The workshop Removal of Marine Litter and Circular Economy: Challenges and Opportunities, will be held in Venice on June 3rd. This is the first joint event of H2020 projects MAELSTROM and In-No-Plastic, as well as an important moment of exchange of knowledge and updates on technologies for the reduction and recycling of marine litter. The workshop is followed by a clean up campaign that will be held on June 5th, also in Venice, in conjunction with the World Environment Day

On June 3rd, 2021, from 10.00 am to 17.30, the first international workshop of MAELSTROM and our sister project In-No-Plastic will take place. The workshop, entitled Removal of Marine Litter and Circular Economy: Challenges and Opportunities, brings together representatives of four other European projects dedicated to the problem of the marine litter, including GoJelly and CLAIM projects. Moreover, companies, start-ups and NGOs will be present together, for the first time, to discuss and deepen the knowledge on cutting-edge technologies used for the removal and recycling of plastic marine litter.

Organized in combined mode, partly online and partly in presence at the Porta Nuova Tower of the Venice Arsenal, the event includes round tables and Q&A moments and is divided into four main sessions. The first part of the day will be dedicated to introducing the projects and the partners’ representatives, while the second part will focus on the different technologies developed, or under development, for the removal of marine litter. The third part of the workshop will then focus on litter recycling in a circular economy perspective. The workshop will close with a session dedicated to the smartphone apps that the projects MAELSTROM and In-No-Plastic are developing to assist operators in the recycling process of the collected litter.

On this point, the workshop is linked to a second important moment for MAELSTROM and In-No-Plastic: when we talk about collected waste, in fact, we do not refer only to those removed with the developed technologies but also to those coming from the clean up campaigns organized within the projects. In fact, on June 5th, in conjunction with the World Environment Day, will be held in Venice a clean up campaign organized by the NGO Venice Lagoon Plastic Free, partner of the projects MAELSTROM and In-No-Plastic. The campaign will involve over 30 local and national organizations, volunteers, rowing companies, citizens and tourists, national and environmental groups, and private companies. The sites of the clean up have been identified and validated by the Italian League for the Protection of Birds (LIPU), to ensure maximum respect for the environment and to avoid any disturbance to avian species in the areas involved in the clean up.

Both the international workshop and clean up are official events of EU Green Week, this year dedicated to the theme “0 pollution for healthier people and planet”.