The EU’s circular bioeconomy relies heavily on bioplastics. However, this innovative sector faces a major hurdle: dedicated, scaled recycling infrastructure is often missing. When bioplastics are not properly sorted, their value is lost to composting or disposal. MoeBIOS is tackling this problem directly.
The challenge was the central topic of the recent workshop, “Bioplastic Packaging Design: Safe, Sustainable and Recyclable”. Our partner, European Bioplastics, organized the event. Held on December 1, 2025, in Berlin, the gathering brought together researchers, industry experts, and policymakers. Representing MoeBIOS, Project Coordinator Miriam Lorenzo Navarro (ITENE) delivered a presentation detailing the project’s strategy. She focused on transforming the end-of-life options for bioplastics. MoeBIOS positions these materials as valuable feedstocks for recycling and upcycling.
The MoeBIOS Solution: High-TRL Recycling Pathways
Miriam Lorenzo detailed MoeBIOS’s core mission to develop novel, high-TRL (Technology Readiness Level 6-7) recycling pathways. Therefore, the project addresses complex bioplastics like PLA, PHA, PBS, and PEF. We target three major waste streams: packaging, agriculture, and textiles. This work fundamentally aims to shift bioplastics’ end-of-life (EoL) from disposal toward resource recovery. Furthermore, the entire process is structured as a closed-loop system. We guarantee that recovered materials are upcycled; this means they produce high-value products that match or exceed the quality of virgin materials.
Key Technical Insights from the Presentation
Precision sorting is the critical foundation of the bioplastic recycling process. The project addresses contamination and confusion by prioritizing dedicated collection and sorting streams. MoeBIOS successfully pilots advanced sorting technologies, including hyperspectral and IR techniques. Consequently, this innovation achieves impressive separation performance: Did you know that MoeBIOS’s sorting technologies in pilot trials achieve over 85% correct separation rates for bioplastics in mixed waste streams?. Clearly, this precision is vital for guaranteeing the purity required for upcycling.
The presentation highlighted how MoeBIOS utilizes a flexible “cascade” system for material recovery. We strategically blend multiple pathways: Mechanical, Bio-recycling (Enzymatic), Chemical, and Thermo-chemical. This hybrid EoL approach ensures flexibility and moves the industry closer to a zero-waste ambition. Importantly, the efficacy of these methods is striking in depolymerization: Did you know that MoeBIOS’s chemical recycling routes have achieved impressive monomer recovery yields of more than 90% for PLA, over 80% for PBS, and over 70% for blend streams?. This high performance is a significant step; in fact, it proves that resource recovery is technically feasible and highly efficient.
Driving Industry Compliance and Future Infrastructure
The workshop served to underscore the mandatory regulatory landscape shaped by the upcoming Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). This regulation requires all packaging to be truly recyclable by 2030. Therefore, packaging producers and brands urgently need verifiable, scaled recycling routes to achieve compliance. For waste operators, the MoeBIOS findings provide the framework for adopting hybrid, data-driven strategies for bioplastic streams. This requires investment in specific sorting technologies and staff training. The project’s innovations are directly paving the way for Commercial-scale bioplastic sorting and recycling lines. Consequently, municipalities must fund widespread Infrastructure Upgrades, leading to clear Regulatory Clarity across the EU in the next two to five years.
The full presentation, including detailed technical findings and market implications, is available in the Resources section of our website.
For a full overview of the projects presented at the workshop:
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The booklet with the overview of all the projects is available here: https://zenodo.org/records/17723347
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The compiled presentations from the workshop are available here: https://zenodo.org/records/17792786
Learn more
To follow MoeBIOS’s journey toward sustainable bioplastics recycling:
- Visit our project website
- Follow us on LinkedIn