Sociedade Ponto Verde is a private, non-profit body with a crucial mission for a sustainable future: to promote the selective collection, take-back and recovery of packaging waste in Portugal, fostering a circular economy by implementing the Integrated Packaging Waste Management System (SIGRE).
We do this on behalf of packers, fillers and importers, manufacturers of packaging and packaging materials, as well as distributors.
One of the main goals of Sociedade Ponto Verde is to educate and raise public awareness among the Portuguese for better environmental practices.
Click here to find out more about Sociedade Ponto Verde.
THE PROJECT
Expanded polystyrene products (EPS and XPS) are a major, disturbing source of marine litter in the Atlantic Ocean. They require immediate action.
These products are everywhere. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS) are plastic foams used globally in many products, such as sea-food boxes, hot drink cups, single-use food boxes and trays, packaging of electronic appliances and other fragile or temperature sensitive products, insulation for buildings and floating structures in the sea, amongst other uses.
Now, for the very first time, a number of countries have decided to work together to solve a problem that is silently threatening our oceans and marine wildlife.
OceanWise is a project (2018 – 2022) designed to develop long-term measures to reduce the impact of EPS in the North-East Atlantic Ocean.
Based on resource-efficient participatory methods and circular economy principles, OceanWise will generate new best practices in sectors involving the use, manufacture, recycling and uptake of polystyrene foam.
We will be working together with people who produce EPS and XPS, design products that use these materials, who need them in their industries, manage EPS and XPS waste and who buy goods with EPS and XPS. We need all stakeholders to address the entire life cycle of polystyrene foam products to keep them out of the oceans.
The team comprises 13 partners from five Atlantic countries – Portugal, Ireland, France, Spain and the United Kingdom, coordinated by the DGRM (Direção-Geral de Recursos Naturais, Segurança e serviços Maritímos – Department of Natural Recources, Security and Maritime services), and in which Sociedade Ponto Verde is a partner.
Driven by the EU-Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the OSPAR Convention’s Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter, our goal is to present the best solutions and results to drive more sustainable policies and best practices by 2020.
We hope to make a difference.
More information on the project is available at: www.oceanwise-project.eu
REGULATION
CHALLENGE: As part of the OCEANWISE project, Sociedade Ponto Verde is promoting an award to be given to a single project or idea that promotes, raises awareness or develops solutions aimed at best practices in the use, production, collection and recycling of EPS/XPS packaging or alternative packaging, focusing essentially on the end-of-life impact on the environment in general and marine environment in particular.
1.
Applications will be accepted from October 2019 to February 2020 on the platform www.oceanscalling.pt.
2.
Applications can be submitted for projects or ideas from Portuguese or foreign, individual or collective promoters, i.e. individual entrepreneurs or teams, start-ups, public or private companies, designers, universities, public or private institutions, associations, non governmental organisations or other entities.
3.
Applications must be submitted on the platform www.oceanscalling.pt with the necessary forms as per the template provided.
4.
In the evaluation phase, lasting from February to April 2020, Sociedade Ponto Verde will assess the projects and make a shortlist.
5.
The shortlisted projects will be announced on www.pontoverde.pt and www.oceanscalling.pt in May 2020.
6.
The decision to award the €25,000 prize will be the sole responsibility of Sociedade Ponto Verde, after consulting the OCEANWISE team members. The winner will be announced on www.pontoverde.pt, www.oceanscalling.pt and www.oceanwise-project.eu. Other means of communication may also be used.
RESULTS
The ocean is calling out to you.
We are going to work together for a better future. The solution begins with each one of us.
Find out about the finalist projects:
ROUTE PORTUGAL EXPEDITION 2020
Find out which project is the winner:
US