CosCo -seaweed

CosCo-Project - Regional cycle development through coastal co-operation -

seagrass and algae focus

Problem description

The economies of many coastal regions in Europe are largely dependent on tourism. To ensure that their coasts and beaches remain attractive, these regions place substantial importance on beach cleansing. However, beach cleansing generates tremendous costs for local authorities. The four coastal communities cooperating in the CosCo Project address this problem by taking a new and different approach. Instead of treating flotsam as waste, they use it as a valuable raw material that could be used in various fields of application such as medicine, construction and packaging. Together they want to find innovative ways to make use of this potential and thus positively influence regional development. The basis for this cooperation was provided by a LIFE-Environment project in which some of the participating coastal regions were involved.

Overall objective

CosCo wants to reduce the high costs of beach cleansing by recycling flotsam and using it in an economically meaningful way. This improves the environmental situation and at the same time ensures the sustainable development of tourism. To achieve these objectives, the partners aim to actively exchange experiences in relation to beach cleansing technology, flotsam treatment, product development and beach policy and also implement several pilot actions.

Expected results

The cooperation results in an improvement of existing beach cleansing and treatment technologies and/or the creation of new ones. New regional biogenous products obtained from flotsam are developed, like insulation mats or injection molding, and marketing strategies for the introduction of these products to potential companies and customers are designed. In the long term, this creates new job opportunities and improves the labor markets in the partner regions. At the same time, the non-disposal of collected flotsam reduces waste and thus has a positive effect on the environment. A comparative study of the different aspects and needs of beach tourism in the partner regions serves as a basis for the development of environmentally friendly beach policies and thus ensure the sustainable development of tourism.

Project leader: Prof. Dr.-Ing. André Wagenführ

Project assistant: Dipl.-Ing. Sören Tech

https://tu-dresden.de/Members/soeren.tech/news/Seegras

Funding: EU - ERDF contribution - Duration: January 2004 - June 2007