Brightlands Circular Space: Circular plastics in practice

Demand for circular materials is growing rapidly. At the same time, market requirements are becoming increasingly stringent. Materials must be more sustainable while meeting the same quality, performance and processing requirements as existing solutions.

TNO helps material producers and compounders bring new materials towards industrial application faster and with greater confidence.

TNO combines expertise in areas such as polymer materials and processing, recycling technologies, application knowledge and scaling up from laboratory to pilot scale. This helps companies bring their materials from idea to market faster.

BCS: facilities and equipment

At Brightlands Circular Space, you will find the facilities, equipment and expertise to develop and test circular plastics for industrial application. Here, you can upgrade recyclates, process them into new material formulations and test them for applications in different markets.

All equipment at BCS is designed to demonstrate this in practice, helping you bring innovations to market faster. Examples include the KraussMaffei tandem recycling and compounding extrusion line, a Collin seven-layer cast and blown film line, the Brückner Karo 5.0 biaxial stretcher and our Kahl compactor for pre-processing low-density plastics feedstock.

New materials offer opportunities, but also create uncertainty:

• What does a change in material or formulation mean for product quality?
• How does a circular material behave in your existing processes?
• And what risks arise when scaling up a material to industrial production?

TNO helps converters and manufacturers answer these questions. The answers enable you to make informed decisions about material use, process adjustments and implementation.

Inks, adhesives and other functional materials

Inks and adhesives are also important for packaging circularity. They must be compatible with recycling and available for plastics with high recyclate content. New recyclable barrier materials that can incorporate recyclate are also needed for multilayer films.

An environment that reflects industrial practice

Within BCS, you test materials and processes in an environment that closely reflects industrial practice. It provides the facilities, equipment and expertise required. Using our equipment, including the Collin seven-layer cast and blown film line and the Brückner Karo 5.0 biaxial stretcher, we produce materials and products in quantities and formats suitable for further processing.

This gives you valuable insights into processability, process stability and product quality without changing your own production environment. It makes the step towards implementation manageable and based on practical experience rather than assumptions.

Packaging producers also face a complex challenge. Their packaging must contain more circular feedstock, become more recyclable and comply with new laws and regulations. At the same time, it must meet stringent requirements for functionality, food safety, shelf life and appearance.

TNO helps packaging producers develop future-proof packaging solutions that continue to meet today’s requirements. The breadth of our expertise means that we can support not only product-technical questions, but also design choices and societal issues.

The place to bring packaging towards market introduction

Within BCS, we bring together the facilities and expertise needed to develop new packaging concepts. Production and validation take place under conditions that reflect real-world practice.

Our equipment, including the Collin seven-layer cast and blown film line and the Brückner Karo 5.0 biaxial stretcher, can produce a wide range of end materials and products.

This enables you to investigate how mono-material solutions perform, how circular feedstock affects product properties and which material and design choices contribute to future circularity targets. It provides greater confidence in performance, processability and commercial viability before packaging is introduced to the market.

Good news: sustainability targets are becoming increasingly specific. In the packaging industry, for example, you will need to comply with the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). At the same time, material and packaging choices must continue to support quality, availability, brand value and consumer confidence.

For brand owners, the challenge is to make the right choices. Which solution delivers genuine impact? Which risks are acceptable? And how can you substantiate investments for internal stakeholders and the market?

TNO helps brand owners translate sustainability ambitions into evidence-based decisions. We do this by clarifying what is and is not technically possible, while also considering economic aspects.

Within BCS, we demonstrate what is possible. For example, our Collin seven-layer cast and blown film line can produce multilayer packaging material.

By collaborating with material producers, converters, recyclers and researchers, you gain insight into performance, feasibility, risks and impact. This helps translate sustainability targets into solutions that are technically, commercially and operationally viable.

The quality of recyclate increasingly determines its economic value. The higher the quality, the wider its potential use and the greater the opportunities for high-value applications.

BCS draws on a range of expertise, from materials knowledge and technology development to the use of AI. This enables us to help recyclers and waste processors optimise material streams, improve separation technologies and increase recyclate quality, as well as develop new applications.

BCS brings facilities and expertise together in an environment where you can upgrade, improve and validate plastics streams for new applications. Our KraussMaffei tandem recycling and compounding extrusion line features in-line melt filtration, degassing and deodorisation, improving recyclate quality.

From waste stream to valuable feedstock

BCS has several in-line sensors for measuring chemical composition during processing, using techniques such as Raman spectroscopy and infrared. This allows you to optimise recyclate quality. You can then use the Collin seven-layer cast and blown film line to validate whether the recyclate is suitable for multilayer film solutions. In this way, you work on quality improvement, process optimisation and new high-value applications for recycled materials.

The links between recyclers, material producers, converters and brand owners provide insight not only into the technical possibilities, but also into market demand for circular feedstock. This enables you to turn a waste stream into valuable feedstock.

Many innovations stall between a successful pilot and their first commercial application. This is not because the technology does not work, but because access to facilities, expertise, validation opportunities and industrial partners is lacking. For start-ups and scale-ups, the challenge is often not developing the technology, but demonstrating that it can be scaled up successfully.

Within BCS, start-ups and scale-ups gain access to testing facilities, real-world validation and partners from across the value chain.

The circular transition requires policy that reflects technical, economic and societal realities. Effective decisions require insight into both the possibilities and limitations of new materials, processes and value chain solutions. Policymakers are therefore increasingly looking for practical experience that shows what actually works.

Within BCS, you can see how innovations perform under realistic conditions and which prerequisites are needed for successful implementation. By linking pilots, demonstrations and validation projects to policy questions, you can make better-informed decisions on circularity, raw material use and future regulation.

System models and scenarios can help reveal potential effects on costs, circularity, climate and the environment. They provide a basis for investment and policy advice, resulting in policy that is not only ambitious, but also feasible and effective.