In this ultimate issue, we present “The WaysTUP! Final Event” that will be organized in the frames of the Chania 2023 10th International Conference on Sustainable Solid Waste Management and invite you to join us! We also bring you the insights of “The Biochar Learning Workshop” run by the Technical University of Crete that took place on the 5th of April. We proudly present our two new sister projects, Sust4Biobased and CIRCforBIO! and invite you to check out the latest WaysTUP! news in the WaysTUP! Circular. Don’t miss out on “Stats for Chats” the JRC’s latest research on EU bioeconomy trends and biomass integrated assessment. Finally, we are presenting a selection of high impact Forthcoming Events you should not miss out on!

Book you tickets for Chania, Crete and get ready to join us in the one of a kind sustainable waste management event!

The WaysTUP! Final Event will be hosted in the frames of the 10th International Conference on Sustainable Solid Waste Management CHANIA 2023.

The Conference will be held on the 21-24 June 2023, in Chania, Crete Island, Greece and the WaysTUP! final event will be held on Friday the 23rd of June. Meet the WaysTUP! project partners, discover new value chains for urban biowaste, and explore the potential of new biowaste valorisation technologies. 

The Event’s agenda is to be announced soon. Visit Chania 2023 and stay tuned for updates!

On Wednesday, April 5, the Technical University of Crete organized the WaysTUP! learning workshop titled  “Transfer of good practices in the utilization of sewage sludge, manure, and compost as agricultural products“.

The learning workshop was coordinated by Professor Nikolaos Nikolaidis who presented the results of his team’s four-year research on the conversion of sewage sludge into biochar, as well as the results of the pilot application of biochar on agricultural crops.

In particular, he presented the results of using biochar in field and greenhouse experiments for tomato cultivation, the evaluation of the effectiveness of biochar as a soil improver and biostimulant, and the procedures for optimizing its management (properties and dosages). He also made an economic analysis of the biochar product and its production process, and a comparative evaluation with international, European and Greek standards.

A significant number of stakeholders from Municipal Water and Sewerage Companies, Regional Directorates, farmers and agricultural cooperatives from all over Greece participated and engaged with the TUC team in this first of a series of WaysTUP! Learning Workshops.

WaysTUP! is once more, happy to present its two new sister projects, both innovating on biobased products towards the materialization of the circular economy. Meet Sust4Biobased and CIRCforBIO!

SUSTCERT4BIOBASED
SUSTCERT4BIOBASED is a 3-year EU – funded project that aims to assess and promote the adoption of sustainability certification schemes and labels for industrial biobased systems to support tracing the sustainability of the products along the EU and international value chains and trades.  SUSTCERT4BIOBASED aims to develop the necessary support instruments (knowledge, data, tools etc.)  and conclude on key recommendations and best practices that will be communicated to critical stakeholders. more info

LIFE CIRCforBIO
The overall aim of the CIRCforBIO project is to achieve high GHG emission savings from the substitution of fossil fuels with advanced biofuels, as well as to promote the realization of the circular economy concept for biomass. This will be achieved through the implementation and demonstration of an innovative biorefinery to produce bioethanol, used oil (raw material for biodiesel) and other bioproducts and the creation of an interactive platform for the establishment of 2nd generation biomass production systems. more info

The 6th WaysTUP! General Assembly

Project partners met on the 22-23 March in Athens for the project’s 6th General Assembly. Over a two day meeting partners had the opportunity to discuss on the project progress and lessons learnt, exchange ideas on how to overcome barriers and plan the next steps for the successful project completion. The meeting was coorganised by the National Technical University of Athens, Sustainable City, the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature and Draxis Environmental SA. Partners had the opportunity to visit the Biosolvents pilot that is run by the NTUA and is situated within its premises.

The WaysTUP! Learning workshops!!

The WaysTUP! project offers a unique series of workshops to present pilot deployment results and achievements. Learning workshops will be organized in all pilot countries to present partners’ research and share lessons learnt, as well as discuss challenges and opportunities arising in the urban biowaste sector. The first learning workshop was launched in Chania, Greece by the Biochar pilot on the 5th of April, while the second one is coming up on the 3rd of May co-organised by the Food & Feed, Insect Proteins and Biosolvents pilots in Spain. Register here. For more WaysTUP! Learning Workshops stay tuned!

What are the barriers to biowaste valorisation?

WaysTUP! is running a survey for sustainability enthusiasts, waste managers & technology providers! This survey focuses on identifying the barriers related to the uptake of urban biowaste valorisation solutions for biobased products. The goal is to understand citizens perception of the related barriers and in particular the technological, logistical, regulatory,  financial, economic & market barriers. Are you willing to contribute to the circular transition of our planet? If yes, participate in our short survey on biowaste & biobased products. Help us investigate the barriers related to the uptake of such solutions. You may access the survey here EN, GR, ES.

Waste coffee no more!

