2023-10-23 21:34:02
The Plastic Odyssey expedition embodies the transformation of plastic waste into a valuable resource. This bold initiative mobilizes a research and demonstration vessel, which becomes a floating laboratory, crisscrossing the oceans in search of innovative solutions to give new life to plastic. The main objective of this expedition is to raise public awareness of the alarming consequences of plastic pollution while demonstrating that this waste can be recycled in different ways.
During the first stopover in Dakar, Senegal, Gustave Eiffel University contributed significantly to this mission by presenting the Recityplast project. At each stage of the journey, the entire ship is transformed into a veritable open-air laboratory, welcoming researchers, entrepreneurs and experts in the field of plastic waste management.
Among the actors involved, Lamine Dieng, research director at the Metallic Structures and Cables Laboratory (SMC) at Gustave Eiffel University, declares: “When we arrive in Dakar, we see plastic everywhere. One of the main objectives of this project is to raise public awareness of the risks associated with this form of pollution by demonstrating that it is a waste that can be transformed into a valuable resource. »
Because if the recycling of plastic waste in Senegal responds to an environmental necessity which requires, first of all, the development of new technologies, it can also be part of an economic and social approach. This is the challenge of the Recytiplast project, initiated in 2020 and supported by I-SITE FUTURE as an “Impulsion” project.
The result of a Franco-Senegalese partnership, Recytiplast aims to study the technical and social feasibility of recovering plastic waste in order to improve buildings in rural areas. Concretely, it involves organizing the transformation of residues, harmful to the environment or health, into innovative, useful and profitable materials.
“What makes Recytiplast unique is its ability to bring together skills from fields as varied as materials sciences, human and social sciences, as well as local stakeholders. This exceptional interdisciplinarity is rarely observed within research projects. » notes Laetitia Van Schoors, research director at the Physico-chemical Behavior and Durability of Materials (CPDM) laboratory at Gustave Eiffel University, who is co-piloting the project with Lamine Dieng.
The two researchers collaborate in particular with IMT Nord Europe, the University of Le Mans and the NGO Gret as well as with Senegalese partners such as the Cheikh-Anta-Diop University of Dakar (UCAD), rural communities or more town halls…
This presence in Dakar represents a very big opportunity for the Recityplast project. Apart from bringing visibility to the research work carried out by the Gustave Eiffel University in this area, this adventure was an opportunity to popularize the research and transmit valuable knowledge to the population visiting the boat during the workshops. organized by the crew.
“It was a mutually enriching collaboration: Simon (editor’s note: Simon Bernard, co-founder of Plastic Odyssey) needed our expertise, just as we needed him to disseminate our knowledge,” explains Lamine.
A 70-minute documentary film awaits you! Directed by Pierre de Parscau and Olivia Schaller, it is produced in collaboration by Les Gens Bien Production and Plastic Odyssey.
It will be broadcast on October 25, 2023 at 8:55 p.m. on CANAL+ DOCS, followed by a second broadcast on October 26 at 10:30 p.m. on CANAL+ and myCANAL.
This film offers an overview of the project’s history, years of work on the ship, and highlights three memorable stops of the expedition in Lebanon, Senegal and Guinea.
For further :
The Recityplast project will be the subject of a restitution day December 10 to 13 in Dakar with the various partners and local actors to share the different results.
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