CASE STUDIES

Plastic Recycling

Alistair Cook

PHOTO: Man operating shredding machine used

to recycle plastic in Nakuru. Practical Action.
CASE STUDIES Plastic Recycling

EDITED BY
Global Dimension in Engineering Education DL B 10735-2015
ISBN 978-84-606-7546-4
COORDINATED BY
Agustí Pérez-Foguet, Enric Velo, Pol Arranz, Ricard Giné This publication is distributed
and Boris Lazzarini (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) under an Attribution- Noncommercial-
Share Alike License for Creative Commons
Manuel Sierra (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid)
Alejandra Boni and Jordi Peris (Universitat Politècnica de València)
Guido Zolezzi and Gabriella Trombino (Università degli Studi di Trento)
Rhoda Trimingham (Loughborough University)
Valentín Villarroel (ONGAWA)
Neil Nobles and Meadhbh Bolger (Practical Action)
Francesco Mongera (Training Center for International Cooperation)
Katie Cresswell-Maynard (Engineering Without Border UK)

Citation: Cook, A. (2015) 'Plastic Recycling', in Case studies for developing globally responsible engineers,
GDEE (eds.), Global Dimension in Engineering Education, Barcelona. Available from: http://gdee.eu/index.php/resources.html

Disclaimer: This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union
The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the authors and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union
 Plastic Recycling

PLASTIC RECYCLING

Alistair Cook: MBA candidate Global Social Sustainable Enterprise, Colorado State University

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INDEX

1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 3
1.1. DISCIPLINES COVERED ............................................................................................................. 3
1.2. LEARNING OUTCOMES .............................................................................................................. 4
1.3. ACTIVITIES .............................................................................................................................. 4
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE CONTEXT ............................................................................................. 4
2.1. INTRODUCTION TO RECYCLING PLASTICS AND RELEVANCE IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH ..................... 4
PROPERTIES AND TYPES OF PLASTICS ..................................................................................................... 5
2.2. . IDENTIFYING W ASTE PLASTICS ............................................................................................... 8
2.3. PROCESSING W ASTE PLASTIC.................................................................................................. 9
2.4. CRADLE TO CRADLE AND LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT .................................................................. 12
2.5. CASE STUDIES OF PLASTIC RECYCLING .................................................................................. 13
3. CLASS ACTIVITY ....................................................................................................................... 15
3.1. SOLUTION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA ..................................................................................... 15
4. HOMEWORK ACTIVITY ............................................................................................................. 16
5. BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 17

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1. INTRODUCTION

The Global Dimension in Engineering Education (GDEE) is a European Union funded

initiative involving the collaboration of development NGOs and Universities, with an aim to
integrate sustainable human development as a regular part of all technical University
courses. Part of the initiative is the development of a set of case studies based on real field
experiences of development projects. The case studies cover a broad range of topics
directly linked to those studied in engineering, science and other
technology/environment/development-related courses. They give a background to the topic,
a look into the real life project, and offer students hands on learning by various class and
homework activities.

This case study looks into plastic recycling in the Global South. The world’s production of
plastic materials has been increasing at a rate of nearly 5% per annum over the past 20
years (UNEP, n.d.). In many economically poorer countries, the increase in use of plastics
has been higher than the world average and waste plastics are becoming a major waste
stream. They are often found as litter across cities; they are burned, buried or disposed of in
open dumps along with other waste. The high quantities being generated and the lack of
efficient end-of-life management means plastics are now posing serious threats to the
environment and human health. Awareness is growing of the need to reduce plastic use, and
to deal effectively with plastic waste by recycling, reusing or upcycling. Many viable plastic
recycling businesses have been set up in the Global South with the double result of reducing
hazards of plastics, and providing a livelihood.

The process of recycling plastics and setting up a viable business contains many challenges,
including technical challenges such as questions of efficient energy usage and machinery,
and management challenges such as organisational structure and collection systems.
Understanding the process of recycling for plastic is an important consideration in design, as
designers and engineers strive to achieve ‘closed loop’ cycles, where waste is reduced or
eliminated, and products are designed for re-use.

