EU funded project H2020: BIO-PLASTICS EUROPE

The project BIO-PLASTICS EUROPE will contribute to the Mission with the results obtained and networks established within the project. The main objective of the project is "The development of sustainable strategies and solutions for bio-based plastic products, as well as the development of approaches focused on circular innovation for the whole bio-plastics system. These may be deployed to support policy-making, innovation and technology transfer."
The SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES of the project BIO-PLASTIC EUROPE are as follows:
Objective 1 - To define, test and deploy innovative product design strategies and to pursue specific Innovative Business Models based on these strategies, targeting efficient reuse and recycling approaches and solutions for bioplastic, including those required to ensure the health and safety of recycled materials when used for toys, packaging food stuffs and shipping, fishing, and aquaculture equipment. The materials will be made from renewable sources, with minimal or no competition with food supply chains. They should contain thermo-mechanical properties comparable to conventional plastics with the advantage of being eco-sustainable and naturally biodegradable.
Objective 2 - To map current waste collection and management schemes as well as recycling inefficiencies, identifying, listing and addressing some of the technical and economic barriers to bio-based plastics recycling as regards established and/or alternative recycling options, also including safety and impacts on ecosystems and define key priority areas for enhancing waste collection and management.
Objective 3 - To investigate the potential impacts of bioplastic on the terrestrial and aquatic environments, including on flora, fauna and possible implications to human health. This is part of the procedures for the biodegradable sustainability framework. By means of pre-normative research and tests of various modalities of bioplastic under laboratory and field conditions, a better knowledge about the expected or potential impacts of the release of chemicals deriving from the degradation of bioplastic will be achieved. This can, in turn, provide a solid basis for the further development of those categories of bioplastics known to be less dangerous to human and environmental health. The work performed as part of Objective 3 will contribute to the development of EU-harmonised criteria for biodegradability (in open-air and in oceanic conditions) and a sustainability framework that increases market transparency and improves waste management practices on land and sea.
Objective 4 - To build a biodegradable plastics sustainability framework, also by producing a “bioplastic safety protocol” (as a reliable means to ensure the safety of bioplastic materials), and by a mapping focusing on the applications where biodegradable and compostable solutions could support public policies.
Objective 5 - To develop Innovative Business Models facilitating efficient reuse and recycling strategies and solutions, creating a better framework for systemic innovation and uptake of results through broad stakeholder engagement and improve the professional skills and competences of those working and being trained to work within the blue economy and the bioeconomy by means of the execution of a set of training activities.
All contributions relevant for the Mission during the implementation of the project will be shared in order to support the Mission.