EcoPlastiC at the EFB “Plastics: Challenges and Biotechnological Solutions”

The European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB) and the Asian Federation of Biotechnology (AFOB) organized an online conference on “Plastics: Challenges and Biotechnological Solutions” to explore the range of new bio-based materials that are becoming available. The event gathered several field experts from academia and industry who delivered 13 inspiring keynote lectures, 13 oral communications, and several poster presentations throughout four engaging sessions on New bio-based plastics, Enzyme engineering for plastic synthesis and biodegradation, Progress in plastic recycling and Environmental impact of discarded plastics, that filled the day with knowledge-sharing and networking opportunities.

The conference programme is available here: https://efbiotechnology.org/images/plastics/Plastics_scientific_programme_15_03.pdf

The EcoPlastiC project results were presented by Jeovan Araujo, a PhD candidate from the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), who gave a short talk titled “Biotechnological Treatment of Polyethylene Terephthalate Mixed Plastic Streams” in which he presented part of his PhD work on biotechnological solutions for end-of-life mixed PET plastic waste. He highlighted findings from a recent study from the EcoPlastiC consortium reporting a biotechnological pathway that uses enzymes to break down mixed PET streams and further converts waste hydrolysates into a regenerative eco-polymer.