Tenth EcoPlastiC Steering Meeting

The tenth online EcoPlastiC Steering Meeting (SM) was held on May 30, 2025, where the final steps of the project were discussed, as well as upcoming deliverables and joint publications.

The experimental work within WP2 (Green depolymerisation mixed PET waste plastics) and WP3 (Design and optimisation of the AVE microbiomes) has been completed. Within WP4 (Recovery of PHA), NOVA achieved successful biomass upscaling using reactively extruded (REXed) PET/PE with improved results over 2 L scale, so the experiments will proceed to a 10 L bioreactor. A new strain isolated from bioreactor B showed 100% terephthalic acid (TPA) removal and 12% of PHA content, and the optimisation of PHA content is ongoing. Also, several fed-batch fermentations are in progress. At AVE, three bioreactor runs were completed using the mixed culture provided by NOVA, andthe next runs will also use a new post-feeding strategy. On a scale from 10 L, AVE is exploring the microbiome from NOVA at 10 L and gathering biomass to send to KTH for WP5.

Within WP5 (Processing and packaging prototype), KTH has been focusing on biodegradation and recycling studies, as well as preparation of several publications. At TUS, protein-based adhesive using single-cell protein SCP and soya proteins was developed, and results showed the water resistance performance of SCP adhesives are better than commercial glue. Alternative cross-linkers will be considered to increase the protein content of SCP and to improve bonding performance.

Within WP6 (Dissemination, Exploitation and Communication), IMGGE discussed the rising numbers for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for all activities, especially in the categories of events, conferences and school visits. The final few months will be very rich in activities and publications, and the next EcoPlastiC meeting will be in person in Belgrade, organized by the IMGGE team.

Representatives from all partner institutions attended the SM:

TUS (Ireland) - Laura Rodriguez Barroso, Bor Shin Chee, Cuneyt Erdinc Tas, Buket Alkan Tas, Necdet Ozcelik, Zeliha Ece Ozcelik

AVE (Belgium) – Kim Windey (Team Leader), Lars Stegemueller

NOVA (Portugal) –Patricia Concordio dos Reis

IMGGE (Serbia) – Jasmina Nikodinovic-Runic (Team Leader), Jelena Simic, Marijana Ponjavic, Sanja Skaro Bogojevic

KTH (Sweden) – Mikael Hedenqvist (Team Leader), Anna Svagen Hanner

EcoPlastiC Steering Meetings were held every two months to ensure the constant project progress, and the next meeting will be our final EcoPlastiC General Assembly, which will be organised in person in Belgrade (Serbia), from 4-5 September 2025.