The third edition of RETASTE, Rethink Food Resources, Losses, and Waste, the annual conference on food waste management from a circular economy perspective, took place from 27 to 29 September in Greece. The event was held in Harokopio University in Athens, under the aegis of the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy, with the support of various government and private institutions, including leading companies in the world of the green economy.

The three-day of technical and academic activities was organized into various macro-sectors of interest, among them: reduction of agriculture environmental footprint, analysis of alternative water resources and reuse of waste water, harvest and post-harvest management to reduce waste, alternative energy production, nutrient recovery, prevention of consumer food waste and new materials from food resources.

 A multi-levelled approach

In this last session (“Agrifood Waste Valorization for Bioplastic Composites and High-Value Chemical”) Professor Valentina Beghetto, President of Crossing, besides being co-chair of the panel held on the morning of 28 September, also presented in detail the LIFE RESTART project, co-financed by the EU under the LIFE Programme (LIFE21 ENV-IT-LIFE RESTART 101074314).

After a brief overview of the global and European beer industry, Beghetto focused on the specific features of the project: partners involved, objectives and environmental impact, implications in the field of eco-design and circular economy, the correlations with the UN Sustainable Development objectives of the 2030 Agenda as well as the social implications and replicability of the project.

In the same afternoon Beghetto held a lesson on how to prepare for a LIFE project, with topics ranging from the application to the preparation of the documents and analyzing all the aspects that must be taken into consideration when approaching a project of this complexity.

Meeting sessions between SMEs and Companies

Withing the framework of the Conference, in addition to the technical sessions, a parallel event took place on 29 September: SIS – Smart Innovation Symposium, focused on research and innovation and aimed at Small and Medium Enterprises. 

About twenty SMEs presented their research and innovation projects, financed by both national and European resources. Thanks to its format, the Smart Innovation Symposium allows and has allowed a strong interaction between universities and interested industries and stakeholders.

Here Riccardo Samiolo, Director of Crossing, held a presentation on the most effective spin-off and start-up models.

Throughout the whole Conference, LIFE RESTART has proven of great interest to attendees and important connections were created with representatives of both the academic and corporate world in the agri-food, chemical and circular economy fields. 

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.