Innovative Solutions for Plastic Free European Rivers

Project Information

INSPIRE

Grant agreement ID: 101112879

DOI

10.3030/101112879

EC signature date 22 May 2023

Start date 30 May 2023

End date 29 May 2027

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 11 474 237,45

EU contribution

€ 9 983 780,50

Coordinated by

VLAAMS INSTITUUT VOOR DE ZEE
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - INSPIRE (Innovative Solutions for Plastic Free European Rivers)

Reporting period: 2023-05-30 to 2024-11-29

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

INSPIRE's main objective is to contribute to the drastic reduction of litter, macro and microplastics in European rivers in a holistic approach, by bringing together 20 technologies and actions for:
DETECTION of the pollution present in the river and at the riverbank,
COLLECTION of litter and macroplastics at the river bank and litter, macro and microplastics in the river,
PREVENTION of litter, macro and microplastics to enter the river by collecting it from its waste stream before it can enter the river and by developing biodegradable alternatives for currently non-degradable polluting products, to avoid they will further be used and arrive in the river as litter.

Six use case are defined in INSPIRE to install and test the technologies and actions, to model the processes related to the water purification activities, to obtain well defined solutions at detection, collection or prevention level and combinations thereof. The technical feasibility is backboned by a techno-economical analysis with the development of business cases for the solutions, action plans towards upscaling and replication and together with mapping and modelling all elements are brought together to develop a Master Plan for tackling the challenges of the mission and contributing to the objectives of the mission.

The INSPIRE project will be very visible due to its well developed dissemination and communication plan and strategy for community engagement. Apart from the general dissemination and communication tools and activities, specific activities will be setup on festivals, promoting 100% biodegradable products as a result of INSPIRE.
INSPIRE's consortium is composed of 26 partners with complementary expertise and a good balance of academia, industry, communication specialists and soft skills organisations 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.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The INSPIRE consortium comprises 26 partners from countries across Europe (25) and Thailand (1) with complementary expertise, fostering a balance of academia, industry, communication specialists, and other organizations. Together, we are dedicated to achieving successful solutions that can effectively enter the market, placing INSPIRE at the forefront of implementation and use by both industry and civic society, fostering innovation, citizen engagement and blue investment. In the first 18 months of the INSPIRE project, we have progressed towards achieving the project specific objectives with several significant activities. In the first 18 months of the project, we worked on a solid foundation for the best possible implementation of the methodologies for detection, collection and prevention activities, have submitted 14 deliverables and achieved ten milestones.

The INSPIRE project defines six use cases [Rhine, Scheldt, Danube, Domžale, Po, and Douro] where partners are assessing and modelling baseline litter levels, supported by a well-defined data management plan (WP1); and developing, deploying, installing, and testing key technologies and actions (WP2,3). These elements will converge to form a Master Plan, addressing the challenges and contributing to the objectives of Mission Ocean and Clean Waters. The technical feasibility is being supported by a techno-economic analysis, including the development of business cases, and comprehensive mapping and modeling (WP4,5).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

In the first 18 months of the project, we worked on a solid foundation for the best possible implementation of the methodologies for detection, collection and prevention activities, have prepared 14 deliverables and achieved ten milestones.
We have developed a Riverine Litter Database (RLDB) which is an essential product of INSPIRE, which integrates all the available data on micro/meso- and macroplastics at pan-European scale. Currently the RLDB compiles information from more than 600 publications and includes more than 25,000 data ingested.
Aligned with earlier European initiatives, we have set the base for standardized and harmonized sampling procedures for micro- and mesolitter (including plastic particles as well as tire wear particles and corresponding leachables), drawing the baseline of particle pollution in demo sites.
We have developed a beyond state of the art protocol for quantification of the retention efficiency of the solutions integrated in INSPIRE that is also applicable outside the project. This lead to information that is important for the ability to develop future business plans.
Based on the use cases selected and field visits, solutions have been, and are being, designed tailored and innovated to the local situations.
We have set up tests to verify the compliance with soil and water biodegradability of new bio-degradable materials developed in the project.
Holistic LCA analysis of the proposed solutions has been initiated.
A Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) scheme has been initiated, a call launched and 53 applications were received and are being evaluated.