EcoPlastiC at Global Polymer Sustainability & Innovation Summit (GPSIS) 2025

The Global Polymer Sustainability & Innovation Summit (GPSIS) was organised from 29-31 October 2025 at the Technological University of the Shannon in Athlone (Ireland) It brought together about 100 participants from academia, industry and policy to accelerate progress in sustainable polymer technologies. Over three days of talks, posters and panels, the community explored circular materials, green recycling, smart manufacturing, and the use of advanced digital tools to link process, structure and performance, with contributions spanning plastic-waste valorisation, medical and industrial case studies.

GPSIS 2025 highlighted clear trends in sustainable materials research, strengthened collaboration across the polymer value chain, and emphasized turning laboratory advances into practical circular-economy solutions. Attendees also showcased their work, received expert feedback, and built partnerships aimed at amplifying scientific excellence, industrial relevance, and workforce capacity. Programme and Abstract Book is available HERE.

Participation in GPSIS 2025 enabled rich knowledge exchange, opened new avenues for collaboration, and raised the international profile of ongoing work in sustainable and circular polymer technologies; these outcomes directly advanced EcoPlastiC objectives by elevating scientific excellence, strengthening international cooperation, and building capacity within the research team.

The technical agenda featured high-profile invited talks for example, Len Czuba on how medical polymers underpin modern healthcare and the end-of-life challenge in MedTech, Siobhán O. Matthews on supercritical-fluid (scCO₂) processing as a clean route for sustainable polymer manufacturing, and Professor Austin Coffey on aligning industry, research, and education to drive next-generation polymer innovation: illustrating the summit’s mix of scientific depth and industrial relevance; additional highlights included Mike Brooks’s “From Plastics to Patients” session on assuring the performance and safety of autoinjectors and Liam McGovern’s interpretable modelling of structure–performance in stretch-blow-molded packaging.

From the EcoPlastiC Consortium, there were 4 attendees from the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest (TUS) that presented results from the project, while Dr Eduardo Lanzagorta Garcia and Dr Chaitra Venkatesh from TUS were attendees of the summit:

Dr Cuneyt Erdinc Tas delivered an overview talk titled “A New Approach to Plastic Waste Management and Pretreatment: Laying the Foundation for Sustainable Valorization and Green Recycling”, summarizing the team’s ongoing work in this area:

Necdet Ozcelik gave an overview presentation titled “Advancing Circular Solutions Through Green Recycling of PLA and Polyester-Based Waste Plastics”, highlighting his PhD works in the field:

Necdet Ozcelik also presented a poster titled “Sustainable Alternatives to PP: Advancing the Circular Economy with PET and PBT Contact Lens Molding” co-authored with Cuneyt Erdinc Tas (TUS), Paul Stidworthy (Bauch + Lomb) and Margaret Brennan Fournet (TUS):

Zeliha Ece Ozcelik delivered an overview talk titled “From Light to Heat: Sustainable Photothermal Polymers for Future Smart Textiles”, co-authored with Cuneyt Erdinc Tas, Buket Alkan Tas, Margaret Brennan Fournet, Marija Mojicevic, Eduardo Lanzagorta Garcia and Bor Shin Chee from TUS. She received a recognition award for her oral presentation, highlighting the scientific excellence and impact of the work:

Zeliha Ece Ozcelik presented a poster titled “Near-Infrared-Induced High-Performance Antimicrobial Active Coating for Medical Textiles Based on Easy-to-Synthesize Natural Catechin with Full End-of-Life Circularity” co-authored with Buket Alkan Tas, Necdet Ozcelik, Bor Shin Chee, Eduardo Lanzagorta Garcia, Marija Mojicevic, Margaret Brennan Fournet and Cuneyt Erdinc Tas from TUS:

Bor Shin Chee presented the poster “EcoPlastiC: Turning Mixed PET Waste into High-Performance Biopolymers” co-authored with Kim Windley (AVE), Filomena Freitas (NOVA), Mikael Hedenqvist (KTH), Jasmina Nikodinovic-Runic (IMGGE) and Margaret Brennan Fournet (TUS):

Bor Shin Chee presented another poster “High Performance Biomass Films and Bio-Adhesives from Single-Cell Protein” co-authored with Buket Alkan Tas, Necdet Ozcelik and Margaret Brennan Fournet from TUS: