Plasticircle final forum – disruptive technologies for the circularity of packaging waste

Collaborative strategies and new technologies for plastic circularity have proven to be a reality ready to be implemented in the market thanks to PlastiCircle, a four-year Horizon 2020 project which results and impacts will be showcased in a final forum to be held online on Tuesday, 13 April 2021. The event is organised by ITENE research centre in collaboration with KIMbcn, Proplast and ICLEI, with the support of Ecoembes and PlasticsEurope that will be represented by Patricia Vangheluwe, Circularity Director, who will speak at 10:30 am about a circular economy with plastics.

PlasticsEurope, together with 20 pan-European partners, led by the Packaging and Logistics Research and Innovation Center (ITENE), are working to reinvent the plastic packaging treatment process, making recycling more accessible, cost-effective and profitable for both citizens and professionals in the field, through PlastiCircle, under Horizon 2020 program of the European Commission. PlastiCircle aims to develop and implement a holistic process to increase recycling rates for packaging waste in Europe. This will allow plastic waste to be reprocessed in the same value chain, contributing to the circularity of plastics. The objective of the project is aligned with the stricter objectives that the European Commission is establishing within its Circular Economy Package, which sets very ambitious objectives, such as recycling 75% of packaging waste by 2030.

To contribute to this objective, PlastiCircle focuses on innovation in the different stages associated with the treatment of plastic packaging waste, specifically in: collection (to increase the amount of packaging collected), transportation (to reduce costs of recovered plastic), sorting (to increase the quality of recovered plastic) and recovery in value-added products such as PET foam boards for wind turbines, roof structures or sandwich panels, automotive parts such as bumper brackets and dashboards, bituminous membranes for roofs, garbage bags and garden pieces and urban furniture. In addition, pilots have been carried out in three European cities (Valencia in Spain, Utrecht in the Netherlands and Alba Lulia in Romania), where various innovations developed in the project have been tested.

PlastiCircle Final Forum 13 April

9:00 – 15:00 CET

1st session – 9:00 to 12:00

Target audience: Public authorities and policymakers – private companies in the waste sector

2nd session – 13:00 to 15:00

Target audience: Industrial players along the treatment of plastic packaging (plastic industry, recyclers, converters, sorting plants, waste managers)

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no 730292.

Disclaimer: The sole responsibility for the content of this press release lies with the author and in no way reflects the views of the European Commission