PepsiCo, Mondelēz International, and Pladis (owner of McVitie's) are participating in a national trial of digital watermarks for flexible plastic packaging in Belgium. ^[1] Fost Plus, the organization responsible for packaging waste recycling in Belgium, is leading a trial to test digital watermarking technology on flexible food packaging. ^[2] Digital watermarks are imperceptible codes printed on packaging that can be read by specialist sorting systems to determine material type and food contact status. ^[3] Fost Plus will send sorted bales of film to a sorting centre in Germany where Pellenc ST high-resolution camera technology will read the digital watermarks. ^[4] The trial will collect flexible packaging from households across Belgium to test invisible digital markings that help identify and sort different plastic materials. ^[5] Sorted bales of film collected through Belgium's household recycling system will be sent to Hündgen Entsorgungs' sorting centre in Germany for scanning. ^[6] The trial aims to provide technical learning to meet the recycled content targets in the upcoming EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. ^[7] The trial will assess Digimarc watermarks to identify whether packaging previously contained food, enabling targeted sorting streams for recycled material. ^[8]