns with the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation by developing biobased, biodegradable, and recyclable PLA copolymers for food packaging. Our goal is to create sustainable and circular solutions that reduce waste and environmental impact.


At a demonstrative scale and in the real operational environment, GRECO will design, demonstrate and scale up food packaging materials (e.g., flexible and rigid applications for cheese, processed meat, fresh meat, berries, and nuts) that can meet diverse application needs, preventing moisture and aroma loss and increasing shelf life.


AIMPLAS is contributing to several tasks in GRECO. “We are particularly excited to implement reactive extrusion (REX) as a green chemistry technology for developing tailor-made and safe-and-sustainable-by design PLA-based copolymers for the food packaging sector, scaling them up to TRL 7”, said Belén Monje, leading researcher on Sustainable Chemistry. “Specifically, the contribution on the development of PLA- copolymers by reactive extrusion and on the production of additives by mechanochemistry is novel and groundbreaking and will make it possible to achieve more sustainable, biobased, recyclable and biodegradable PLA-compounds and coatings.


Novel PLA copolymers will be developed and optimised with the modelling tools to drive the design of the polymers to improve the biodegradability, performance, production rates, yield, and quality in an iterative strategy.

“As part of GRECO, TotalEnergies Corbion is contributing to the development of new PLA copolymers that deliver improved packaging performance and functionality, while boosting recyclability and biodegradability”, said Jenifer Mitja from TotalEnergies Corbion. She added: Significantly reducing carbon footprints, PLA’s versatility, biobased origin, and wide industrial availability make it a key enabler in addressing the performance and sustainability requirements set by the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.


source: AIMPLAS


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