LIFE RESTART

NEW LIFE LIFE RESTART project fiche

LIFE RESTART powers circular economy and local regeneration

The brewing industry generates a huge volume of waste, with brewer’s spent grain (BSG) accounting for 85% of it. For every 100 litres of beer produced, 20 kg of BSG are produced. In 2017, almost 39.5 million litres of beer were brewed in Europe, generating around €139 000 million in revenue. By 2025, revenue is expected to rise to €160 billion, with over 6.4 million tonnes of BSG generated each year.

About LIFE RESTART

The project was launched to tackle the dual challenge of plastic pollution and agro-industrial waste, by turning byproducts from beer production into bioplastics, originally intended for food packaging and containers. Thanks to its versatility, the solution has expanded into sectors such as toys and flowerpots, and is now being explored for use in other industries, including automotive and footwear.
 

“We are working with the C2M support in order to have a more detailed analysis of the potential users of the biocompound and bioplastic. This mapping of market opportunities is essential for us at the European level to achieve success in the production and selling of the bioplastic, knowing that we are based in a very specific small village, in Sicily, and therefore the connection with the European markets and European stakeholders is fundamental,” explains the project manager Giacomo Pinaffo.

Driving environmental, economic and social impact

By the project’s end, LIFE RESTART aims to produce 300 tonnes of bioplastic, replacing an equivalent volume of fossil fuel plastics on the market.
On the economic front, the initiative projects a €1 million turnover within three years of market launch. New raw material streams from olive and coffee production are also being explored, expanding both product range and market reach. Importantly, the project will also create seven new jobs in Roccavaldina, a small village in Sicily, facing depopulation and unemployment, helping regenerate the local economy through innovation.

Additional expected results:

➢75-80% reuse of BSG waste for biopolymer production (550 to 600 tonnes);
➢75% recovery of wastewater from BSG pre-drying;
➢5% reduction in the ratio of chemical and biochemical oxygen demand (COD/BOD1) in breweries;
➢15% cut in oil-based plastic packaging (300 tonnes);
➢35% reduction of virgin bio-polymers consumption, and demand for pure natural resources, generating new bio-based feedstocks, without land depletion (110 tonnes);
➢15% replacement of non-biodegradable polymers with biodegradable alternatives;
➢Certification of on-pack recycling labels and presentation of the solution as Best Available Technique (BAT/BREF);
➢Creation of green jobs, two of which will go to socially disadvantaged applicants;
➢Design of a community-focused business model that provides employment for local disadvantaged people while generating economic resources to be invested in local social development actions.
 

Drawing up of business plan and a community welfare action plan that allocates a large share of operating revenues to social development actions. In the long term, the project aims to foster local economic growth by attracting innovation-driven enterprises, creating jobs, and building a network of designers, researchers, and manufacturers around the production site.

Quote from the Coordinating Beneficiary

Giacomo Pinaffo, Project Manager 

“I would suggest any startup or partnership with a clear, prudent idea and a clear business case to apply for the LIFE Programme supported by the C2M service, because indeed they provide a clear and strong support for development approaches. I am also very grateful to the LIFE Programme for the flexibility shown during the process, namely during the project implementation period, which enabled us to react to the changes that occurred due to the research phase, due to the implementation phase, and due to different variables that we needed to take into consideration when implementing such a project”.