EU-Funded projects
FEAD takes part in EU-Funded projects as a member of the advisory board. A list of EU-Funded projects FEAD participates in is provided on this page.
PROSPER
The production of bioplastics currently represents only a small fraction of total plastic consumption. As public and political concern grows over the pollution caused by uncollected and untreated plastics, and as technologies allow for the use of renewable, plant-based, and waste-based feedstocks to create plastics, the global production of bioplastics is on the rise. However, the amounts generated are often too small to justify investments in specialized sorting facilities or separate depolymerization plants.
In countries like Italy and Ireland, where bioplastics are co-collected and co-composted with food waste, the issue is less pressing. However, such organic waste treatment facilities are not commonly found in many other EU nations. This raises the question: what end-of-life options do bioplastics have if they are not composted? PROSPER addresses these concerns.
PROSPER is a collaborative research and innovation project financed by the Horizon-Circular Bio-Based Europe Joint Undertaking under Grant Agreement 101157907, led by the University of Ghent, Belgium.
Duration: 4 years
The objective
The PROSPER project aims to cover the entire value chain of bio-based plastics sorting and recycling. It will demonstrate a system to achieve a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 7 by establishing pilot programs in partner countries to sort, and chemically and mechanically recycle bioplastics. Additionally, the project will assess the costs and contributions necessary under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes from the bioplastics industry to ensure proper financing for recycling facilities.
FEAD’s involvement
FEAD Secretary General, Paolo Campanella, is a member of the project’s Advisory Board which advises and gives guidance to partners when required on the progress of the research, monitors the progress against the KPIs of the project and disseminates news.
VIBES
The use of composite materials has gained interest in recent years due to their properties such as high mechanical strength, good chemical resistance and long durability, as well as great lightness and corrosion resistance. However, the end-of-life of thermoset composites in particular poses a technical difficulty due to their inherent complexity, generating plastic waste. Currently, most of the thermoset composite waste is not properly recycled, and it is either incinerated (42.6%) or diverted to landfill (24.9%). There is a need to develop and ensure a systematic circular ecosystem for these materials as a priority in Europe, to be able to contribute to the EU’s 2050 long-term strategy for a climate-neutral Europe. The VIBES project presents an innovative solution to resolve the end-of-life issues of these materials. It is a research and innovation project, with a duration of 48 months and a budget of almost 5.3 million Euros, funded by Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI – JU) under the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon 2020.
Duration: 4 years
The objective
The VIBES project aims to develop and demonstrate a new, greener, cost-efficient, and non-toxic recycling technology solution that aims to decrease the amount of non-biodegradable polymers sent to disposal or discharged to the environment by at least 40%.
FEAD’s involvement
FEAD is a part of VIBES Project’s Stakeholders’ board. The Stakeholders Board includes individuals from the whole value chain, either independent or representing organisations, who are external to the consortium partners. The members of the Stakeholders Board collaborate in the project to effectively respond to market and social needs, give feedback and better guide decisions in the project.