Millions of dollars are available to redesign multi-layer films to make them recyclable or biodegradable. | Natykach Nataliia / Shutterstock
The U.S. government will provide up to $14.5 million to support R&D focused on single-use film packaging recycling.
The Department of Energy (DOE) announced grants are available to develop “recycling and upcycling pathways” for scrap films and to redesign multi-layer films to make them recyclable or biodegradable.
“Innovation in plastics recycling technology is a triple win by cutting plastic waste we see in our everyday lives, reducing industrial energy use and resulting emissions, and creating clean manufacturing jobs for American workers,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm stated in a press release.
The deadline to submit concept papers for the Single-Use Plastics Recycling Funding Opportunity is 5 p.m. Eastern on June 28.
The funding opportunity comes after the DOE last year provided grants through its “Bio-Optimized Technologies to Keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment” (BOTTLE) consortium.
DOE also backs the Reducing Embodied Energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute, which has provided several rounds of funding to support the recycling of plastics, including most recently in March.
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