As part of the LIFE CLOOVER² project, SINTAC Recycling and Paléc Ecológico held a technical meeting on 29 April at Paléc’s facilities to define the most appropriate control and testing procedures for evaluating the performance of polypropylene (PP) plastic crates throughout their reuse cycle.
The session brought together project partners and expert technicians from an international certification body to establish the methodology for assessing the condition of the crates both at the beginning of their service life and after completing three consecutive reuse cycles within the project’s closed-loop system.
The evaluation programme will include testing of the mechanical reusability properties of the crates in accordance with the Spanish standard UNE 53 927, which specifies requirements for reusable plastic crates used in agri-food and industrial applications. These assessments will help determine the durability and suitability of the packaging for repeated use under real operating conditions.
In addition, a comprehensive food safety analysis will be carried out on the polypropylene crates. The testing programme will include migration analyses for materials intended to come into contact with fruit, as well as controls for heavy metals, aromatic amines and PFAS substances, ensuring compliance with the applicable regulatory limits and food-contact safety requirements.
These activities represent a key step in validating the environmental and technical performance of reusable plastic packaging systems, supporting the LIFE CLOOVER² project’s objective of promoting safe, sustainable and circular solutions for the agri-food sector.