1.1. DISCIPLINES COVERED

• Product Design Engineering

• Chemical / Process Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Environmental Engineering
• Engineering Business Management (or similar)

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1.2. LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Understand the importance of recycling plastics and the real life complications in doing
so, particularly in the context of countries in the Global South
• Understand the stages and processes of recycling plastic
• Learn how to do a basic life cycle assessment of a material or product and use the tool
to compare options
• Develop a basic understanding of business economics

1.3. ACTIVITIES

There are three activities attached to this case study, which can be run as discrete activities
or joined into a project;

1. Consider and research the cradle to cradle life of a household plastic object.
Compare the use of new or recycled plastic as a manufacturing material
2. Complete a Life Cycle Analysis for a new and recycled plastic product and
compare the results
3. Develop a basic business plan for a recycling company in Kenya or Uganda

These activities require access to a computer and the internet, as students will be required
to download and utilise an open source LCA program.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE CONTEXT

2.1. INTRODUCTION TO RECYCLING PLASTICS AND RELEVANCE IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH

Plastics are inexpensive, lightweight and durable materials, which can be easily
manufactured into lots of products that are used throughout the world. Because of this, the
production of plastics has increased markedly over the last 60 years. A major portion of
plastic produced each year is used to make disposable items of packaging or other short-
lived products that are discarded within a year of manufacture. These current levels of usage
and disposal are not sustainable and generate many environmental and health problems.
For example, producing plastics account for around 7-8% of world oil and gas use, both as
feedstock for plastics and to provide energy for their manufacture (Hopewell, et al., 2009),
contributing to global warming; substantial quantities of discarded plastics accumulate as
debris in landfills and in natural habitats worldwide causing methane leakage, starvation of
marine mammals due to plastic consumption, and contamination of groundwater supplies
due to chemical seepage. In order to mitigate these effects, reducing our consumption of
plastic, and thus the creation of plastic, is key; not using plastic needlessly, using recycled /
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bio-degradable packaging if we must, supporting campaigns which encourage businesses,

workplaces, factories etc. to reduce their use. Of course, large-scale behavioural change
does not happen overnight. This is where waste management strategies come into play,
such as plastic recycling, reduction in material use through down gauging or product reuse,
and the use of alternative biodegradable materials and energy recovery as fuel. Here, we will
talk about plastic recycling.

In addition to the advantages of reducing the environmental and health impacts stated
above, the process of plastic recycling provides livelihoods for millions of people and
communities in the Global South, either in the form of formal employment or informal
economic activities. The collecting, sorting and recycling plastic waste is a viable activity to
generate income. There is a wide scope for recycling in these countries due to several
factors:
• In many countries there is an existing culture of reuse and recycling, with the
associated system of collection, sorting, cleaning and reuse of ‘waste’ or used
materials.
• There is often an ‘informal sector’ which is ideally suited to taking on small-scale
recycling activities. Such opportunities to earn a small income are rarely missed by
members of the urban poor.
• There are fewer laws to control the standards of recycled materials. (This is not to
say that standards can be low – the consumer will always demand a certain level of
quality).
• Innovative use of scrap machinery often leads to low entry costs for processing or
manufacture.

