Compostable bioplastics: from BIOREPACK, funding to municipalities for local communication projects

Milan, 21 March 2023 – Support awareness and communication campaigns targeting the public, students and businesses and devised to promote correct recognition and the organic recycling of compostable bioplastic packaging. This is the objective of the funding call officially launched today by BIOREPACK, Italy’s national consortium for the organic recycling of biodegradable and compostable plastic packaging. The call is intended for Italian local authorities and the organisations that manage waste collection on their behalf that have already signed an agreement with BIOREPACK.

“Increasing the quality and quantity of organic waste and compostable materials sent to treatment plants is a challenge that affects us all. Yet it is also in the public interest - returning to the soil the necessary organic material it needs, in the form of compost, helps maintain agricultural yields and counteracts drought and soil degradation,” explains Marco Versari, Chairman of BIOREPACK. “To meet this challenge, it is crucial that the public are properly informed about how to recycle organic waste correctly and how to recognise packaging made of compostable bioplastic, which must be disposed of with the organic waste. Hence the idea of this funding call, which is in accordance with the agreements reached between BIOREPACK and the National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI) when the Technical Annex was signed in October 2021.”

The projects submitted will score points depending on how effective and innovative they are. This will also encourage co-funding from other stakeholders. A detailed description of the activities must be included with the project, together with the operational timetable, a cost estimate and the expected results in terms of improving the quality of waste collection.

Applications must be received by 6:00 p.m. on 19 April 2023. A judging panel composed of two representatives from BIOREPACK and one from ANCI will then rank the projects based on the scores indicated in the competition notice. The winners will be announced by 28 April. The communication projects must be carried out between 1 May and 31 December 2023.

BIOREPACK has allocated a total budget of €200,000 for the winning projects: €80,000 will be earmarked for projects submitted by operators in northwest and northeast Italy, while a further €120,000 will be available for projects from central and southern Italy and the islands. Other criteria are also envisaged to reward the projects of operators that serve catchment areas with a population of more than 100,000 inhabitants, as well as smaller catchment areas.

“In this way,” Versari concludes, “we can ensure that the award-winning projects cover all the macro-regions of Italy and the resident populations of towns and cities within those regions, thereby maximising the reach of the communication.”

PRESS INFO:
Barabino & Partners S.p.A.
Serena Galdo
s.galdo@barabino.it
Tel.: +39 02/72.02.35.35
Cell.: +39 345.14.64.356