According to the European Commission, on average each European generates almost 180kg of packaging waste per year. Packaging is among the main users of virgin materials, with 40% of plastics and 50% of paper used in the EU being used for packaging. Without action, packaging waste in the EU will increase by another 19% by 2030 and, in the case of plastic packaging waste, even by 46%. This growing environmental awareness is pushing to reduce the use of plastics, which has led to paper and cardboard being an attractive option due to their biodegradability and recyclability.

As a result, the SEC-JAKI project explores new cellulose-based techniques to make it easily manageable and recycleable, generating new, more sustainable practices for the food sector.