news 28.10.2024

Jamk in the finals of a EU-wide project competition – vote for Jamk!

A project coordinated by Jamk University of Applied Sciences focusing on the problem of plastic waste from farms, is among the finalists in the EU's ARIA competition, which includes the best rural development projects in Europe.

Muovipaaleja rivissä

Approximately 12 million kilos of plastic waste is generated annually on Finnish farms, as plastic is a functional material for protecting crops and feed, for example. Until now, however, Finland has lacked a cost-effective and functional recycling system for agricultural plastics.
The Recycling of Plastics from Farms project has mapped the formation of plastic waste, drawn up guidelines for its treatment and developed new ways of collecting and reusing waste.

"The facilities are far apart, there are few reliable recipients of plastic waste, and logistics cost money. There have been no operators in the chain; Suomen Maatalousmuovien Kierrätys Oy, which specialises in agricultural plastics, started its operations only last summer, says Project Manager Aija Hytönen.

Currently, about 20% of agricultural plastic waste is recycled, but according to a survey of farmers conducted by the project, up to 70% of it could be recycled. Most of the waste ends up in incineration, even though sorted it would be well suited for reuse.

Maatilayrittäjä Ilkka Kosunen, Jamkin Aija Hytönen ja MTK-Pohjois-Savon Noora Räsänen pohtivat muovinkierrätystä.

Farm entrepreneur Ilkka Kosunen, Jamk's Aija Hytönen and MTK-Pohjois-Savo's Noora Räsänen discuss plastic recycling.

Among the best in Europe

The project is now aiming to win the finals of the EU's ARIA (Agricultural &; Rural Inspiration Awards) competition in the category of environmental protection projects. The final, to be held in Brussels in December, will feature the best of European rural development projects.

For Project Manager Aija Hytönen, the success of the competition is a pleasant surprise.  

"The only regret is that the entire project team cannot be involved, as all actors have brought important information to the whole. The role of the project has been to act as the farmer's voice in the development of plastic recycling," Hytönen says.

Jamk University of Applied Sciences' partners in the project were LAB-University of Applied Sciences and MTK Pohjois-Savo. The project, which was implemented in 2022–2024, received EU rural funding from the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for Central Finland. It was implemented in accordance with the Environment and Climate Programme for Lake Finland, i.e. also in the areas of the ELY Centres of North Savo, South Savo, North Karelia and Southeast Finland.

Voting open until early December

A total of 24 projects from across Europe that have received EU rural funding have been selected for the ARIA final. In addition to the Farm Plastics for Recycling project, two other Finnish projects made it to the final: Balance of mind for workplaces in Satakunta and Pirkanmaa and Open milieus and genuine experiences in Lapland.

The competition has four categories in which the winner selected by an expert jury will be awarded, and the public will also be able to vote for their favourite project. Voting will be open on the competition website until 1.12.2024.

The aim of the ARIA competition is to bring visibility to projects implemented with the support of EU rural funding. In Finland, EU rural funding is granted by ELY Centres and Leader groups.
 

Read more:
Press release from ELY Centres (in Finnish)
More information about the Recycling of Plastics from Farms project

Further information

Aija Hytönen

Projektipäällikkö, Project Manager
Biotalousinstituutti, Institute of Bioeconomy
Teknologia, School of Technology
+358505359421

Keywords

RDI Main News
RDI
bioeconomy
Institute of Bioeconomy
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