Innovations in AI-enabled waste sorting, recyclable packaging and plastics circularity were among those recognised at the 2026 RECOUP Awards, held on 30 September.
The annual awards recognise organisations and individuals working across plastics reuse, recycling and resource efficiency, with this year’s winners spanning recycling technology, product design and wider circularity initiatives.
Greyparrot took the Best Innovation in Equipment or Technology award for its AI-powered packaging waste intelligence platform Deepnest, while Klöckner Pentaplast’s kp Elite® Nova won two categories: Recycled Plastic Product of the Year and Best Plastic Product Development for Recyclability or Re-Use. The product is a lightweight mono-PET tray for modified-atmosphere food packaging, made with up to 100% post-consumer recycled PET and designed to be compatible with existing PET tray recycling systems.
WRAP’s UK Plastics Pact was named Plastics Circularity Project of the Year, while Sherbourne Recycling received the RECOUP Award of Recognition.
The awards themselves also incorporated recycled plastics. Designed and manufactured by Future Makers UK, the trophies were made using Marble Carpet, a recycled polypropylene sheet produced from recovered packaging and event flooring.
Developed and manufactured in Nottingham, the material combines post-industrial and post-consumer recycled polypropylene to create a durable sheet suitable for design and manufacturing applications. RECOUP said its use for the trophies was intended to reflect the circularity and resource-efficiency principles celebrated by the awards.
Stuart Foster, CEO of RECOUP, said the awards highlighted the “innovation, commitment and expertise” present across the plastics value chain.
He added: “Every year we are inspired by the quality of entries and the determination of organisations and individuals working to create a more resource-efficient and circular future for plastics.”
RECOUP is a registered charity working on plastics resource efficiency, recycling and reuse, supported by a network of more than 170 members.