PROPERTIES AND TYPES OF PLASTICS

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Type of plastic Identification General properties Common uses

Polyethylene • Clear • Mineral water bottles

terephthalate • Hard • 2 litre soda bottles
(PET/PETE) • Tough • Cooking oil bottles
• Barrier to gas and water • Powder detergent jars
• Resistance to heat • Fibre for clothing
• Resistance to • Fibre for carpets
grease/oil • Strapping
• Peanut butter jars

High density • Barrier to water • Jerry cans

polyethylene • Chemical resistance • “Crinkly” shopping
(HDPE) • Hard to semi-flexible bags
• Strong • Film
• Soft waxy surface • Milk packaging
• Low cost • Toys
• Permeable to gas • Buckets
• Natural milky white • Rigid pipes
colour • Crates
• Bottle caps

Polyvinyl • Transparent • Pipes and fittings

chloride • Hard, rigid (flexible • Carpet backing
(PVC) when plasticised) • Window frames
• Good chemical • Water, shampoo and
resistance vegetable oil bottles
• Long term stability • Credit cards
• Electrical insulation • Wire and cable
• Low gas permeability sheathing
• Floor coverings
• Shoe soles and uppers

Low density • Tough • Agricultural films

polyethylene • Flexible • Refuse sacks
(LDPE) • Waxy surface • Packaging films
• Soft - scratches easily • Foams
• Good transparency • Bubble wrap
• Low melting point • Flexible bottles
• Stable electrical • Wire and cable
properties applications
• Moisture barrier

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Poly propylene • Excellent chemical • Yoghurt containers

(PP) resistance • Potato crisp bags
• High melting point • Drinking straws
• Hard, but flexible • Medicine bottles
• Waxy surface • crates,
• Translucent • plant pots
• Strong • Car battery cases
• Heavy gauge woven
bags

Polystyrene • Clear to opaque • Packaging pellets

(PS) • Glassy surface • Yoghurt containers
• Rigid • Fast food trays
• Hard • disposable cutlery
• Brittle • Coat hangers
• High clarity
• Affected by fats and
solvents

Other plastics • Mostly not available in

sufficient quantities
for recycling

Table 1 Properties of Plastics (Berg, 2009)

Figure 1 Types of Plastic Waste

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2.2. IDENTIFYING W ASTE PLASTICS

To differentiate between the types of plastics above in order to discern if they can be
recycled, it is now common for plastic containers to have the polymer identification code on
them, as seen in section 2.2. Unfortunately, not all plastic applications carry such identifiers.
However, there are several simple tests that can be used to distinguish between the
common types of polymers so that they may be separated for processing (other types are
more difficult to identify and require experience):

Water test - After adding a few drops of liquid detergent to some water put in a small piece of
plastic and see if it floats.

Burning test - Hold a piece of the plastic in a tweezers or on the back of a knife and apply a
flame. Dose the plastic burn? If so, what colour?

Fingernail test - Can a sample of the plastic be scratched with a fingernail?

Test Type of Plastic

PE PP PS PVC*

Water Floats Floats Sinks Sinks

Burning Blue flame Yellow Yellow, Yellow, sooty smoke.

with yellow flame with sooty Does not continue to
tip, melts blue base. flame – burn if flame is
and drips drips removed

Smell Like Candle Like candle Sweet Hydrochloric acid

after Wax wax - less
burning strong than
PE

Scratch Yes No No No

Table 2 Plastic testing identification matrix (Berg, 2009)

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2.3. PROCESSING W ASTE PLASTIC

Plastic Waste Steps to process waste plastic are as follows

(summarised in table to left):

Collection
Collection - in starting a plastic recycling business, setting up
an efficient collection system of waste plastic is key. A
Storage constant supply of raw material to the factory is of utmost
importance for the existence of the business. Collection of
Sorting (Identification) waste plastic may already happen through the activities of
scavengers, middlemen and traders. It is possible to integrate
in this system by letting them know that the factory is willing
Baling (Optional)
to buy plastic waste material. Another option is to cooperate
with the municipality to get involved in collection schemes
Washing
accompanied with a public awareness campaign. In this way
the public can be informed about the advantages of plastic
Drying recycling.

Cutting Storage - the plastic recycling enterprise needs quite a

large storage space in order to store all collected waste
items, processed materials and finessed products. Plastic
Shredding
waste items, especially bottles, have a large volume and
therefore a large storage place is necessary.
Agglomerating
(for film sheet)
Sorting and identification - plastics sorting operations may
Extruding/Compoundin be carried out manually or automatically, using appropriate
g
means of identification. The more accurate and efficient the
means of identification, sorting and separation, the better the
Pelletizing
quality of the recovered product obtained.

