In recent months, Fabbrica Zero has continued sending samples of ecobuddy materials to potential clients, particularly companies in the agriculture, nursery, cosmetics, and packaging sectors, so they can test them. And while it has consolidated three jobs, one of which is reserved for people in conditions of socio-economic vulnerability, it has also launched three internships with young graduates from the Roccavaldina area: the LIFE RESTART process continues to grow, and the Factory offers employment and training opportunities that enhance the place in which it operates, expanding over time. It is also continuing to work on fine-tuning prototypes, such as those designed for Caffè Barbera (Messina), so they can be adapted for large-scale production and therefore for the market. Work is also progressing on the renovation of the second warehouse in the former artisan area of Roccavaldina, which will soon be transformed into a Land Art installation. Beautiful and functional.

EcosMed finalist at the European Bioplastic Innovation Award

In December 2025, EcosMed, with its ecobuddy bioplastics, was also among the five finalists of the European Bioplastic Innovation Award 2025, the prize that European Bioplastics launched to celebrate its twenty years of activity, with the aim of highlighting the most interesting innovations driving sustainable transformation in the bioplastics sector. Among these were EcosMed’s new ecobuddy compounds, made from waste from beer, oil, and coffee production (brewer’s spent grain, olive pomace, silverskin) within the LIFE RESTART project.

On March 18, EcosMed took part as a speaker in the final conference of the Be So Great project, co-funded by the EU under the Interreg program. Then, on March 26, it was invited as a visitor to the COSMOPROF trade fair in Bologna, one of the most important international events in the sector, in order to establish contacts, particularly in the packaging field.

Giardineria Italiana: the future of nursery production is biodegradable

But LIFE RESTART also marks a decisive step toward a truly eco-sustainable nursery industry within circular economy processes. After the first prototypes in July, between December 2025 and January 2026, Giardineria Italiana di Mati 1909 received the final bioplastic pots at its company, officially launching the operational phase of field testing. These are not just theoretical tests: the goal is to validate a real ecological alternative to traditional plastic containers through trials under actual operating conditions, namely:

• Full exposure: the pots are placed outdoors, exposed to rain, frost, and seasonal cycles;
• Standard management: the plants are watered through a standard drip and sprinkler irrigation system;
• Constant monitoring: we assess in real time the pots’ structural resistance and degradation rate.

This field research is essential to demonstrate that bioplastic can guarantee the same performance as conventional plastic, while eliminating at the root the problem of disposal and environmental impact.

UNIME working on recyclability

The University of Messina (UNIME) has launched a specific study campaign on the recyclability of objects made of composite bioplastic, with the aim of answering a series of key questions, including:

• is it possible to recycle composite bioplastic before the end of the objects’ life, as an alternative to composting?
• what percentage of recycled material can be added to virgin material?
• is there a difference between recycling pure bioplastic and recycling biocomposite?
• is it possible to quantify this difference?
• is it possible to obtain new objects again from recycled material?
• what performance will such objects have?
• what could their intended use be, that is, in which application sectors could they be employed?

In detail, UNIME is completing all recycling tests on the pots produced by one of the project stakeholders, considering both pure bioplastic pots and composite bioplastic pots. The latter was produced from bio-compound pellets made at pilot scale by the University of Palermo in 2024, on behalf of the University of Messina, with which a collaboration agreement was activated within the project.

These studies complete research already carried out and published by UNIME in an international journal regarding the re-processing of the material, as reported in the article Polymers 2025, 17(19), 2577 (https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17192577).

The studies are currently being finalized and further developed, and will be concluded in the coming months. The topic of recycling represents the final technical-scientific aspect that the University of Messina must develop within LIFE RESTART in order to complete all the tasks assigned to it. At the same time, UNIME is still interacting with EcosMed to test the materials that the cooperative develops on a semi-industrial scale, in order to validate their physical-mechanical performance according to specific requests and needs.

CROSSING between characterization, certifications, and replicability

Crossing srl has actively collaborated with the partners in advancing the project, taking care of the physical and chemical characterization of the products derived from Fabbrica Zero in Roccavaldina.

On the safety and certification front, Crossing srl took part in a series of strategic meetings aimed at obtaining EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) certification for the suitability of the biocomposites for food contact. The chemical-biological analyses initially carried out on brewer’s spent grain provided satisfactory results for continuing the certification process; moreover, the tests carried out on the finished product yielded good preliminary results.

With a view to strengthening the model’s replicability and creating new development opportunities, Crossing has established direct contacts with other European projects to increase synergy activities. In particular, it is collaborating with ECS and FM to integrate the project results with other innovative sustainable technologies. Confirming this operational dynamism, it recently carried out a technical visit to Messina at Fabbrica Zero to discuss project progress and took part in the MECSPE trade fair to engage with sector players and promote LIFE RESTART.

The company’s commitment also continues in the field of intellectual property protection, through constant monitoring of scientific literature and patents related to the technology, while also providing support to FM in the in-depth analysis of current regulations.

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.