PlastiCity - Reducing lost plastics

Plastic recycling rates are very low. Especially within the urban environment, a lot of plastic waste is available that would, in terms of quality, technically be eligible for recycling but is not effectively validated. These so-called “lost plastics” can form a prominent role in the circular economy, providing actors and stakeholders with an economic opportunity to benefit by stepping away from traditional plastic disposal methods.

The objective of the PlastiCity project is to discover and develop these economic opportunities in 4 case studies in the partnering cities in the Interreg 2 Seas region – the coastal regions along the Southern North Sea and the Channel area. In this context, PlastiCity will carry out a study on the compositions and quantities of industrial and commercial plastic waste in the urban environment, i.a. by a mobile characterisation unit. As a next step, the project will look for new solutions for collection logistics, sorting facility equipment, up to designing final products from waste. Furthermore, it will focus on engaging stakeholders in urban platforms.

The project is carried out in four partner cities: Ghent (BE), The Hague (NL), Southend-on-Sea (UK) and Lille/Douai (FR). These cities differ a lot in economic typologies, waste management schemes, cultural context, and local and regional policies. Insights in this variety and its impact on the business models facilitates the assessment of specificities and best practices and assists the replication towards urban areas beyond the scope of the project case study cities.

All together the PlastiCity main aim is to develop replicable strategies and solutions that are able to increase recycling rates in urban environments from 20-30% to over 50% by unlocking the use of “lost plastics” as secondary resources from the urban environment.

The project partners

• Belgium: City of Ghent (coordinator), Ghent University, D.P.L. Group, GRCT, Van Werven
• The Netherlands: Municipality of The Hague, Metabolic
• France: ARMINES, Team2, Theys Recyclage, WeLOOP
• United Kingdom: Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, University of Portsmouth

The total budget of the project amounts to €9.45 million, of which €5.50 million is funded by the Interreg 2 Seas Programme under the European Territorial Cooperation and part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The duration of the PlastiCity project is 45 months: from January 2019 to September 2022.