Landscape Lab partner in European BluePoint project

The Landscape Laboratory is one of the partners in the European project “BluePoint”, funded by the Interreg Atlantic Area Programme.

With the participation of 13 partners from countries such as Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal, including CVR – Centre for Waste Recovery, the project aims to create an ecosystem of intercooperation, innovation, entrepreneurship and internationalisation, which aims to promote the marine plastic value chain and emerging business opportunities, in order to establish a replicable circular economy model in the Atlantic region. The main goal is to reduce the environmental impact caused by plastic in the oceans, while creating new business opportunities and driving the maritime sector towards a Blue Circular Economy.

The widespread presence of plastic in the oceans attracts toxic substances that are ingested by plankton, the base of the food chain for marine species. This contamination has a devastating effect on the preservation of marine biodiversity, human health, food security and economic activities related to the sea.

To address this challenge and turn it into an opportunity for innovation, it is crucial to find creative solutions to recover and reuse marine plastic as a raw material, thus establishing a new value chain. The “BluePoint” project emerges as a response to this urgent need, developing innovative strategies to transition maritime activities from a linear model to a resource-efficient Blue Circular Economy. The main focus centres on the entire marine plastic value chain, from plastic identification and collection to cleaning and sorting, recycling and processing, driving the creation of a new sustainable value chain. Throughout the project, specific research, entrepreneurship, awareness and transferability actions will be implemented to achieve these objectives.

Within the framework of this strategic partnership, the Landscape Lab will actively collaborate on research activities and trend analysis related to the marine plastic value chain and innovative technologies for a resource-efficient blue circular economy. In addition, it will play a leading role in sensitising society to the importance of the blue and green economy by spearheading community awareness actions, through various initiatives focused on informing and engaging the population on the relevance of a sustainable economy and on finding solutions to give a new life to marine plastics. From collection to the development of marketable products, the Landscape Lab will drive new business models and opportunities within the marine plastic value chain. In addition, the organisation will play a crucial role in the transfer system, facilitating the dissemination and application of the results and knowledge generated through the project, contributing to the development of sustainable blue business models.

The BluePoint project, which has an overall budget of more than €3.3 million and starts in January 2024, promises to be a major milestone in the fight against marine plastic pollution, while paving the way for the creation of a thriving and sustainable blue circular economy. With the collaboration of the Landscape Lab and other European partners, it is expected that new innovative solutions and strategies will be developed to tackle this global challenge and protect our precious marine ecosystem.