from waste to worth: design strategies for circular plastic materials - ed.1

DIPARTIMENTO DI ARCHITETTURA, INGEGNERIA DELLE COSTRUZIONI E AMBIENTE COSTRUITO

This seminar is the first of two parts of From Waste to Worth: Design Strategies for Circular Plastic Materials, designed to introduce students, researchers, and professionals to the potential of making with plastic waste. MODULE 1 consists of two online sessions featuring international experts from recycling and innovative construction, complemented by academic contributions. The seminars are delivered entirely in English and include interactive polls and questionnaires, Q&A sessions, and roundtables. SESSION 1: Plastic materials and plastic waste — Webinar • Date: 14 October 2025 • Time: 16:00 CEST • Duration: 2 h 30 min • Topics: introduction to the market, typologies, and sustainability challenges of plastics; use of the Ansys Granta materials database to explore properties and sustainability potential; analysis with Plastics Europe data of supply chains, end-of-life scenarios, and key hurdles to advancing circular plastic strategies. SESSION 2: Design and fabrication strategies for plastic waste — Expert panel • Date: 15 October 2025 • Time: 16:00 CEST • Duration: 3 h 00 min • Topics: techniques and machinery for shaping/processing plastics and plastic waste: from large-scale industrial production to portable, small-scale equipment, concluding with cutting-edge research projects on design and manufacturing with plastic waste.

• Understand the fundamentals of the plastics value chain and waste management, including polymer types, market context, and sustainability challenges. • Use data tools (Ansys Granta; Plastics Europe datasets) to analyze polymer properties, sustainability potential, supply chains, and end-of-life scenarios. • Identify suitable polymers and transformation technologies to design building components from waste materials. • Gain familiarity with techniques, machinery, and case studies for designing and manufacturing with plastic waste—from industrial scale to small, portable setups. • Build critical thinking and interdisciplinary skills through polls, Q&A, and roundtable discussions.

No technical prerequisites. Good knowledge of English language is necessary to actively participate to the workshop, that will be entirely in english.

seminario online

Director: ANDREA GIOVANNI MAININI

DIPARTIMENTO DI ARCHITETTURA, INGEGNERIA DELLE COSTRUZIONI E AMBIENTE COSTRUITO

ANDREA GIOVANNI MAININI

02 2399 6018

seed-dabc@polimi.it