BP4P: BioPlastic4Packaging

“The BP4P (BioPlastic4Packaging) project is fully aligned with the ECIV mission “Circular and Sustainable Packaging”, particularly with the sub-missions focused on:

• the industrialisation of sustainable recyclable, compostable, bio-based or reusable packaging, and

• increasing the use of secondary raw materials, reducing waste and enhancing material recovery.

BP4P addresses the urgent need for an industrial paradigm shift in the packaging sector, in line with the new European PPWR 2025 regulation. The project aims to:

• Minimise packaging waste generation,

• Promote a circular economy to ensure that all packaging placed on the market is reusable or recyclable by 2030,

• Support Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) through the adoption of sustainable packaging solutions derived from biopolymers and bio-based plastics sourced from renewable, non-fossil feedstocks.

Plant biomass originating from agri-food and agro-forestry residues provides a strategic platform for the development of new materials due to its shared composition of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose. Across Europe, and particularly within AIN, strong expertise has been built in the conversion of these by-products into biopolymers and bio-based plastics. Several proof-of-concepts and pilot-scale developments are already available for polymer matrices based on polysaccharides, thermoplastic celluloses, polyamides, polyhydroxyalkanoates, and bio-based polystyrenes, among others.

The BP4P project will enable these technologies to reach TRL6–8, scaling up industrial processes for biopackaging manufacturing and validating them through real demonstrators in key sectors such as:

• Polymer Company

• FOOD or FEED company

• food packaging

• logistics packaging

• and additional industrial stakeholders developing sustainable and bio-based alternatives for their packaging solutions.

The BP4P project introduces a disruptive and systemic innovation in the European packaging value chain by enabling the industrial transition from fossil-based plastics to advanced bio-based, circular and scalable packaging solutions fully aligned with the PPWR 2025 regulation.

The core innovation of BP4P lies in the integrated valorisation of lignocellulosic biomass residues from agri-food and agro-forestry streams into biopolymers. Unlike conventional bio-based approaches limited to single-material solutions, BP4P develops and scales diverse polymer matrices—such us thermoplastic celluloses, bio-based polyamides, polyhydroxyalkanoates and bio-based polystyrenes—tailored for specific packaging applications. This multi-material strategy significantly enhances functional performance, processability and market uptake.

From a technological perspective, BP4P advances existing laboratory and pilot-scale processes to TRL6–8, bridging the critical gap between research and industrial deployment. The project integrates continuous processing technologies, industrially relevant compounding and conversion routes, and design-for-recycling principles, ensuring compatibility with current manufacturing infrastructure and waste management systems.

In terms of circularity, BP4P maximises resource efficiency by increasing the use of secondary raw materials, reducing dependency on virgin fossil feedstocks and enabling closed-loop or bio-based end-of-life pathways such as recycling or composting. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and circularity metrics will demonstrate significant reductions in carbon footprint, resource depletion and packaging waste generation compared to conventional plastics.

The project’s innovation is further reinforced by real-market validation through industrial demonstrators in food packaging and logistics, involving companies as end-users. This demand-driven approach reduces adoption risks and accelerates market readiness.

Overall, BP4P delivers a scalable, regulation-ready and market-oriented biopackaging platform, strengthening European industrial competitiveness, supporting Extended Producer Responsibility schemes and contributing to climate neutrality and circular economy objectives.”