The public presentation of the Better Plastics: Plastics in a Circular Economy project took place on the morning of June 8th at the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Lisbon. Around 100 entities were represented, including manufacturers, retail companies, waste management and recovery companies, non-governmental organizations, sectoral confederations and associations, educational and scientific research institutions, public bodies, and political decision-makers.
This project arose from an initiative promoted by the Portuguese Association of the Plastics Industry (APIP) and, according to Amaro Reis, president of the association, will constitute " a decisive step towards building integrated solutions, in what is the contribution of the plastics industry to the fulfillment of the objectives of the circular economy, carbon neutrality and sustainability ".
Better Plastics
The Better Plastics project aims to ensure the sustainability of the new value chain in the plastics sector in Portugal, and its objective is to " drive the development of new materials, products, technological processes and services, through a research and development and innovation strategy, ensuring the circularity of plastics ," said Modesto Araújo, CEO of Vizelpas, the leading promoter of Better Plastics.
According to the project's scientific coordinator, Bruno Pereira da Silva, from the Polymer Engineering Innovation Hub, this project constitutes a true innovation ecosystem, comprising 52 entities, including consortium companies, advisory board entities that formalized their integration in a protocol ceremony during the public session, and associate members, where 17 products, 15 materials, and five technological systems will be developed.
Collaborative innovation
The session also included speeches by the administrator of the National Innovation Agency (ANI), Eduardo Bacelar Pinto, the president of COMPETE 2020, Nuno Mangas, and the Secretary of State for Regional Development, Isabel Ferreira, who highlighted the importance of mobilizing agendas as initiatives to support research and development and promote collaborative innovation, for the development of new products, processes and services with high value for the economy, based on the principles of sustainability.
The Better Plastics project represents an investment of approximately 6,3 million euros, part of which is co-financed by COMPETE 2020, Portugal 2020 and the European Union, through the European Regional Development Fund.