Selling of Pellets Baling - after collecting and sorting the plastic material, the
option exists to sell the material to (other) processing units. If
Further Processing so, it is important to compact the waste to improve handling
(injection moulding, and save costs during transport, especially when transporting
blow moulding, film
blowing etc.) distances are considerable.

Washing and Drying – if not sold on, the next step is to clean the plastic if dirty. The main
cleaning steps are:
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• Draining of remaining fluids from plastic containers/bottles.

• Rough cleaning of plastic containers and other pieces of plastic.
• Removing of paper, plastic or metal stickers.
• In the case of PET bottles removing of caps and etiquettes.
• Intensive washing in cold or hot water with addition of detergents or caustic soda.
• The waste water can be reused by installing a simple waste water treatment system
like a sedimentation basin

Cutting - this is usually carried out for initial size reduction of large objects. It can be carried
out with scissors, shears, saw, machine etc.

Shredding - shredding is suitable for smaller pieces. A typical shredder has a series of
rotating blades driven by an electric motor, some form of grid for size grading and a
collection bin. Materials are fed into the shredder via a hopper which is sited above the blade
rotor. The product of shredding is a pile of coarse irregularly shaped plastic flakes which can
then be further processed.

Agglomeration - clean film sheet is processed in an agglomerator. The agglomerator

consists of a vertical drum with a set of fast moving blades in the bottom. The agglomerator
chops the sheets into thin film flakes. Due to the cutting and friction energy of the process,
the flakes are heated until they start to melt and form crumbs or agglomerate. This will
increase the bulk density of the material which is now fit to be feed directly into the extruder.

Pelletizing - for many purposes it is recommended to convert plastic flakes or agglomerate

(crumbs) into pellets before processing. The plastic pieces are fed into the extruder, are
heated and then forced through a die to form a plastic spaghetti which can then be cooled in
a water bath before being chopped into pellets.

Further processing

Extrusion – the extrusion process

used for manufacturing new
products is similar to that outlined
above except that the product is
usually in the form of a continuous
‘tube’ of plastic such as piping or
hose. The main components of the
extrusion machine are shown in Figure 1 Plastic Extrusion (Berg, 2009)
Figure 1.

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The reclaimed plastic is forced along the heated tube by an Archimedes screw and the
plastic polymer is shaped around a die. The die is designed to give the required dimensions
to the product and can be interchanged.

Injection moulding – the first stage

of this manufacturing process is
identical to that of extrusion, but
then the plastic polymer emerges
through a nozzle into a split mould.
The quantity of polymer being
forced out is carefully controlled,
usually by moving the screw Figure 2 Plastic Injection Moulding (Berg, 2009)
forward in the heated barrel. A
series of moulds would be used to allow continual production while cooling takes place. This
type of production technique is used to produce moulded products such as plates, bowls,
buckets, etc.

Blow moulding – again the spiral

screw forces the plasticised
polymer through a die. A short
piece of tube, or ‘parison’ is then
enclosed between a split die - which
is the final shape of the product -
and compressed air is used to
expand the parison until it fills the
mould and achieves its required Figure 3 Plastic Blow Moulding (Berg, 2009)

shape. This manufacturing

technique is used for manufacturing closed vessels such as bottles and other containers.

Film blowing – film blowing is a process used to manufacture such items as garbage bags.
It is a technically more complex process than the others described in this brief and requires
high quality raw material input. The process involves blowing compressed air into a thin tube
of polymer to expand it to the point where it becomes a thin film tube. One end can then be
sealed and the bag or sack is formed. Sheet plastic can also be manufactured using a
variation of the process described.

