PPS9

In the first phase of the project, a system containing digital “watermarks” will be created, which will function as a digital passport for recyclability. This passport can contain information about the product/packaging characteristics, its materials and recyclability. With this, sorting flows will be more precise and, consequently, recycling processes will also be more efficient, increasing the number of recycled materials, therefore benefiting the entire packaging value chain. The passport will also contribute to the monitoring of recycled material, ensuring a high level of traceability and trust in the end user, promoting greater knowledge about how to recycle and the contribution of all stakeholders in the value chain, up to the end of life of the packages.

In a second phase of the project, there will be a focus on Singularity, where a unique code will be applied to each finished product. This will improve information about upstream processes during the manufacture of packaging components, and later along the supply chain. The use of Blockchain technology or similar is envisaged, with the aim of allowing through the concept of singularity, a broader scope for its use, for example for marketing purposes, augmented reality, usage instructions, etc., and allowing retailers and end users to interact with the bottle. It is expected that this technology can be applied to:

• Individual information per package throughout the supply chain, from production to disposal;
• Recycling effects;
• Counterfeit control;
• Marketing effects or interaction, such as usage instructions.

With this solution, we intend that end users with a high environmental awareness can use their smartphones for digital readings of products and directly help in the end-of-life sorting of products, a task currently managed by waste management entities.