On 21–22 April 2026, the Water4All Partnership held its international Kick-off Meeting for newly funded projects within the 2024 Joint Call, bringing together coordinators, consortium members, funding partner organisations and Water4All representatives from across Europe in an online event.

ICRA was represented by Dr. Maite Pijuan, coordinator of the VALORBIO, who actively participated in the two-day meeting and presented the project to the Water4All community. VALORBIO, funded under this call, aims to establish a sustainable and circular bioplastic platform that converts agri-food wastewater into bio-based and biodegradable food packaging materials while obtaining treated water that can be used for irrigation.

The meeting provided an excellent opportunity to showcase the wide range of funded initiatives. It was particularly interesting to identify numerous projects with strong synergies with VALORBIO, opening the door to future collaboration and knowledge exchange.

The discussions highlighted the growing importance of investing in circular economy approaches within the water sector. Initiatives like VALORBIO demonstrate how resource recovery, sustainability, and innovation can contribute to addressing global water challenges.