FRANCE – US-based digital watermarking solution provider, Digimarc, has expanded the Digital Watermarks Initiative HolyGrail 2.0 to France.

HolyGrail 2.0 is a cross-value chain initiative that aims to evaluate whether digital technology can increase sorting and higher-quality recycling rates for packaging in the European Union (EU).

The scheme is led by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) and facilitated by Association des Industries de Marque (AiM), also known as the European Brands Association.

The selection of France as the trial market for HolyGrail 2.0 comes after the project completed semi-industrial trials in March last year.

The results from the trials showed that Digimarc’s technology achieved a 99 percent average detection rate across all tested categories of plastic packaging.

The effectiveness of Digimarc Recycle also has been validated in Canada with a 99 percent detection rate in a pilot with the Circular Plastics Taskforce (CPT).

The results showed consistent behavior no matter the type of material used, the form factor, or the type of comingled waste.

The CPT concluded that Digimarc technology works to sort films and flexibles accurately and efficiently on an SKU-level (deterministic) basis.

CPT plans to implement the technology in facilities to enable the separation of flexibles by attributes, allowing the creation of new end markets.

CPT plans to implement Digimarc Recycle in Canadian facilities this year to enable the separation of flexibles by attributes, allowing the creation of new end markets.

Riley McCormack, CEO of Digimarc said: “As the semi-industrial trials clearly demonstrated last year, digital watermarking technology has the power to transform recycling.

“We could not be more thrilled to support our partners in France as they progress in their journey to achieving a more circular economy.”

According to Digimarc, France was chosen as a pilot market for several reasons, including ambitious legislative recycling objectives in that nation and big French organizations involved in HolyGrail 2.0 since the start of the project.

Additionally, Digimarc says it has received support from Citeo, a French producer responsibility organization.

McCormack says Digimarc can help to support companies with the innovation needed to comply with regulations such as the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation in the European Union on the horizon.

The company says that the codes can be detected and decoded by a high-resolution camera on the sorting line before the packaging is sorted into corresponding streams.

All operators in France have been invited to participate, marking an expansion in activities that were previously limited to HolyGrail 2.0 members.

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