Innovative Approaches to Handle Plastic Waste and Foster Bio-based Plastics Production

Walter Leal Filho

Prof. Dr.Walter Leal Filho is Senior Professor and Head of the Research and Transfer Centre "Sustainable Development and Climate Change Management" at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany and Chair of Environment and Technology at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. He is initiator of the Word Sustainable Development Symposia (WSSD-U) series and chairs the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme. Professor Leal Filho has written, co-written, edited, or co-edited more than 700 publications, including books, book chapters, and papers in refereed journals.

Jelena Barbir

Dr. Jelena Barbir (Ph.D., M.Sc., M.Sc., B.Sc.) has a degree in biology and two master degrees (MSc in Environmental Studies and MSc in Sustainable Agriculture). In 2014, she has obtained international cum laude doctoral degree in sustainable agriculture at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Since 2019, she has joined the Research and Transfer Center "Sustainable Development and Climate Change Management" (FTZ-NK) at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany. With 10 years of experience in project management and project proposals development, she now leads and coordinates several international projects: BALTIPLAST (InterregBaltic), CheMatSustain (HE), BIO-PLASTICS EUROPE (H2020). Since 2023 she has been acting as Deputy Director of the FTZ-NK, and since 2024, she has become Director of Environmental Management and Circular Economy Division (FTZ-NK). In addition, Dr. Jelena Barbir is Director of the international network Bio4Circularity, joining over 1000 experts in the field of bio-based materials and circularity. She has a strong background in sustainable development, conservation of biodiversity and environmental sciences. Her current research focus stands on environmental sustainability, mindfulness and circular economy. She has nearly 40 scientific publications in high impact journals.

Nhan Nguyen

Mr. Nhan Nguyen is Environment Activist who has been championing environmental awareness in Vietnam since 2006. In 2008 he co-organised the country¿s first Earth Day event. Since that time, he has started or been involved in numerous environment-related projects. He is Co-Founder of Vietnam Clean & Green (www.vietnamsachvaxanh.org), an organisation that is dedicated to raising awareness about the negative impacts of littering in Vietnam, and Core Member of the Vietnam Zero Waste Alliance (www.zerowastevietnam.org), a grassroots group of organisations actively promoting the practice of zero waste in Vietnam which has grown from 5 core members to over 20 members. He was Founder of Refill an innovative product delivery concept that beat out 159 teams to win the UNDP¿s Ending Plastic Pollution Innovation Challenge (EPPIC) competition in January 2021. His most recent project is the Green Turtle Hero anti-littering campaign (www.anhhungruaxanh.org).

Reinhard Saborowski

Dr. Reinhard Saborowski (Dipl. Biol.) studied botany, zoology, marine biology, and biochemistry at the Universities of Göttingen and Kiel (Germany). In 1996, he received his doctoral degree (Dr. rer. nat.) from the University of Hamburg (Germany). In his thesis, he explored detoxification processes in fishes and the natural variability of biochemical toxification biomarkers. Since 1996, he worked as Researcher at the Marine Station Helgoland (Germany) and since 2009 at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven (Germany). His scientific expertise is the enzymatic food utilisation and metabolic energy production of marine organisms, trophodynamic interactions between organisms, and the ecological implications in terms of nutrient turnover. The latest work also included the enzymatic degradation of conventional plastics and bioplastics by marine organisms. His scientific record comprises over 100 peer-reviewed publications and numerous conference contribution.

Screening of the Regulations and Legislations that Control the Chemical Content of Plastics through their Lifecycle.- The rise of 3D printing in healthcare and implications for future plastic waste: constructing a Circular Economy roadmap to ensure responsible innovation.- Distributed recycling of biobased thermoplastics.- Case study report Save Plastics Good practice of circular economy business models.- Toxicity of (bio)plastics a challenge for product development.- Innovative approaches to managing single-use-plastic waste in Sri Lanka.- Understanding inter-organizational dynamics to boost circular bioeconomy in the bioplastics industry.- Digital Platform for Knowledge sharing and value co-creation in waste recycling: the case of Alpha.- Development of Agar-Polylactic Acid Bioplastic by Extrussion Method and Injection Molding.- Fabricating bioplastics from Kombucha: Ingredients and characterization for fashion and textile applications.- Sustainable livelihoods through reduced plastic waste: Collaborative community-based sustainability-oriented innovation.- Environmental pressures and plastic packaging reduction practices: an exploratory in the Vietnamese food industry.- Sustainability oriented business model innovation in the nascent bio-plastic industry: A Case study of Galaxy Biotech in Vietnam.- Transforming Waste into Value: A Case Study of Reform Plastic in Vietnam.- The hospitality green experience: A case study in corporate sustainability efforts in Vietnam.- Transitioning Towards Plastic Circularity: A Case of Refill in Vietnam.- Comparison of PLA/PBAT Electrospun Layer and Commercial PP Facemask Layer: Morphology, Diameter and Tensile Strength.- Approaches for Environmental Impact Assessment of Bio-based Plastics, Microplastics and Nanoplastics applied to Aquatic Environments.- How the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Supports the Development of Green Startups: The Case of Green Joy in Vietnam.- Bio-based plastics: challenge or reality? Perspectives and constraints of their exploitation as sustainable alternative to fossil plastics.- Innovative Plastic Waste Sorting Technologies: Advancing Towards Sustainable Recycling.- Plastics and human health: How perception of human health risks can reduce plastics consumption?.- Uptake of microparticles from bio-based biodegradable plastics by aquatic invertebrates.- The Utilization of Coconut Coir Powder in Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Plastic Mulch to Enhance Biodegradability and Resistance to Ultraviolet Light Exposure.- Implementing Ecopreneurship with Ecobricks in Bandung City Indonesia: How well we manage the plastic waste?.- .