The world’s love of coffee results in millions of tonnes of used coffee grounds being dumped in landfills every year. To prevent this waste from ending up in landfills and to contribute to the circular economy, WaysTUP! and Spanish partner AIMPLAS have produced a plastic film for packaging from spent coffee grounds, transforming this waste material into a valuable product. AIMPLAS’s bio-based plastic film is produced with polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) originating from spend restaurant coffee grounds collected by WaysTUP! project partner bio-bean in the United Kingdom. Read more…

WayTUP! meets with CIRCforBIO

On the 22nd of March the WaysTUP! team visited the CIRCforBIO pilot site in Athens and the project team gave us a short tour of the installation and presentation of the production process. The pilot plant is installed in Lavrion Technological Park and it consists of a thermal pre-treatment unit, an oil extraction unit, an ethanol bioconversion system, and an aerobic digestion plan. Biomass derived from separated food waste (households), business waste (cafes, restaurants and bakeries) and agricultural residues of the Municipality of Lavreotiki, as well as from food industries, goes through a standard biorefining system. The biomass is utilised for its bioconversion into a range of value-added products such as biodiesel, bioethanol, biogas and feritliser.

JRC has recently published two Science for Policy reports providing significant insights for the bioeconomy.
WaysTUP! has picked out some interesting stats!

SOURCES:
Biomass production, supply, uses and flows in the European Union Integrated assessment, JRC, 2023
Trends in the Bioeconomy, JRC, 2023

World Bio Markets 2023
10-11 May 2023, The Hague – The Netherlands
World Bio Markets is the leading international business event for the global bioeconomy community, connecting over 350 industry leaders with a two-day programme of knowledge exchange, 1-2-1 meetings, and networking. The two-day event connects and generates deal flow between bio developers and producers, global brands and buyers, investors and financiers, suppliers and community enablers. In this highly valuable and inspiring event pioneering developers and producers of bio-based solutions will present their latest innovations,  community enablers will highlight how they can accelerate the growth of the sector and stakeholders will learn how global brands are trying to achieve their corporate sustainability goals.

World Circular Economy Forum 2023 (WCEF2023)
30 May – 2 June 2023, Helsinki – Finland
The WCEF2023 will gather forward-looking thinkers and doers and present the game-changers in the circular economy. The main programme on 30–31 May will consist of 4 Plenary Sessions and 16 Parallel Sessions that will explain circularity’s role in the well-being of nature and the economy, youth’s role in the transition, circularity in financial markets, and future trends for a regenerative and resilient economy. Accelerator Sessions will occur on 1-2 June and will bridge the Forum’s themes with the daily work needed for a circular transition by focusing on the implementation of existing action agendas.

EUBCE 2023
5 – 8 June 2023, Bologna – Italy
The 31st edition of the European Biomass Conference and Exhibition (EUBCE) will offer a substantive scientific conference with engaging industry-focused perspectives, complemented by an outstanding exhibition, events, and side sessions for knowledge exchange, networking, and catching up with old colleagues and friends from across the globe. The programme is influenced by the current European energy situation, including challenges specific to European Bioenergy industries. This conference is arranged in six themes, covering topics ranging from resources, sustainability, biobased products, biomass conversions, policies, etc.

11th International Bioeconomy Conference – Deliver Circularity Now!
14-15 June, 2023, Leuna – Germany
For the 11th time, cutting-edge research meets economic game-changers, politics meets professional associations and companies, and founders and startups meet visionary thinkers and partners. This is the first time the Bioeconomy Conference is being held at a venue that symbolises successful industrial transformation like no other – the UPM Biochemicals Leuna biorefinery. The Bioeconomy Conference 2023 is a forum and key driver towards the transition to a biobased circular economy. The Conference’s panels will focus on “the Bioindustrial (r)evolution”, “the circular future”, “the path to post-fossil construction” and “the magic of proteins”.

4th Symposium on Circular Economy and Sustainability
19-21 June 2023, Heraklion, Crete – Greece
This Symposium provides an opportunity for those interested in any level of Circular Economy and Sustainability applications. A major innovation of this Symposium is the bridging of engineering, management, and economic knowledge to support the effective advancements of circular and sustainability principles bringing together theoretical, practical, applied and managerial knowledge in order to produce efficient policies. The Technical University of Crete, together with prominent INFER and HAEE organizations, and the Region of Crete will support this interdisciplinary event. The ultimate goal will be to encourage researchers to examine the concepts of the circular economy under a holistic scale approach.

The EURECA-PRO Conference on Responsible Consumption and Production 2023
26-29 September 2023, Chania Crete – Greece
The EURECA-PRO Conference on Responsible Consumption and Production 2023 provides an interdisciplinary forum for practitioners, academics and scientific experts on responsible consumption and production. A place to share experiences, scientific results, and the most recent advances to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. It also aims to constitute a benchmark for leading researchers in this field to discuss current and future challenges, and innovative solutions considering the technological, economic, social, and environmental dimensions of SDG 12.

The WaysTUP! project counts 26 partners, each expert in their field, collaborating to transform urban bio-waste into valuable end products.

Our experts will be more than happy to answer to your questions or provide more info on the project.

Project Coordinator: Belén Miranda, innova@sav-lavega.com