Public Presentation Session of the Results of the R&D Mobilizing Project Better Plastics: Plastic in a Circular Economy

The Public Presentation Session of the results of the mobilizing R&D project Better Plastics: Plastics in a Circular Economy, organized by APIP - Portuguese Plastics Industry Association, took place on 21 June 2023 at the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIP), featuring the demonstration of the developed products.

This project, funded by COMPETE 2020, PORTUGAL 2020, LISBOA 2020, and the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union, stemmed from an initiative by APIP and brought together the value chain of the plastics sector in Portugal to develop innovative solutions to promote circularity of this material. The investment totaled 6.3 million euros and resulted in 10 products, 15 materials, and three sustainable technologies.

The opening session of this event, attended by over 100 people, was graced by the presence of Modesto Araújo, CEO of VIZELPAS - Flexible Films, the leading promoting company of the project, Jaime Braga, Director's Advisor of CIP - Business Confederation of Portugal, Silvia Garcia, Administrator of ANI - National Innovation Agency, and Nuno Mangas, President of the Managing Board of COMPETE 2030.

The preliminary framing of the Better Plastics project was presented by Bruno Pereira da Silva, Scientific Coordinator of the Project, followed by presentations of the project's four research and development lines by Ana Machado from the University of Minho, Clara Gonçalves from PIEP - Innovation in Polymer Engineering, Joel Vasco from the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, and João Bordado from Instituto Superior Técnico.

The Round Table "Optimization in Natural Resources Management in the Era of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence" was moderated by Nuno Aguiar, Technical Director of APIP, and featured the participation of Filipe Domingues, Co-founder of the Center for Cooperation in Cyberspace, João Neves, Former Deputy Secretary of State for Economy, José Carlos Caldeira, Administrator of INESCTEC, and Pedro Mendonça, Partner at Mosquito Portugal. This Round Table was innovative in that it included the participation of a fifth element: the artificial intelligence tool Chat-GPT. 

Amaro Reis, President of APIP, and Ana Cristina Carrola, Member of the Executive Board of APA - Portuguese Environment Agency, concluded the event, followed by a networking cocktail.

APIP expresses gratitude for the presence of all, especially the guest speakers, in this event that demonstrates the sector's drive towards a transition to an effective circular economy with innovative and sustainable solutions that maximize the benefits of plastics while promoting resource efficiency.