Home - OceanWise

Plastic foam products made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS)
are amongst the top 10 items of marine litter found on European beach litter surveys.

We are OceanWise, a project looking for solutions to reduce this type of marine litter.
We want to keep EPS and XPS away from the marine environment.

Seventeen findings on EPS

Did you know there are millions of EPS fragments lost to the environment that never get captured? Just imagine the impact this has in the marine environment: where do these fragments go?

How can design help

Teresa Franqueira is a professor and researcher at the Department of Communication and Art at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, and was elected, in past December, the international coordinator of the network for social innovation and sustainability of the DESIS (Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability).

Who's changing the world

EPS is a problem for the marine wildlife and ecosystems as it is commonly found in the sea and coastal areas. EPS is mostly used to produce packaging and in the construction sector. Althouh it is a recyclable material, this does not happen in most industries and countries.

Second participatory session

"Building actions to address EPS/XPS presence
on the Ocean"

First participative session

"How can expanded plastics fit into the
Circular Economy?"

Second participatory session

"How will Europe fit EPSXPS into
circular economy"

First participative session

"How can expanded plastics fit into the
Circular Economy?"

DIALOGUE LIVING LAB STAKEHOLDERS INPUT SERIES #1

HOW CAN EXPANDED PLASTICS FIT IN TO THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY ?

Objective: Explore the relation between EPS/XPS and circular economy.

DIALOGUE LIVING LAB STAKEHOLDERS INPUT SERIES #3

" HOW WILL EUROPE FIT EPS / XPS IN TO THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY ? "

Objective: Obtain a detailed list of actions to face the presence of EPS/ XPS in the ocean and simultaneous allow the exchange of experiences between participants from the various countries in the project, to develop joint actions for the Atlantic Northeast area. Due to covid-19 pandemic, this 3rd workshop format was 100% online.

DIALOGUE LIVING LAB STAKEHOLDERS INPUT SERIES #2

BUILDING ACTIONS TO ADDRESS EPS/XPS PRESENCE ON THE OCEAN

Objective: Collaboratively define a roadmap for EPS/XPS products to achieve a 100% circular economy.

DIALOGUE LIVING LAB STAKEHOLDERS INPUT SERIES #4

" HOW WILL EUROPE FIT EPS / XPS IN TO THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY ? "

Objective: Collaboratively define a roadmap for EPS/XPS products to achieve a 100% circular economy.

NEW Reports | Summary

5.3 State of the Art Working Catalogue/Database of Current Available Alternatives to EPS & XPS

5.5 Expanded and Extruded Polystyrene Current Solutions to Recycle and Repurpose

6.3 Methodology for the Circularity - Sustainability Assessment of EPS/XPS Products and Applications

Although EPS is one of the most polluting sources of marine litter, there are still few and ineffective solutions to replace it in the fishing industry. The solution is to continue enforcing recycling opportunities and searching for alternatives, in a constant trial-and-error process that, although slow, say experts in the field, will be worth it when the solution is found. It was with this in mind that the OCEANWISE project and Sociedade Ponto Verde promoted the OCEAN’S CALLING contest, which promised to award 25 thousand euros in a project or idea that would develop an alternative, better use or better recycling of EPS or XPS packaging. The first applications took place between October 2019 and February 2020, open to individual entrepreneurs or teams and tart-ups, public or private companies, designers, universities, public or private institutions, associations or non-governmental organizations, or other entities.

OCEAN PLASTIC HACKATHONS

DESIGN FACTORY AVEIRO

"What we found"

“We have been working on a Knowledge Hub where you can find information about the impact of EPS and XPS on marine litter, how can circular economy help to fix this problem and what material alternatives can we have for these”

Linkages between the OceanWise Project and the European Green Deal

Click Here

OW Database of EPS Applications Users Stakeholders

Click Here

OW Report on EPS and XPS Recycling

Click Here

Report – Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) and Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) as Food Contact Materials and Life Cycle Analyses

Click Here

SOLUTIONS TO STOP EPS/XPS MARINE LITER

- State of art of EPS / XPS raw materials and their alternatives, associated process and products (Raynald Godet / ICCI Seabird)

- Circularity Assessment Methodology for EPS/XPS products (Carlos León / SUSTAINN)

- Expanded and extruded polystyrenes distribution and impact in the marine environment (Camille Lacroix / Cedre)

Bioplastics Workshop

In recent times a new generation of biodegradable (compostable) plastics has been added to the traditional ranges of petroleum-derived plastics, representing an advance and an alternative in the sustainability of these materials. However, the current systems for the collection, management and segregation of their waste have not been adapted to the use of biodegradable plastics on the market.

This Workshop focused on this problem and aimed to capture and identify feasible ideas that provide concrete solutions.