The Challenge seeks groundbreaking proposals with the capacity to replace the use of fossil-carbon-based plastics from farm to fork and thereby support EU policy ambitions to move towards a more circular, resource efficient and climate neutral economy.

Proposals must seek to deliver nature-inspired sustainable alternatives to fossil carbon derived plastics and associated production processes. These alternatives shall be circular, safe and sustainable by design and allow for reusability, recyclability and full biodegradability. They must look to address one or more of the current uses of plastics in the food system (e.g.,agricultural mulch, food packaging), and utilise bio-based sources and raw materials such as:

• polymers extracted from nature (e.g.,cellulose, chitin, lignin, keratin)
• natural polymers (e.g.,microbial, fungal and plant materials), or
• synthetic polymers from biobased materials.

Attention should also be paid to consider regulatory aspects in the development and incorporation of chemical additives that can deliver high sanitary standards for contact with food. The additives must be formulated in a way to meet set of biodegradability criteria and the assessment of the ability of the products to fully biodegrade in natural soil and aquatic environments across the EU.

All projects must demonstrate at least preliminary evidence of an improved cradle-to-gate and cradle-to-grave lifecycle assessment, when compared to fossil carbon derived plastics and current additives. This lifecycle assessment must take account of environmental, social and economic considerations. The resulting materials and associated processes must over their lifecycle:

• Reduce energy consumption and the carbon footprint
• Reduce water consumption and associated environmental footprint
• Enhance biodegradability, compostability or reusability

They must also include one or more enhanced functional characteristics for use in the food value chain while minimising or potentially eliminating the harmful effects with a view to:

• increasing shelf life and retaining the nutritional properties of packaged food, and
• enhancing the productivity and functionality of agricultural films

This could include the use of smart functionalities in responding to environmental conditions and the use of biodegradable electronic features.

Projects with strong capacity for use beyond food and agriculture (e.g.,packaging for pharmaceuticals) will also be encouraged and prioritised.