The development of new circular economy models is directly dependent on technological innovation and the work and insights that makers have demonstrated in the past decade, thanks in part to the introduction of eco-design and circularity in production processes.
Circular Economy
Circular economy is a production and consumption model based on sharing, lending, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling existing materials and products to extend their lifecycle as long as possible. From here, concrete initiatives and projects have emerged to develop new solutions to address sustainability and traceability, as presented by makers, companies, young students, and public institutions in the pavilions of Maker Faire Rome.
Food & Agri Tech
FoodTech is proving to revolutionize our perspective on the world of food, from cultivation processes to foodservice and retail. In the FoodTech sector, cutting-edge technologies and data science are applied to the agri-food supply chains to develop innovative tools, processes, or products from the field to the table. FoodTech can impact all the various sectors comprising agri-food supply chains: agriculture, livestock farming, fishing, product processing, new product ideation, packaging, preservation, distribution, traceability, food safety, marketing, and consumption.
This sector consists of entrepreneurs and agri-food startups with two main missions: making quality products accessible to as many people as possible and making agricultural production increasingly sustainable in the long term. It is crucial for our future because it addresses contemporary needs and provides concrete answers to new market demands arising from increasing urbanization and the gap between producers and consumers (safety, traceability, trust, sustainability).
- Highlighted Food Tech projects at MFR 2022: [Link: https://makerfairerome.eu/it/food-tech-linnovazione-in-campo-alimentare-a-maker-faire-rome-2022/]
- Highlighted Food Tech projects in 2021: [Link: https://makerfairerome.eu/it/maker-faire-rome-2021-i-progetti-protagonisti-food-agricolture/]
Recycling and Upcycling
These have always been dear topics to the world of makers and inventors. Recycling refers to transforming waste into a product suitable for new use. With recycling, a material is brought back into its lifecycle with its original properties.
Upcycling, on the other hand, involves creative reuse, where discarded objects not only find new life but also gain greater value compared to the original object or material.
Numerous projects have been presented by makers in past editions, here you can see a selection of projects from 2021.
