{"id":2836,"date":"2025-11-20T14:09:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T14:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/?p=2836"},"modified":"2025-11-20T14:09:50","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T14:09:50","slug":"impress-researchers-showcase-innovations-in-sustainable-food-packaging-during-irelands-science-week-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/nn\/2025\/11\/20\/impress-researchers-showcase-innovations-in-sustainable-food-packaging-during-irelands-science-week-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"IMPRESS Researchers Showcase Innovations in Sustainable Food Packaging during Ireland\u2019s Science Week 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Prof. Ramesh Babu<\/strong> from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcd.ie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trinity College Dublin<\/a> led the IMPRESS team in highlighting important advancements in biodegradable food packaging and circular bioplastics during Ireland\u2019s National <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scienceweek.ie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Science Week 2025<\/a>, held between <strong>November 9th and 16th<\/strong>. The activities included a prominent presence at the <a href=\"https:\/\/circus250.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Circus250<\/a>-Circus Science by the Sea festival, hosted in Westport County Mayo, <strong>between November 14th and 16th<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Postdoctoral researcher <strong>Mehnaza Manzoor<\/strong> contributed by emphasising <strong>the critical role of biodegradable materials in reducing plastic waste within the food supply chain<\/strong>. She shared insights into innovative packaging prototypes developed through the IMPRESS project, demonstrating how compostable solutions can facilitate a transition toward a more sustainable and circular economy by replacing traditional plastics with naturally degradable materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"442\" src=\"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/project-1-1024x442.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2837\" srcset=\"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/project-1-1024x442.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/project-1-300x130.jpg 300w, https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/project-1-768x332.jpg 768w, https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/project-1-1536x663.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/project-1.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Circus Science by the Sea festival aimed to inspire and engage the public with science and sustainability. According to Mehnaza, <em>\u201cIt was truly a rewarding experience to connect with curious minds and inspire the next generation to think differently about science, sustainability, and the future of food packaging.\u201d<\/em> The event showcased a range of innovative prototypes, bringing attention to how circular economy approaches can support environmental goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-vivid-cyan-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-16f4938c3dd0707922eed419be5bd079\">About Science Week 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Science Week, Ireland\u2019s premier nationwide celebration of science and innovation, takes place annually in November, engaging the public with a diverse array of activities that showcase the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) in everyday life. This year, Science Week marked its <strong>30th anniversary<\/strong> with the theme \u201c<strong><em>Then. Today. Tomorrow,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> focusing on past achievements, current innovations, and future challenges in science and research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-vivid-cyan-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-af4378f087faba4c0bb059c198adc5b9\">About Circus250<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Circus250 is an organisation dedicated to celebrating Ireland\u2019s circus heritage and fostering creativity in the arts. Their event, Circus Science by the Sea, combines science outreach with cultural heritage, aiming to captivate and educate diverse audiences through playful and interactive experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>IMPRESS\u2019s participation in Science Week emphasises our <strong>commitment to promoting sustainable innovation<\/strong> and <strong>engaging communities with science-based solutions for a greener future<\/strong>. We look forward to further collaboration and inspiring positive change through research and public engagement, reminding everyone that contributing to a greener future is something <strong>people of all ages can be part of<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2838\" srcset=\"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2.png 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Article by the <a href=\"https:\/\/reframe.food\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reframe.food<\/a> team with information provided by <strong>Mehnaza Manzoor<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcd.ie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trinity College Dublin<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Photos courtesy of Trinity College Dublin.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During Science Week 2025 in Ireland, the IMPRESS team, led by Prof. Ramesh Babu (Trinity College Dublin), showcased cutting-edge compostable food packaging prototypes, emphasising the importance of biodegradable materials in reducing plastic waste in the food supply chain.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2839,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":26,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[104,29,106,14,24,105,93],"class_list":["post-2836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-biodegradable-food-packaging","tag-blogpost","tag-circus250","tag-impress","tag-partner-updates","tag-science-week-2025","tag-trinity-college-dublin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/nn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/nn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/nn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/nn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/nn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2836"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/nn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2841,"href":"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/nn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2836\/revisions\/2841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/nn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/nn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/nn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/impress-he.eu\/nn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}