REWIND: Sustainable Bioplastics from Used Cooking Oil and Waste Valorization

Synthetic plastics have transformed our world and are used in various applications. Unfortunately, most of these plastics are made from fossil fuels and do not break down in nature, posing a significant threat to the environment. Bioplastics, on the other hand, are made from renewable sources like food, but there are concerns about their sustainability.

Transforming Waste into Eco-friendly Solutions

Bioplastics, derived from renewable biomass sources like recycled food waste and vegetable fats, raise concerns about the sustainability of these food resources. To address this, the EU-funded REWIND project adopts a circular economy and bioeconomy approach. REWIND is part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. It seeks to utilize waste products, particularly used cooking oil, through biocatalysis methods to create environmentally sustainable bioplastics. The project subjects the bioplastics to tests, evaluating their thermal and mechanical properties, as well as their overall environmental impact and sustainability.

Antonino Biundo is MSC Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the italian Università degli Studi di Bari “Aldo Moro”. He values the support provided by Horizon Results Services experts: “I was very impressed with the expert that was appointed to us, Gustavo. He was always pushing and motivating us and it was very good for the project, for myself, for my growth itself. All the discussions with him were very important because he has a very good overview of different research projects, also from the business side. It was very useful for a growth from the lab to the society”.

“We organized a webinar where I could present our case study on waste cooking oils for polymers. This helped me to find other likeminded people and to increase my network. I can say that I am very happy with the Booster”

REWIND benefited from all HRB services and participated in a project group along with other two EU-funded projects, upPE-T and PRESERVE. “Together we organized a webinar where I could present our case study on waste cooking oils for polymers. This helped me to find other likeminded people and to increase my network. So I can say that I am very happy with the Booster”, highlighted Antonino. “Sometimes researchers only see the lab but we can do so many other things. It is important to build groups and teams that are divers with different points of view and perspectives to achieve our common goals.”

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