The project partner meeting consisted of work done by all work package leaders. Emphasis was put on administrative tasks, such as preparing the technical and financial report and the final project review meeting to be hosted on 19 December 2022, besides exploring potential exploitation activities to keep promoting SCALIBUR results. During the meeting next steps were highlighted, focusing on the validation of the whole plant for larval rearing and fractionation, and activities related to the characterization of biodegradable blends based on chitosan and other chemical processes. During the last year of the project, Geonardo contributed mainly to activities connected to the exploitation of project results and promotion of the SCALIBUR e-learning platform created by Geonardo. Activities, such as the organization of a public webinar and a customized training for local stakeholder (municipality of Budapest) were mentioned during the project meeting.
For project partners, the internal meeting was not the end of the work, as the public conference “breaking barriers to make the most of biowaste” was held on the second day. The project results were showcased in this hybrid conference, hosted by the project coordinator ITENE research center in Valencia. The event was held back-to-back with the final conference of the ValueWaste project in Murcia on 20 October, enabling participants to attend both events. Over 130 attendees participated in this event, organized for waste management companies, municipalities and local authorities, bio-based industries, academia, the research community, and all circular bioeconomy enthusiasts.
During the first part of the conference, urban circular bioeconomy actions at the EU level were discussed, as well as opportunities for Europe from biowaste valorisation; the SCALIBUR project was summarized as well as the achievements in the framework of ValueWaste& WaysTUP! Projects.
For the rest of the sessions, various presentations were given, for example, the role of engagement in the biowaste value chain, smart collection technologies for a smart circular economy, innovative pre-treatment and monitoring of organic fraction of municipal solid waste, efficient enzyme cocktails for processing the organic fractions by enzymatic hydrolysis, biotechnical production of bio-based biodegradable materials from second generation sugars, insect rearing, and the application of insect proteins in the food and feed industries. Other presentations focused on topics such as wastewater treatment plants to bio-factories and the economic and environmental advantages of the new technologies. The Biowaste Hub is one of the SCALIBUR’s project results; it aims at connecting and engaging with a growing community of stakeholders in the biowaste community. A visit to site visit to ITENE’s laboratories and pilot plants was scheduled at the end of the morning session, and various panel discussions took place during the conference.
In case you have missed this exciting conference, you have a chance to watch the entire recording by visiting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTxiwTfENr0