Publishing date: 7 October 2026 Immagine notizia Immagine Paragrafo The ProPla – Proteins from Plastics project, coordinated by the University of Insubria and funded by Fondazione Cariplo under the call «Circular Economy: Promoting Research for a Sustainable Future», concluded its activities with the final event held on Monday, October 5, at the Morandi Hall of the Fast Congress Centre in Milan. The event was dedicated to presenting the results achieved by the project and discussing future prospects for research and innovation aimed at making the plastics value chain increasingly sustainable.Over its three years of activity, ProPla brought together multidisciplinary expertise from universities and research centres in Lombardy to develop innovative biotechnological solutions for the recovery and valorisation of microPET found in water. The project addressed the entire value chain, from the recovery of microplastics to their bioconversion into high-value-added products, accompanying the development of technologies with environmental and economic assessments and an analysis of prospects for industrial transfer.ProPla was led by Loredano Pollegioni, Professor in the Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences (DBSV) at the University of Insubria, who contributed expertise and research activities in the fields of enzyme engineering and systems biology. ProPla brought together six different research units, involving, in addition to the University of Insubria, the University of Milan, the University of Milano-Bicocca and the CNR Water Research Institute, with multidisciplinary expertise ranging from the study of plastic pollution to microbiology, entomology, economics and life-cycle assessment of materials.The scientific objective of the project was to convert microPET, polyethylene terephthalate present in the form of microplastics, into amino acids through a biotechnological approach. In particular, the project involved the development of a bacterial strain capable of transforming microPET and, as a complementary approach, the study of the gut microbiota of black soldier fly larvae to improve their bioconversion capacity. Immagine The final event was not only an opportunity to present the scientific activities carried out, but also a chance to bring together the worlds of research, business and institutions, reflecting on the opportunities for further development and valorisation of the solutions emerging from the project.During the event, the partners presented the main results achieved, together with dissemination activities and the contribution of the «young researchers’ group». A discussion was also dedicated to some of the companies that supported ProPla – Plastipak, Lati and Bict – highlighting the importance of collaboration between research and the productive sector in developing innovative solutions for sustainability.The day concluded with a round table dedicated to the role of innovation in creating a more sustainable value chain. The discussion focused on ProPla’s future prospects and, more broadly, on the contribution that research and innovation can make to the transition towards more circular production models. Loredano Pollegioni opened the discussion with a presentation on the future prospects and opportunities for technology transfer arising from ProPla.The round table brought together representatives of Regione Lombardia, Confservizi Lombardia, Confindustria Varese, the Varese Chamber of Commerce, the Lombardy Energy Cleantech Cluster and the University of Milano-Bicocca, offering complementary perspectives on the conditions needed to promote the adoption and valorisation of innovations developed through research.The discussion thus broadened the focus from scientific results to technology transfer, collaboration with the productive sector and the development of new opportunities in the field of the circular bioeconomy, themes that have accompanied ProPla throughout its entire journey.(In the first photograph, an image from the ProPla project: Development of engineered enzymes and microorganisms for the bioconversion of PET microplastics into high value-added products, such as the amino acid alanine and the drug levodopa, and the use of insects as a valuable biomass.In the second photograph, from left: Loredano Pollegioni, Armando De Crinito, Director-General of the Lombardy Region’s Department for Economic Development, and Silvia Passoni, Programme Officer for Waste Recovery and the Circular Economy at the Lombardy Region)