The kick-off meeting of our new EU Horizon 2020 project “In-No-Plastic” (Innovative approaches towards prevention, removal and reuse of marine plastic litter) took place on 20th and 21st October via web, due to coronavirus limitation to travel. The project with Venice Lagoon Plastic Free as a partner, and coordinated by the National Research Institute SINTEF based in Norway, aims at designing and implementing nano, micro and macro-plastic cleaning technologies based on a combined methodology of social and technical removal strategies. The project will focus on industrial hotspots through cooling water systems, harbours, lagoons, shores and shallow sea water.
The technical strategy consists of the comparison between existing methods and multiple developing technologies for the removal of plastics at different testing areas in Europe, including Venice, and the Caribbean.
The social strategy, on the other hand, focusses on the engagement of the local population by incentivising plastic recovery in return for monetary or another recompense. The project that gathers 17 partners from 10 countries and has a life span of three years, will also investigate different recycling methods, aiming to connect plastic removal with its economic circularity.
Venice Lagoon Plastic Free, leads the Work Package on joint activities, dissemination and communication in close cooperation with SINTEF. It will set out the frame for meaningful social and scientific-based activities focused on the removal of marine litter and circular economy in the world heritage site of Venice and its Lagoon.
In particular, we will work closely with the local administration and the waste management authority, local, national and international associations, including the Venetian Association of Hoteliers, to incentivize citizens and tourists to prevent marine litter and pick-up plastics with the assistance of innovative apps and rewarding strategies. The plastic gathered will then be treated for reuse and recycling.
Venice Lagoon Plastic Free is the only Italian partner of In-No-Plastic project. By being also awarded with the sister project MAELSTROM, under the coordination of CNR ISMAR (Italy), we will play a catalytic role between the two projects by building synergic interactions and magnifying their impact. MAELSTROM kick-off is foreseen in January 2021. Both projects, MAELSTROM and In-No-Plastic, are afferent to the same call for proposals: CE-FNR-09-2020 – Pilot action for the removal of marine plastics and litter.
For more updates on the In-No-Plastic project, you can follow project’s official website, our Facebook page and official website.