MIBIREM witnesses emerging ecological trend: Growing interest in sustainable soil management

DND Biotech is an Italian SME specializing in the development of bio-based solutions for the remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater. As a MIBIREM project partner, DND Biotech attended Ecomondo 2022, the Green Technology Expo that has become a reference international event in Europe for technologies, services, and industrial solutions in the green and circular economy sectors. Organised 26 times, Ecomondo 2022 reported attendance of over 79,000 participants from 66 international associations and national institutions, such as the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security, as well as European and international institutions including the European Commission, the European Research Executive Agency (REA), OECD, EEA, and FAO.

We took the chance to interview founder and the CEO of DND Biotech, Cosimo Masini, an Environmental Engineer by profession, and asked him about the importance of bioremediation as well as about current environmental trends.

Interview at Ecomondo with DND Biotech

Who or what made the biggest impression on you at Ecomondo 2022?

Ecomondo 2022 was an incredible fair with huge attendance by different types of stakeholders pertaining to the industry, regulators and policy makers, universities and students etc. There was a great interest in the topics of new and sustainable technologies, renewable energy, waste- and water treatment and bioeconomy in general. It was interesting to see how this sector as a whole is getting its omnipresence in the society.

(C) DND Biotech, CEO Cosimo Masini at the REA stand

What has been the most important message or lesson from Ecomondo 2022?

The takeaway from Ecomondo 2022 is that we need to continue on the track of circular economy. It is not an easy road – there are a lot of obstacles and resistance, for instance legislation that isn’t favorable, but the trend and the tendency is there: the shift to the circular economy. We as primary actors have to put our efforts in making the transition to circular economy as fast and as effective as possible.

(c) DND Biotech Stand at Ecomondo 2022 with students visitors

What is a new trend in bioremediation and in green technology that you could learn on spot?

I was in the bioeconomy pavilion, I could see the emerging interest in the sustainable approach to soil not only for bioremediation but for soil management in general, how to value soil, how to manage the quality of soil, and more importantly to perceive soil as a natural capital.

There were all sorts of different companies exhibiting and I heard a lot of conversations and presentations on soil and of soil health as well as the EU strategy related to soil. I could witness as an emerging trend-a sustainable approach to soil. The sustainable approach is the direction and I see many links with the MIBIREM project and the kind of study that we are doing on soil and soil contamination, and we as a project are going in the right direction.

Listen to the interview answers in our short podcast below: