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Brazilian technology transforms contaminated plastic packaging into an award-winning environmental solution, with green patent, Latin American recognition, and international presentation in Geneva, in a case involving recycling, industrial property, and reuse of difficult-to-treat waste.
A Brazilian technology for recycling plastic packaging contaminated by lubricating oil won the II Latin American Patented Inventions Contest, promoted within the scope of Prosul, and was presented abroad as an environmental solution developed in the country.
Created by Gustavo Eugenio de Oliveira Cardoso, Evandro Bondesan Didone, Fabian Adolfo Cattaneo, and Felipe André de Aquino Cardoso, the system received a patent from the National Institute of Industrial Property, the INPI, through the Green Patents program.
The priority examination modality is intended for technologies with environmental application and, according to the INPI, allowed the patent to be granted in about three years.
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Recycling of contaminated packaging enters the Latin American awards
The system focuses on the treatment of contaminated plastic packaging, material that usually requires additional steps in recycling due to residues that can complicate cleaning, separation, and industrial reuse.
According to the information released about the technology, the process allows for the recovery of lubricant packaging without the use of water and without generating effluents, which reduces the formation of contaminated liquid waste during the decontamination stage.
The Latin American award evaluated patented inventions with potential social, environmental, and economic impact, according to the criteria informed by the INPI in the announcement of the result.
In total, 22 applications met the formal requirements of the contest, and six reached the final stage, with representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Costa Rica.
With first place, the Brazilian technology became part of the list of inventions highlighted by the regional patent contest, an initiative linked to cooperation between industrial property offices in Latin America.
As part of the recognition, one of the inventors had the opportunity to present the system at the 48th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, held in Switzerland in 2023, with support from the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO.
Green patent accelerates Brazilian environmental solution
The presentation in Geneva gave international visibility to a solution created to deal with waste present in consumer chains, automotive services, commerce, and industrial activities.
Plastic packaging contaminated by oil tends to lose value when it reaches conventional recycling because it may require more complex washing processes, contaminant separation, and environmental control.
In the model developed by the Brazilians, the proposed technique is to remove the contaminant without turning the cleaning into another environmental liability associated with the generation of effluents.
The technology linked to Eco Panplas was described in public materials as a system capable of decontaminating and recycling plastic lubricant containers without using water in the process.
This framework helps explain the processing through the Green Patents program, created to prioritize requests related to environmental solutions within the INPI.
The modality includes areas such as alternative energy, waste management, sustainable agriculture, transportation, conservation of natural resources, and other technologies associated with reducing environmental impacts.
Brazilian innovation gains space in Geneva
The award also highlighted the role of industrial property in protecting technical solutions, as the competition evaluated inventions formally granted by official institutes.
With the patent, the inventors gained legal recognition of the system, a condition that can support licensing negotiations, commercial partnerships, and potential expansion of technology use.
Besides the recycling system, Brazil had another highlight in the same competition, with an invention aimed at the neonatal health area.
Researcher Nádia Rodrigues Mallet, from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, received recognition for a device intended for alternative oral feeding of preterm newborns and at-risk babies.
The final stage brought together inventions from different areas, but the Brazilian technology related to contaminated plastic took first place in the award announced by the INPI.
The result linked a recurring environmental problem to a technical solution already protected by patent, within a competition focused on the practical application of Latin American inventions.
Contaminated plastic and circular economy
The reuse of contaminated packaging is related to the circular economy, an approach that seeks to keep materials in use for longer and reduce the extraction of new natural resources.
In this context, waste ceases to be treated merely as a difficult-to-destine leftover and becomes considered a potential raw material for returning to the production chain.
The trajectory of the invention shows that an operational demand for recycling can lead to patented technology, especially when there is a need to treat contaminated materials without increasing environmental impacts.
The starting point was a material of lesser attractiveness for conventional recyclers; the outcome was an award-winning Brazilian technology in a regional competition and presented at an international invention event.
At the exhibition in Geneva, the project was showcased to inventors, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and institutions related to innovation and intellectual property.
For green technologies, this type of participation can expand institutional and commercial contacts, provided there is interest from partners and technical conditions for scale application.
The case also shows how patent registration can transform technical knowledge into a protected asset, with formal rules for exploitation, authorship recognition, and technology transfer.
Without this protection, an environmental solution could circulate only as a technical practice, but would have fewer legal instruments for participation in patented invention contests and licensing negotiations.
The Prosul award considered technical originality, protection by industrial property, and potential to generate environmental and economic benefits, according to the criteria disclosed by INPI.
At the heart of the story is an everyday residue that received a new destination through research, applied engineering, and a technological protection strategy.
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