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SOUL

SOUL

Bio-based in Soil applications with Optimal biodegradation in their Ultimate Life – The SOUL project Term: September 1st 2025 – August 31st 2029

Project

The use of plastic products has increased significantly due to their versatility, ease of manufacture, and affordability. However, the excessive production and disposal of plastics have led to environmental concerns. Packaging and construction are the largest end-use markets for plastics in the EU. Agriculture is another major user, with plastic products like mulching films, controlled-release fertilizers, and tree guards being widely used. While these products offer benefits like water conservation, weed control, and increased yields, they also pose risks of soil pollution and environmental contamination. The majority of agricultural plastics are not collected or recycled, leading to improper disposal and landfilling. Other plastic products, such as turf nets and infills, are not biodegradable and difficult to recover for recycling.

To address these issues, SOUL aims to develop novel, biodegradable materials with high renewable content. The consortium partners will focus on producing new materials, transforming existing plastic products, and developing sustainable end-of-life solutions. By addressing waste management, reducing carbon footprints, and preventing soil contamination, SOUL seeks to contribute to a more sustainable and circular plastic economy.

SOUL will deploy at TRL8, with a circular bioeconomy and multi-actor approach, a complete value chain to produce 11 innovative bio-based and biodegradable in soil product solutions meeting high market demand, by the combination of 3 building blocks and 8 technologies, reaching solutions with a 95% of Renewable Raw Materials while ensuring a platform able to respond to the different application needs.

Coordinator

FUNDACION AITIIP (Spain)

Partners

FUNDACION AITIIP (Spain), NOVAMONT SPA (Italy), NOVAMONT IBERIA S.L. (Spain), EVOENZYME SL (Spain), AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS (Spain), MOSES PRODUCTOS SL (Spain), AMORIM CORK SOLUTIONS, S.A (Portugal), Tenax S.p.A. (Italy), SICOR SOCIEDADE INDUSTRIAL DE CORDOARIA SA (Portugal), Samco Agricultural Manufacturing Limited (Ireland), ASOCIACION ESPAÑOLA PARA EL DESARROLLO Y TRANSFERENCIA TECNOLOGICA EN LA AGRICULTURA Y LA GANADERIA – ASETAGA (Spain), INSTYTUT UPRAWY NAWOZENIA I GLEBOZNAWSTWA, PANSTWOWY INSTYTUT BADAWCZY (Poland), AIMPLAS – ASOCIACION DE INVESTIGACION DE MATERIALES PLASTICOS Y CONEXAS (Spain), NORMEC OWS (Belgium), ALMA MATER STUDIORUM – UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA (Italy), HOLOSS – HOLISTIC AND ONTOLOGICALSOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY, LDA. (Portugal), RE SOIL FOUNDATION (Italy), EUROPEAN BIOECONOMY BUREAU (Belgium), Bedoukian Research Switzerland Sàrl (Switzerland)

Tasks of Normec OWS

  • Work package 5 leader: Demonstration of the end-of-life scenarios and circularity of the value chains
  • Evaluation of biodegradation and ecotoxicity in different environments and of impact on soil fertility of the developed formulations
  • Evaluation of suitability of the developed materials for organic recycling through industrial composting and anaerobic digestion
  • Contribution to standardization work regarding biodegradability in soil and anaerobic digesiton

The project is supported by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking and its members. 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 CBE JU. Neither the European Union nor the CBE JU can be held responsible for them.