Innovating for Soft Plastic in a Circular Economy

Tender description

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) falls under the category of pre-commercial procurement (PCP), which involves the purchase of research by a Government entity undertaken with the objective of stimulating innovation that the contracting authority or some other party may benefit from at a later stage when goods or services not currently available are developed from the outcomes of the research. The Environmental Protection Agency is leading a challenge under Enterprise Ireland’s SBIR Ireland programme to seek solutions to reduce the amount of single-use plastic packaging used in school meals and to reduce the carbon footprint of schools by cutting plastic packaging waste generation. Currently, meals are provided packaged in a range of containers and soft-plastic wrappers that are disposed of in the residual waste bin. There is an opportunity to bring sustainability into this area, to reduce the amount of non-recyclable and single-use plastic packaging in the provision of school meals and to look at potential new business models such as reusable packaging. This framework covers two phases of the SBIR competition - Phase 1 (technical feasibility) and Phase 2A (development and prototype demonstration). Phase 2A is dependent on successful completion of Phase 1 and may be awarded to selected Phase 1 contractors only. Phase 2B is at the sole discretion of the Challenge Owner for companies that successfully complete Phase 2A, where invitations to contract for further research and developing solutions are proposed.