The MultiCycle project has held a successful first stakeholder engagement event. Bringing together members of the MultiCycle consortium and stakeholders from across the plastics-based manufacturing, products and recycling value chain on 26th February 2020 at Fraunhofer IVV, the Fraunhofer Institute for Processing Engineering and Packaging, in Bavaria, Circular Future of Plastics provided an afternoon of insight and dialogue, introducing and discussing emerging advanced technologies and material opportunities for the sector arising at a high target level of technology readiness from collaborative research, and innovative approaches to sustainability assessment.

A range of speakers from across the MultiCycle consortium and from the Bavarian regional support network for participation in EU collaborative research BAYFOR addressed the challenges in the recyclability of plastics along with the novel technologies developing within the context of MultiCycle, and presented work towards a sustainability assessment of new technologies and the MultiCycle approach. Following the presentations the meeting opened into a plenary discussion panel where delegates had the opportunity to raise questions and exchange views with the speakers. Discussion ranged across topics such as  the quality of recyclates deriving from the MultiCycle process, the optimum size for an commercial facility, the compatibility of existing sorted fractions with the Multicycle process, and the potential for EPD declaration on the resultant products. In an innovative conclusion the event finished by using an online poll to capture broader thoughts around the envisaged impact of MultiCycle and innovation towards the circular economy of plastics more generally.

The first MultiCycle Stakeholder event successfully brought together a range of stakeholders providing insights to the developments of the project, addressing challenges and opening pathways of communication with the key end users. The presentations, the networking and the panel discussions provided the opportunity to incorporate the needs and views of the stakeholders to the future activities of the project consortium.
Going forwards, stakeholder engagement will be further supported by further planned dissemination activities in which many stakeholders expressed their interest.