Duration: 2021-2023
Funded by Business Finland
Plastic waste floating in the waterways is a global challenge, directly affecting marine and coastal life, ecosystems, economies and human health. More than 180 Mt of plastics have ac-cumulated in the world’s oceans and increase by 4.6-12.7 Mt annually mainly from land-based sources (~80%), associated with poor waste and wastewater management.
In South East Asia the growth of plastic-waste leakage is particularly fast. Thus, the governments in these area have prioritized the actions to combat plastic waste
VTT in collaboration with the consortium members will provide a full solution for the floating plastic waste including:
- Business model and analyses of financial options for philanthropic projects.
- State-of-the-Art –analysis of existing detection technologies for floating plastic and organic waste, identification of sensor and service providers.
- Processing options for floating organic fraction and valorisation of plastic waste in collaboration with the companies.
- Collaboration with local actors are established to enable a credible Proof-of-Concept
- The project outcomes relate to the following SDG’s
- #6 “Clean water and sanitation”;
- #12 “Responsible consumption and production”;
- #14 “Life below water”; and
- #17 “Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development”
Solutions to be brought to the market
- Clean-up solutions for floating debris
- Technologies for valorising the collected plastic waste
- Situation awareness tools for floating waste identification
- New technologies:
- Waste to building material
- Chemical recycling to fuel and chemicals
- Establish a value chain for the utilisation of collected plastic waste debris and enable new business through a Circular Economy approach.
Hyperspectral imaging can differentiate floating objects from water surface.
Collected plastic waste.