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How to Remove Plastics from Biowaste Cost Efficiently and at an Industrial Scale at Composting Facilities
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Researchers teamed up with a Finnish composting company to tackle a hidden problem: plastic waste that ends up mixed into the compost made from our food scraps and yard waste. They developed a step-by-step plan, starting with practical equipment to strip out visible plastic now, and looking ahead to biological methods that could break down microplastics in the future. This matters because compost contaminated with plastic can spread tiny plastic particles into soil, potentially working their way into the food we grow and eat.
The TREASoURcE project, in collaboration with Aalto University’s International Design Business Management (IDBM) master’s programme, explored solutions to reduce plastic contamination in industrial biowaste composting through a case study with Kekkilä, Finland’s leading landscaping products manufacturer. The project developed a three-stage strategy towards cleaner and more sustainable biowaste processing — from immediate depackaging solutions to future biological innovations targeting microplastics. https://handbook.treasource.eu/how-to-remove-plastics-from-biowaste-cost-efficiently-and-at-an-industrial-scale-at-composting-facilities/
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How to Remove Plastics from Biowaste Cost Efficiently and at an Industrial Scale at Composting Facilities
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Plastic waste often sneaks into the food scraps and yard trimmings that get turned into compost, breaking down into tiny microplastics that end up in the soil where our food grows. Researchers teamed up with a Finnish composting company to design practical ways to strip out this plastic contamination, starting with simple sorting improvements now and working toward advanced biological methods to tackle microplastics in the future. Cleaner compost means fewer microplastics potentially entering our food chain—a step toward protecting both soil health and, ultimately, ours.
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