Author: Raquel de Sousa (INL)

Porto, July 15, 2025 — The Commission for Coordination and Regional Development of the North (CCDR-Norte), Smart Waste Association (ASWP), the Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (INEGI) and the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) hosted a workshop titled “Circular Economy (CE) in the Plastics and Rubber Sector in Northern Portugal: Challenges, Solutions and Actions“. The event took place in the CCDR-Norte auditorium in the CCDR-Norte auditorium.

The event brought together key stakeholders (83% participation, 38 attendees) from the manufacturing and recycling industries, sectoral associations, universities, and research centres from the plastics and rubber value chain. Most attendees developed their activity in the production and waste management. Among the participants, 40% (30 respondents) demonstrated interest in recognising challenges in the sector and collaborating in the creation of actionable solutions.

The session opened with remarks from Ricardo Simões (CCDR-Norte) and Luísa Magalhães (Smart Waste Portugal), who emphasised the importance of cross-sector collaboration and knowledge sharing, followed by Raquel de Sousa (INL), who introduced the European project Frontsh1p. Then, Alexandra Pinto (INEGI) provided an analysis of the economic activity in the North region of Portugal (NUTIII), denoting that two out of eight territorial units dominate the manufacture and processing of plastics and rubber (Porto Metropolitan Area and Ave). For example, the rubber industry accounts for 88% of the nationwide industry, and 47% of the plastic industry’s turnover comes from the North region.

During the first part of the workshop, we employed an interactive online exercise focused on validating and prioritising the sector’s key challenges, which were identified in previous stakeholder consultations: Legal framework and politics (52%, 25 respondents) was validated as the main barrier to adopt CE strategies, primarily due the lack of legislation demanding the incorporation of recycled materials into products, followed by Product innovation and value chain (24%), Infrastructure and investment (16%) and Social inclusion and awareness (8%).

In the second part, Catarina Gonçalves (ASW) introduced the structure and expected outcomes of the workshop and invited participants to join one of four groups. Each group brainstormed concrete measures, identified responsible stakeholders, and determined actionable solutions while assessing their resource needs. The session concluded with a plenary sharing of key solutions for each identified challenge. In sum:

• Legal framework
  • Incorporation of a high % of recycled materials
  • Simplification of bureaucratic procedures for certification and licensing

• Innovation, new products and value chain
  • Reintegration of recycled materials
  • Coordination and cooperation among all stakeholders in the value chain

• Infrastructure, investment and entrepreneurship
  • Support for the implementation of new technologies and/or the acquisition of equipment for waste management
  • Creation of complementary sorting units and optimisation of product/waste separation

• Social inclusion, knowledge and awareness
  • Technical support for companies on circular economy topics in the sector (e.g. personalised training, sector support centres)
  • Knowledge transfer among value chain partners in a transparent and effective manner
  • Consumer awareness-raising

Key Takeaways and Next Steps:

• The type of support that would help implement CE strategies in the plastics and rubber industry sector is an alignment of legal requirements with the sector’s needs (52%, 23 respondents), followed by effective dialogue with actors (22%)
• The most tangible solutions to replicate within the sector are effective recycling and management (27%, 22 respondents), followed by product traceability (22%).
• The key coordinators for implementing CE actions in the region are the Portuguese Agency for the Environment (APA), as well as the government, Companies, and Municipalities.
• Good practices for implementing CE solutions within the sector include industrial symbiosis and stakeholder cooperation.

The North Region of Portugal is one of the four replication regions involved in the transition to circular economy within the framework of the FRONTSH1P project (WP8).

We are currently organising the next events focusing on:

• Workshop focusing on Waste management Stakeholders from Food& Feed (CSS2) and Plastics & Rubber (CSS4) on July 30^th at CCDR-N, Porto
• Final seminar focusing on both value chains and stakeholders expected to occur on October 14^th at INL, Braga.

For more information please contact: raquel.desousa@inl.int.