Completed: 2nd General Assembly Meeting
The Second BIO-PLASTICS EUROPE General Assembly took place this week, from 14 to 16 of September. The meeting, organized by HAW Hamburg, was attended by our 22 Consortium Partners, a great team reaching a total of 93 members in 13 countries. During those three days, the entire group had the opportunity to hear from each other. The activities undertaken over the past two years have been presented and new synergies for the work planned in the next two years identified. With such a big consortium, new ideas have been popping out to increase our coordination and cooperation, so that BIO-PLASTICS EUROPE´s impact and reach can be maximized.
This is what happened:
During day one, we talked about science. The Consortium discussed the activities undertaken over the last two years regarding the development of five different biodegradable bio-based plastics. Those compounds have been analyzed with support from scientific literature research and also from experiments – in the lab, in the field and on biota. The results of those experiments were shared and discussed among all participants. The workplan for improvements to those compounds and the strategy for the second round of tests were outlined, and should be expected to begin in the spring of 2022.
Day two revolved around safety topics: safety components of biodegradable bio-based plastics and plastic waste management, including topics related to stakeholder engagement and consumer attitudes.
Finally, day three was all about business and policy. The meeting then focused on the possible business models and market scenarios for innovative biodegradable bio-based plastics, policy-making, and life-cycle analysis.
The easing of Covid-19 restrictions left the Consortium with renewed motivation and high hopes for presential project meetings in the near future. This valuable dialogue is crucial for the project to achieve our common vision: contributing to the shift towards a more circular economy by promoting sustainable biodegradable bio-based plastics.
The first General Assembly Meeting took place on 9 and 10 September 2020. You can read about it here.
