Innovative solutions for plastic free European rivers
The INSPIRE project is a pioneering initiative aimed at addressing the pressing global issue of plastic pollution through a multifaceted approach.
Plastic pollution is becoming a major concern.
At this moment, an estimated amount of about 150 million tons of potentially harmful plastic is present in the ocean.
With business as usual, the amount of plastic in the ocean pollution is expected to increase each year.
Rivers and estuaries play an important role in the transport of plastics from land-to-sea, but also the ecosystems and biodiversity of rivers themselves are impacted by plastic pollution.
Detection
Collection
Prevention
Based on lessons learned from the focus areas, INSPIRE technologies and actions will be scaled up and deployed at associated sites, not covered by the consortium. A set of guidelines, proposing the best combination of INSPIRE technologies and solutions for different environments and conditions will be proposed.
Through its multifaceted approach, the project aims to...
Quantify, collect & reduce plastic litter
Extend the shelf life of fresh produce
Produce biodegradable materials
Establish efficient zero-waste supply chains
Geographic INSPIRE implementations
European rivers are the first collectors of waste and are anticipated to be the main cause of transportation of plastics and microplastics from inland towards the sea.
Therefore, it is of crucial importance not only to clean the rivers but also to prevent plastic pollutants from entering the river to protect terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems.
A set of 20 technologies and actions were identified and brought together to meet the needs for the holistic approach in removing litter, plastics & microplastics at 8 use cases from 6 rivers by detection, collection and prevention. The INSPIRE use cases focus on 6 demo cases and 2 prevention sites.
Šalek Valley (RS)
Scheldt river (BE)
Rhine river (NL)
Danube (RO)
Douro river (PT)
Po river (IT)
Agricultural Test Sites (GR)
Agricultural Test Sites (AT)
Kamniška Bistrica River (SI)
Our INSPIRE team will eagerly engage with researchers, politicians, industry and citizens to be involved and participate in the development and implementation of solutions to break the plastic wave for the sake of the environment.
Partners
INSPIRE’s consortium is composed of 26 partners with complementary expertise and a good balance ofacademia, industry, communication specialists and soft skills organizations 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.
