BBPlug project


Circular Agri-Food systems: development of biodegradable and biostimulant plant multiplication plugs from fruit and vegetable wastes
The aim of BBPlug project is to develop a biodegradable material starting from food-derived waste of vegetable processing that can be used in horticulture for seedbeds, promoting a circular development in the food chain. The biomaterial will have an added value, as it will be enriched by microbial and vegetable biostimulants. The results of BBPlug have the ambition to reduce food waste, the use of plastics and fertilizer by developing a biomaterial that is highly sustainable and able to improve horticultural production.
BBPlug will develop nursery pots made of an added-value biomaterial obtained from food-derived wastes. The biomaterial will be enriched by biological agents that stimulate the growth of plants and molecules that buffer the thermal changes. Biodegradable pots can be placed in the soil without having to extract the seedling, an operation necessary when plastic supports are used. This will improve production in horticulture as plants will benefit from the presence of bio-stimulants from the early stages of growth and will not suffer thermal stress during growth in seedbeds nor the stress caused by transplant in open field. The new product has the potential to create new job opportunities in the field of biomaterials, contribute to the achievement of a circular development in the economy of the agri-food sector and generally increase ecological awareness in citizens.
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