Public Presentation of R&D+i Better Plastics: Plastics in a Circular Economy Project

On the morning of June 8, at the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in Lisbon, the public presentation of the Better Plastics: Plastics in a Circular Economy project took place, with around 100 entities represented, including industrialists, retail companies, management and recovery of waste, NGOs, Confederations and sectoral associations, teaching and scientific research entities, public bodies, policy makers and other stakeholders.

This Project emerged from an initiative promoted by the Portuguese Plastics Industry Association (APIP), and, according to Amaro Reis, President of the Association, will constitute “a decisive step towards the construction of integrated solutions, in what is the contribution of the plastics industry. , for the fulfillment of the objectives of the Circular Economy, Carbon Neutrality and Sustainability”.

The Better Plastics project aims to “ensure the sustainability of the new value chain of the Plastics Sector in Portugal, and aims to boost the development of new materials, products, technological processes and services, through a strategy of research & development and innovation, ensuring the circularity of plastics”, said Modesto Araújo, CEO of VIZELPAS, Lead Promoter of Better Plastics: Plastics in a Circular Economy project.

According to the Scientific Coordinator of the Project, Bruno Pereira da Silva, from PIEP, this project “constitutes a true ecosystem of innovation, with 52 entities, including companies of the consortium, entities of the advisory board (who formalized their integration in a protocol ceremony during the public session) and associated members, where 17 products, 15 materials and 5 technological systems will be developed.”

The session also featured interventions 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 & Development and boost 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: Plastics in a Circular Economy mobilizing project has 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.

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