The results of the LIFE MUSCLES project were presented in Rimini.
.
«Today an important and highly innovative project concludes which opens up interesting perspectives in the mussel farming supply chainAn intense journey of research, development, collaboration and experimentation This legacy leaves behind new tools that can truly make this activity more sustainable in Italy and Europe. A model that not only responds to environmental and circular economy concerns, but also offers a concrete opportunity for farmers, recycling companies, and the agro-marine supply chain to innovate competitively, responsibly, and sustainably. The joint commitment of businesses, academia, institutions, and consumers to the project, the 100 tons of polypropylene sent for reuse, the biopolymer nets distributed, and the farmers involved are an important, concrete step in this direction.
.
In the words of the General Director of Legambiente, Giorgio Zampetti, we celebrate the final event of LIFE MUSCLES, which in Rimini holds a press conference at the Palazzo del Turismo and the Ecomondo Expo workshop., has drawn a new route for European mussel farming.
The actions at the heart of the project financed by the LIFE programme of the European Commission were the experimentation in Puglia and Liguria of the reduction of plastics in the sea and the introduction of biodegradable and compostable materials, to innovate mussel farming to overcome the environmental problem represented by the dispersion of polypropylene socks used in nurseries.
.
Thanks to all'mobile recycling plant, designed and tested over the last two years, have already been treated almost 100 tons of polypropylene, the plastic with which tubular nets are made (socks) where the mussels grow to commercial size. One hundred tons that will not end up in landfill, in the sea or on the beaches, but that will come back to life as secondary raw material, ready to become new networks, thus avoiding the use of virgin polymer. Alongside recycling, the production of 26 tons of biodegradable and compostable biopolymer socks It paves the way for “zero-impact” mussel farming, where every material can be recovered or reintegrated into the natural cycle.
.
.
The actions at the heart of the project LIFE MUSCLES and the prospects for their application, were presented during the morning press conference and explored in depth during the workshop held in the afternoon at Ecomondo Expo.
With mussel farmers taking a leading role, now empowered to choose with greater awareness the new direction for Italian and European aquaculture, and with clearer understanding of regulatory issues, opportunities, and environmental, economic, and social benefits, a sustainability path is being defined that anticipates national and European policies.
.
LIFE MUSCLES is proposed as a circular economy laboratory, capable of combining plastic reduction, production savings and valorization of the agro-marine supply chain.
LINK TO FOLDER WITH PHOTOS, VIDEOS, INTERVIEWS AND PARTNER STATEMENTS
