National Information Points of PLASTiCE EC project and Global Network on Sustainable Plastics

The European Commission through the Central Europe programme and specifically through the PLASTICE project (www.plastice.org) has supported establishing conditions for a widespread use of sustainable types of plastics, particularly
biodegradable plastics and plastics based on renewable resources. To foster this main objective, National Info Points Network has been set up in the countries directly participating in the project (Slovenia, Italy, Poland, Slovakia) with the main goal to disseminate the knowledge and obtained results of the project initiatives and create a basis for further development of international cooperation in this field.

As the issue of sustainable plastics is one of the important issues worldwide, it was agreed to extend the National Information Point Network, which originated within the PLASTiCE project to the global level http://www.sustainableplastics.eu/ . Consequently, the Global Network on Sustainable Plastics has been established in which the National Focal Points play a crucial role. National Focal Points are organized in countries worldwide based at recognized institutions and with experts in the field in each country. Each National Focal Point is responsible for setting up of a National Info Point thus providing an easy access to new information on sustainable plastics for research institutions, industry and general public. National Info Points are interfaces aimed also at stimulating interaction between demand and supply along the value chains in the market of biodegradable plastics in Europe and beyond. A part of information on individual NIPs is provided in related national languages. Other documents are available in English, having just an introduction/abstract in national language. It varies from country to country and depends on the common use of English language by various stakeholders.

The Global Network on Sustainable Plastics has been already joined by Italy, Slovenia, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Indonesia, Turkey and United Kingdom and the accession of several other countries is in progress, namely USA, India, China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, etc. It has been agreed, that in the future the Global Network on Sustainable Plastics will be organized and further developed under the umbrella of the International Centre for Applied Research and Sustainable Technology, settled in Bratislava, Slovakia and Trieste, Italy with the goal to set up a platform for join programs and projects of global interest.