Re-thinking plastics in a sustainable circular economy (PlastLIFE)
Table of contents
Project description
is a 7-year project (2023-2029) coordinated by the Finnish Environment Institute SYKE and funded by the EU LIFE Programme, the consortium partners (17 partners), and other national organizations. PlastLIFE SIP promotes the implementation of the Plastics Roadmap for Finland, aiming to reduce littering and other negative impacts of plastics, refuse unnecessary consumption of plastics, increase the recycling of all kinds of plastics, and replace fossil plastics with biobased materials and/or other solutions.
Projects in Chemistry, and Biology- and Environmental Sciences at the Ģֱ focus on work package three, which aim is the chemically safe circular economy and sustainable plastic solutions. We promote the use of environmentally friendly materials and the environmental and health safety of recycled and biodegradable plastics. We develop methods for assessing the chemical risks of recycled plastics and utilizing plastic waste as adsorbents for hazardous substances in wastewaters.
The first goal of the chemistry project is to analyze the abilities of different plastic materials to adsorb harmful substances such as heavy metal ions, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides. The second goal is to utilize the adsorption abilities of different plastic fractions to filter and remove harmful substances from wastewater and process waters. The biology project aims to evaluate the environmental and health impacts of various biodegradable plastics, which will be assessed in laboratory experiments using model organisms, and biodegradability will be tested in water environments. Another goal is to establish a database and an open web page for generated information on plastic environmental fate to allow industrial companies, material providers, and customers to choose the materials with the best environmental properties.
