GRECO aims to demonstrate the life cycle and techno-economic feasibility of greener & safer bioplastics value chains for the food packaging sector, based on a safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) strategy. To this aim, innovative bio-based, biodegradable, and recyclable packaging based on new PLA copolymers, coatings, additives and catalysts accompanied by surface treatments will be produced. Regulatory compliance will be demonstrated while contributions to new or modified standards and proper labelling will be proposed. Digital tools will drive the developments from the simulation and modelling scopes, and social sciences and humanities (SSH) will provide relevant information related to social perception and acceptance. All of them will pave the way to facilitate the introduction of the new products into the packaging market sector and our society. Contribution to the Plastics Strategy, the Single-use Plastics Directive (SUP) and the EU Circular Economy Action plan (CEAP) will be ensured. GRECO will introduce the food packaging industry to groundbreaking bio-based, SSbD, and fully circular PLA-based materials, that meet diverse application needs. These alternatives aim to replace fossil-based, complex, and multimaterial structures prevalent in the industry, improving packaging end-of-life through biodegradation in various environments like industrial and home compostability, anaerobic, marine, and soil. The design will ensure recyclability and avoiding of chemical interactions that hinder overall biodegradation.

INSPIRE's main objective is to contribute to the drastic reduction of litter, macro and microplastics in European rivers in a holistic approach, by bringing together 20 technologies and actions for: DETECTION of the pollution present in the river and at the riverbank, COLLECTION of litter and macroplastics at the river bank and litter, macro and microplastics in the river, PREVENTION of litter, macro and microplastics to enter the river by collecting it from its waste stream before it can enter the river and by developing biodegradable alternatives for currently non-degradable polluting products, to avoid they will further be used and arrive in the river as litter. Six use case are defined in INSPIRE to install and test the technologies and actions, to model the processes related to the water purification activities, to obtain 7 well defined solutions at detection, collection or prevention level and combinations thereof. The technical feasibility is backboned by a techno-economical analysis with the development of business cases for the solutions, action plans towards upscaling and replication and together with mapping and modelling all elements are brought together to develop a Master Plan for tackling the challenges of the mission and contributing to the objectives of the mission. The INSPIRE project will be very visible due to its well developed dissemination and communication plan and strategy for community engagement. Apart from the general dissemination and communication tools and activities, specific activities will be setup on festivals, promoting 100% biodegradable products as a result of INSPIRE. INSPIRE's consortium is composed of 26 partners with complementary expertise and a good balance of academia, industry, communication specialists and soft skills organisations is obtained, who all together will work towards the target of having a number of successful solutions that can find their way to the market and put INSPIRE on the radar.

Agrochemicals (i.e., fertilizers and pesticides) are responsible for doubling crop yields over the last century. However, they cause multiple negative impacts on environmental and human health. To lessen their effects, the EU aims at reducing by 50% fertilizer losses and use of chemical pesticides by 2030. Controlled polymer-based delivery systems preventing agrochemical losses (e.g., lixiviation, volatilization) and resulting excessive inputs are available. However, they are based on non-biodegradable polymers and generate plastic pollution. Other agricultural plastics (mulch films and growth foams) are used to maintain a prosperous plant environment and prevent agrochemical wash-off, minimizing the quantities to be applied. However, they also result in significant amounts of non-biodegradable plastics being released into environment. PHAntastic tackles the reduction of agrochemicals and plastics pollution using PHAs, a family of bio-based biodegradable polymers. PHAntastic will develop two families of delivery systems (mulch films and growth foams) based on PHAs containing active bioproducts (amino acids & hydrolyzed proteins, microelements, elicitors and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria -PGPR) instead of synthetic agrochemicals. Products will be demonstrated with end users (TRL6) on horticultural crops and trees in Northern and Southern Europe. Experts in the Safe and Sustainable by Design framework will guarantee compliance. Market acceptance will be guaranteed through the development of business cases and exploitation strategies. PHAntastic will contribute to a significant reduction of agrochemicals (minimum 25% in fertilizers, 50% in pesticides, resulting in 23 K tons less of agrochemicals by 2050) and plastic (680 T microplastics less by 2050) in our agricultural systems. PHAntastic will thus contribute to a secure supply chain of food and a less impactful agriculture, boosting the sustainability, autonomy and competitiveness of vital EU value chains.