Ageing study of recycled HDPE/olive core composites Alexandra Zamboulis 1 , Nikos Pardalis 1 , Eleftheria Xanthopoulou 1 , Lamprini Malletzidou 2 , Electra Papadopoulou 3 , Konstantinos Chrissafis 2 , Dimitrios N. Bikiaris 1 1 Laboratory of Polymers and Colours Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece, 2 Laboratory of Advanced Materials & Devices, Department of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece, 3 CHIMAR HELLAS SA, Thessaloniki, Greece Circular economy has emerged as an answer to the progressive depletion of natural resources and the growing environmental issues faced by modern societies in the 21 st century. As a concept, circular economy aims to transition from a linear economic system, to a more sustainable one, by re-using resources in alternate circles. Recycling and waste valorization are important pillars of the transition to a circular model. Synthetic polymers are an integral part of our life, with undeniable advantages over more traditional materials such as wood or glass. On the other hand, they are blamed for the environmental crisis as they do not biodegrade and accumulate in the environment instead. High-density poly(ethylene) (HDPE) is one of the most widely used commodity plastics and in this context HDPE recycling without deterioration is intensively investigated. Olive trees have been cultivated in the Mediterranean basin since antiquity. According to the International Olive Council, the European olive oil represents approximately 2/3 of the world production. The production of olive oil generates important volumes of wastes which are generally dumped without further processing. In this context, composites from recycled HDPE and olive core wood were prepared as environmentally friendly materials. In the present communication, the behavior of these composites when subjected to UV-ageing will be presented. Acknowledgements: This research has been co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation", EPAnEK 2014-2020, under the call "Aquaculture"- "Industrial materials"-"Open innovation in culture" (project Τ6ΥΒP-00161).
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