EU-funded projects
EuRIC as a partner
EuRIC has a strategic interest in developing research and innovation projects that foster circularity by turning waste into new resources.
EuRIC has a leading role in a number of high-level collaborative and international research projects, representing the recycling industry through its various branches and providing expertise on policy, regulatory and scientific matters. EuRIC is a partner in these EU-funded projects.

A CIrcular Multilayer Plastic Approach for value retention of end-of-life multilayer films (CIMPA)
Objective: To establish the first recycling value chain for post-industrial and post-consumer multilayer films.
EuRIC involvement: EuRIC is the leader of Work Package dealing with communication, dissemination, exploitation of results, normative studies, and standardisation.
Duration: 3 years
Start – end date: 01/06/2021 - 31/05/2024
EU contribution: € 4,984,396.25
About CIMPA
More than 2.6 million tonnes of multilayer plastic films are incinerated or dumped in landfills each year.
Multilayer plastics consist of several layers of materials from plastics (PET, PE, PA) to aluminium and beyond. They are mostly used in packaging to enhance food safety and extend shelf life or in agriculture for crop protection, yet they pose challenges to recyclers.
CIMPA seeks to prevent multilayer plastics from becoming waste by developing the first recycling value chain for post-industrial and post-consumer multilayer films that retain between 12% and 72% of their value. Up to 2.34 million tonnes of recycled materials will be saved per year and reintroduced into production replacing virgin materials.
Together with EuRIC, CIMPA unites 12 other partners from 5 countries, covering the entire value chain:
- Multilayer film producers (Eversia, Leygatech, Barbier)
- Sorting technology providers (Filigrade and Pellenc ST)
- Research institutes (IPC, AIMPLAS, VTT and TNO)
- A waste management company (PAPREC),
- An institute for consumer attitude studies (Prospex)
- A consultancy (Benkei)

METAclustering for cross-sectoral and cross-border innovation ecosystem BUILDING for the European Construction, Additive Manufacturing and Nature-Based Solutions industrial sectors’ SMEs
Objective: Improving SME innovation in the European construction industry in order to extend the value chain and integrate new dynamic industrial sectors.
EuRIC involvement: EuRIC represents the recycling sector in METABUILDING by involving its extensive industrial network. More specifically, it will participate in the challenge definition and the roadmap development. EuRIC will support the communication and dissemination of the calls and facilitate the involvement of experts from the circular economy sector.
Duration: 3 years
Start – end date: 01/06/2020 – 31/05/2023
EU contribution: €4,996,125
About METABUILDING
METABUILDING seeks to provide support to SMEs from five industrial sectors: construction, additive manufacturing, ICT, recycling, and nature-based solutions.
The project aims at building a sustainable and synergistic innovation ecosystem to reach clusters and their SMEs in their business environment. This advanced ecosystem is supported by an open-innovation digital platform to sustain the rise of new cross-sectoral and cross-border industrial value chains. The project advises and technically supports SMEs and performs several cascade funding mechanisms in six countries: Austria, France, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.
Metabuilding project is coordinated by NOBATEK INEF 4 (France) and it gathers EU level industrial platforms, national technology platforms and national construction industry associations, among other members.
EuRIC as a member of the advisory board
EuRIC is also a member of external advisory boards in several EU-funded projects. EuRIC offers technical and strategic advice to consortia, participates in workshops and clustering meetings, and contributes to dissemination and communication.
SCIRT (System Circularity and Innovative Recycling of Textiles)
SCIRT aims to demonstrate a complete textile-to-textile recycling system for discarded clothing, otherwise known as post-consumer textiles. The project involves stakeholders throughout the value chain and focuses on the recycling of natural and synthetic fibres and fibre blends.
Grinner (ImprovinG waste management through an AI-powered detection system of batteries utilising data from X-Ray detectors and pick-and-place robots)
Grinner aims to commercialise an autonomous AI-enabled sorting system capable of removing waste-containing batteries from waste streams before they enter machines that crush and consolidate waste.
REPurpose (Recyclable Elastomeric Plastics safely and sUstainably designed and produced via enzymatic Recycling of Post-cOnsumer waSte strEams)
REPurpose seeks to upcycle local, post-consumer waste to new functional recyclable elastomeric polymers (REP) targeting the high-value market of thermoplastic elastomers, with applications in the automotive, building and construction sectors, as well as consumer goods.
TranSensus LCA (Towards a European-wide harmonised, transport-specific LCA Approach).
TranSensus LCA aims to develop a baseline for a European-wide harmonised, commonly accepted and applied single life cycle assessment (LCA) approach for a zero-emission road transport system. The project will enable industry, mobility providers and planners to provide sustainable products and to optimise mobility solutions as needed to combat climate change.
ABSolEU project (ABS recycling revOLution in the EU)
The ABSolEU project is an initiative funded under the EU’s Horizon Europe Programme. It is simultaneously a multilateral collaboration that aims to pave the way to circularity for the ubiquitous plastic ABS, found in durable products from toys and other consumer goods to automotive components, and therefore revolutionise the current state of the art of ABS recycling in Europe and beyond.