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2.4. CRADLE TO CRADLE AND LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT

‘Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things’ is a book by German chemist
Michael Braungart and U.S. architect William McDonough on their work with full cycle design
and life cycle analysis, and is the basis behind much of the thinking and application of these
processes today. The book looks at how products can be designed from the outset so that
after their useful lives, they will provide nourishment for something new – continually
circulating as pure and viable materials within a 'cradle to cradle' model (think reincarnation
of a product!). No matter if you have a technical product like a smart phone, derived from
many minerals and fossil fuels, or a biological product like washing detergent, derived from
factory-made chemicals, there is great value in designing them so that they can be recycled
back into the system, not disposed of, creating waste which harms the planet.

Figure 4 (INNOCHEM Wasser GmbH, 2014)

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a technique to assess environmental impacts associated

with all the stages of a product's life, from cradle to grave. This includes steps such as raw
material extraction, materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair and
maintenance, and disposal or recycling of the material. LCAs can help designers understand
the full environmental impact of their product by:

• Compiling an inventory of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental

releases
• Evaluating the potential impacts associated with identified inputs and releases
• Interpreting the results to help make a more informed decision e.g. where they can
reduce environmental impact

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A product designed with these issues in mind will drastically increase the financial and
physical viability of recycling a product at its end of life, making a recycling business more
viable. This is particularly relevant to poorer communities, as reducing the costs and
technical complications will enable them to set up their own small-scale businesses and
make a living from it, whist also mitigating the environmental and health impacts of their
communities from plastic waste.

2.5. CASE STUDIES OF PLASTIC RECYCLING

Sustainable Management of Plastic Waste, Practical Action - Kibera, Kenya

Each day, hundreds of plastic bags can be seen blowing across the Nairobi slum of Kibera
(the largest urban slum in Africa), clogging up doorways and pit latrines. But these are now
being turned into a thriving business through communities’ hard work.

The international development NGO, Practical Action, has helped to introduce a plastic
factory for residents and has trained members on running a business and how to use the
plastic washing machines effectively. Residents sell their waste plastic to community
members who have formed a Recyclers Co-operative Savings and Credit Society at 5ksh
(£0.035) per kilogram, which has so far collected more than 30 tons of plastic bags.

The plastics’ washing machine, a

manual and motorized machine, is
specially designed to wash plastic
bags before they are sold on for
commercial recycling where plastic
pellets can be turned into new
produces.

As well as recycling plastic bags, the

machines can be used to wash other
plastics which can then be used to
make items such as fence posts. It costs as little as 13pence to process 1,000 plastic bags
in the recycling factory and £1.22 to recycle plastics for the fences.

Through training sessions held by Practical Action, community members have now been
trained on business development and also how to use the new technology in the form of the
washing machines. At its launch, community members and stakeholders showed products
made from the recycling scheme to show to others how waste could be recycling into

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improving livelihoods and therefore sustain a better quality of life. Acting as a blue print for
other communities, the group hopes this will show how utilising the excessive surplus of
waste plastic and contribute to sustainable development, help to alleviate poverty and
environmental degradation. Reproduced with permission (Practical Action, 2014)

Collection of PET bottles – PRI, Kampala, Uganda

In December 2006, Plastic Recycling Industries (PRI) Uganda installed a new production line
for the shredding and washing of PE and PET. As a reliable input of raw material is of the
utmost importance for the existence of the factory, at the same time PRI set up a very
successful collection system for Kampala. Several different activities were executed to
achieve this:

• Execution of a public information campaign using

posters, spots on local radio and TV, articles and
commercials in newspapers.
• Training of NGO’s and other organisations involved
in the collection of plastic waste material.
• Setting up several collection points in the city.

In this way a simple and reliable collection system

exists now in Kampala. In this, communication is a key
factor. The message you want to promote must be
clear: What types of plastics is the factory buying? How
clean and sorted must the plastic waste be to be
accepted? How much does the factory pay? Etc.

