Bluepoint Project to boost the blue circular economy of marine plastics
Bluepoint Project to boost the blue circular economy of marine plastics
Bluepoint Project to boost the blue circular economy of marine plastics
With a collaborative approach between four Atlantic regions, the project aims to contribute to a sustainable management of marine plastics.
At the heart of the international commitment to address the environmental crisis of marine plastics, the BluePoint project emerges as a transnational collaboration aimed at promoting the circular economy in the Atlantic region. BluePoint seeks to address the growing problem of plastic waste in the oceans, which accounts for approximately 80% of the 140 million tons of debris found in the sea.
With the leadership of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the participation of MIK, Asata, South East BIC, Estia, SODERCAN, Principado de Asturias, I Clean my Sea, Centro para a Valorização de Resíduos, Laboratório da Paisagem, Atlantic Technical University, University of Limerick and Decathlon as a project partner; and the support of Interreg Atlantic Area, the project seeks to transform the threat of plastics in the oceans into an opportunity for innovation and sustainable development.
Since its inception in November 2023 and with a vision scheduled through June 2026, BluePoint has set an ambitious goal: to create an ecosystem of intercooperation, innovation, entrepreneurship and internationalization that capitalizes on all phases of the marine plastic value chain. This chain includes the identification, collection, cleaning, separation and, finally, recycling of plastics for their subsequent conversion into new marketable products.
Within this collaboration framework, MIK will work on the analysis of technological trends and circular business models focused on the marine plastic blue economy. Specifically, in the identification of companies, circular business models focused on the recovery and valorization of marine plastic, as well as in the identification of opportunities and the development of a roadmap that allows the exploitation of project results. In turn, MIK will provide expert accompaniment in the acceleration of entrepreneurship within the marine plastic value chain, accelerating and incubating innovative business initiatives and technical pilots to obtain marketable products and services.
Finally, MIK will collaborate in the implementation of transfer actions to transfer to other regions the knowledge generated on new technologies and the promotion of new circular business models focused on the valorization of marine plastic.
The impact of BluePoint goes beyond cleaning the oceans; the project seeks to generate new businesses by accelerating 25 new companies or innovative initiatives and to lead the maritime sector towards a Blue Circular Economy. In turn, the project aims to implement technical pilots covering various stages of the value chain of marine plastics, from their initial identification at sea to their transformation into new materials. In addition, the project is expected to increase the participation and awareness of all actors involved in the marine plastic value chain, including ports, fishermen, public administrations, citizen groups and end users, who will be part of this new ecosystem of innovation and intercooperation.
Finally, one of BluePoint's long-term objectives is the transfer of knowledge in technology, business models and new policies to other regions, in order to replicate the model developed and contribute to the transition of the maritime sector towards a resource-efficient circular economy.