The BlueCycle program is developing a multitude of activities within the holistic approach to the problem of marine plastic waste.
From the collection and processing of material to research, innovation, creation and awareness, BlueCycle’s action is developed to achieve the program’s goals.
The material used in the BlueCycle project comes from marine and coastal cleaning projects by partner organizations, from the marine litter collection stations by Aegean Rebreath in various locations in Greece, and from the network of cooperating manufacturers / suppliers / consumers of fishing and marine equipment.
BlueCycle aspires to be a reference point for current research on marine plastic waste, Blue and Circular economy and new technology surrounding them.
On Thursday 24 May 2018, the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation hosted the symposium “Second Nature. Marine Plastic Waste – Blue & Circular Economy – New Technologies” with leading European scientists and experts in environmental subjects, issues of circular economy, design and technology. Participants had the opportunity to discuss the problem of marine litter pollution in Eastern Mediterranean, the implementation of circular economy, as well as different ways in which abandoned fishing equipment can be “transformed” into new, useful products.
Click here to watch the Symposium proceedings.
In May 2018, the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation organized an educational programme for schoolchildren, in order to promote awareness on the issue of marine pollution from “ghost nets” and plastic waste, as well as to explore the possibility of their re-use as 3D printing material.
The Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, with a long and constant presence in the field of educational programmes, will continue to organize such programmes to raise awareness among primary and secondary school students on environmental issues and new technologies.
The short documentary “Second Nature” sheds light to the problem of abandoned fishing nets and how these can be re-used, as raw material, with the help of new technologies.
The award-winning documentary filmmaker and Oscar nominee Daphne Matziaraki follows The New Raw, a Rotterdam based architect duo Panos Sakkas and Foteini Setaki, to their journey in Galaxidi, where they set up a mobile 3D-printing lab and make seashells –symbols of a clean sea– from ghostnets recovered from the sea.
The film was screened at the Second Nature Symposium in Piraeus, at the Sydney Film Festival, and was nominated for the Global Sustainability Film Awards, organized by TVE at the BAFTAs.
Innovative net cleaning system
BlueCycle actively supports modern research to create an environmentally friendly net cleaning system from fishing and aquaculture.
Second Nature Industrial Design Competition
The first national Industrial Design Competition for young Greek designers is based on the main focus of the Second Nature Initiative: Marine Plastic Waste, Blue & Circular Economy and New Technologies and was launched in 2018. The competition runs in two phases; judges will examine the entries and comment on: the design concept, environmental awareness, proposed solutions to the problem (creative re-use of marine plastic waste) and the sustainability of the business idea.
The winners will be announced in June 2019. Click here for more information.
Technological Innovation Grant
The Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation announced a grant which aims to support technological innovations based on the three pillars of the Second Nature initiative – Marine Plastic Waste, Blue & Circular Economy and New Technologies – which could be considered as groundbreaking as to transform the industry. Click here for more information.