As a result of this intensive marketing and promotional campaign, more than 100 contracts
were established with suppliers of plastic waste materials like hotels, restaurants, schools,
NGO’s, garbage collectors, petrol stations and supermarkets. Apart from these agreements,
many small companies started collecting and selling plastic waste material to PRI.

The impact of these activities is enormous, next to the creation of hundreds of jobs in the
collection and transportation of plastic waste, also a great impact on environment is
noticeable. Plastic waste lying around in streets is less and it is also noticed that the burning
of plastic has decreased in many areas of the city. Reproduced with permission (Berg, 2009)

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3. CLASS ACTIVITY

The first activity will be to map out ‘cradle to cradle’ lifespan of a common product or plastic
material used in the individual student’s home. The student should select two alternatives:
the product as if made from new material and the product as if it is made from recycled
material (processing the plastic, from oil or recycled waste, should be included) including all
the steps and processes along the way, this will underpin the following LCA exercise.
Students should also explain how or if they can think of ways to reduce the impact by
changes in design or process that may remove or reduce the impact of the processes the
item being investigated.

An example of how this process can be carried out is at

http://www.openlca.org/documentation/index.php/Case_study:_Beer_Bottle – a case study
of how to compare an aluminium can with a PET bottle.

The second activity will be to conduct a simple lifecycle assessment of the two options
utilising open source online tools – an LCA program, available from
http://www.openlca.org/download_page, and data sets for their required processes and
materials at https://nexus.openlca.org/searchds/plastic. The tutor will need to spend some
time learning from the tutorials how these tools operate. These results can then be
compared and discussed to assess if using new grade or recycled grade plastic is the more
sustainable option, depending on the different products the students have chosen to assess.
This is either an individual exercise with a group discussion component, or a group exercise.
It should be kept in mind that there is no absolute answer generated, as the numbers will
depend on the level of detail and assumptions the students make. There should however be
a clear difference, of at least a 50-70% reduction in impact by the use of recycled materials.

For the exercises, it is suggested that the item chosen for examination by the student is
simple, with only one or two plastics and processes (such as a plastic water bottle) as LCA’s,
in particular, can be very complex.

3.1. SOLUTION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA

There are no absolute answers for the above activities as the purpose is for students
to understand the complexities and subtleties of measuring environmental impact.
Thus, grading can be based on how well the students engaged with, and used, the tools
and processes to produce a detailed comprehensive response and analyses.

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4. HOMEWORK ACTIVITY

Based on one of the two case studies in Kenya or Uganda, create a basic business plan
using the separate word template and excel documents attached. This is a simplified
business plan with financial projections for two years – for the sake of simplicity, financing
complications have been removed.

It will be particularly important for students to research and justify their hypothesis, for
example;

• Salaries in the city chosen

• Amount of recycling collected per day
• Delivery methods
• Capital (equipment) costs to start the business.

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5. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Berg, S. v. d., 2009. Technical Brief - Recycling Plastics, Rugby: Practical Action.

Hopewell, J., Dvorak, R. & Kosior, E., 2009. Plastics recycling: challenges and opportunities.
Plastics, the environment and human health, 14 06.

INNOCHEM Wasser GmbH, 2014. About Us - Cradle to Cradle. [Online]

Available at: http://www.innochem-online.de/en/about-us/cradle-to-cradle/

Practical Action, 2014. Plastic Recycling. [Online]

Available at: http://practicalaction.org/plastics-recycling
[Accessed 14 08 2014].

The Economist, 2007. The truth about recycling. Technology Quarterly.

UNEP, n.d. IETC - Project converting waste plastic into fuel. [Online]
Available at:
http://www.unep.org/ietc/ourwork/wastemanagement/projects/wasteplasticsproject/tabid/792
03/default.aspx
[Accessed 14 07 2014].

Vest, H., 2000. Small Scale Recycling of Plastic Waste, s.l.: Gate Infortmation Service.

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http://www.gdee.eu

This project is funded by