UniversidaddeCádiz

The rector of the University of Cadiz, Francisco Piniella, has presided today, in the Hospital Real building, the presentation of the prototype of sustainable packaging, made of algae, of the Operational Agricultural Group (GOA) AlgaEcopack. The packaging is the result of a research project, AlgaEcopack, promoted by researchers from the University of Cadiz and the UCA spin off company Futuralga within the Agricultural Operational Group (GOA), financed with EAFRD funds, together with the Institute of Employment and Socioeconomic and Technological Development (IEDT) of the Provincial Council of Cadiz, the Union of Farmers and Ranchers of Andalusia (COAG) and the agricultural cooperative Nuestra Señora de las Virtudes de Conil de la Frontera.

The prototype of the trays is based on seaweed harvested along the Cadiz coast for the transport and sale of vegetables. With a budget of 285,912.81 euros and a work period of two years, the project is expected to be completed in April 2024 with the production of the 0 series of the product so that it can be marketed. In short, this packaging made from algae will provide added value for Cádiz’s agro-industry, as well as fulfilling an important environmental task and also providing a solution to the problem of algae accumulated on the province’s beaches, which is damaging another of Cádiz’s socio-economic pillars, the tourism sector. Thus, AlgaEcopack has a twofold mission which, for the moment, is expected to be successful: to add value to the province’s agri-food sector, revitalising its rural environment, and to make the most of waste such as algae, providing a solution to the problem of the accumulation of seaweed on the coast of Cadiz.