\ Alta Tecnologia \ Bologna International Boat Show: the Refiber project wins the 2021 Blue Award

Refiber, a project for the management and disposal of recreational vessels developed by Area Science and the company Innovando, has won the 2021 Blue Award. This award, presented during the Bologna International Boat Show, recognises “those in the institutional and business world that have supported the promotion of marine conservation and nautical culture”. The award was received by Matilde Cecchi, an Area Science Park researcher working on the programme.

The Refiber project stood out amongst the other 60 participants at the Bologna boat show for its focus on the age-old problem of how to dispose of vessels at the end of their life, a significant environmental and socio-economic issue that requires a collective commitment in addition to investing in research and development for new green technology.

Area Science Park and Innovando are evaluating the technical, economic and legal feasibility of a new collective national system for the dismantling and disposal of recreational vessels (12–24 metres) and recycling of materials. These materials include fiberglass, which at 60% represents the most significant component and that most difficult to process, and this could be a resource from which to develop new business models for the entire chain of production.

The project is analysing schemes that have already been consolidated such as EPR-Extended Producer Responsibility, starting with the involvement of producers and distributors of recreational vessels, to find a concrete solution to the environmental and socio-economic problem connected to illegal disposal of boats for which there is currently no structured framework.