Veolia has been extending the useful life of plastic bottles using a PET (Poly Ethylene Terephthalate) plastic recycling process. A mechanical and chemical recovery process transforms the PET flakes into a product suitable for use with food.
Vanheede Biomass Solutions processes packaged or unpackaged food items that, for various reasons, are no longer fit for human or animal consumption. Fermentable residue is gathered and processed at a bio-methanisation plant in order to generate green energy.
Veolia has developed expertise and built specific facilities to tackle the complex process of treating, depolluting and dismantling Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). This is a valuable source of recyclable raw materials: ferrous metals, plastics and precious metals can all be recovered and reused.
The SAWYER project aims to facilitate the transition of European furniture companies to a more circular economy. The project ran from February 2020 to March 2021, studying the main legislative and voluntary instruments that can facilitate this transition.
I:CO is an international circular solutions provider for the collection, certified sorting, reuse and recycling of clothing and shoes. They aim to support innovative new recycling technologies which help close the loop of production cycles.
SOUJI is a liquid based on minerals and vegetables that, when mixed in the correct proportions with used cooking oil, and after shaking the mixture for 1 minute, becomes a cleaning agent/detergent which is 96% less polluting than a common detergent.
SIGUREC was the most advanced household waste collection service operating in Romania until March 2020. It was a broad initiative, implemented following an official agreement between private companies and public authorities.
ResQ Club is a Finnish company and mobile application, which also covers parts of Sweden, Poland and Germany. Its goal is to combat food waste by connecting sustainable restaurants, cafés and food shops with consumers who appreciate affordable quality food.
The “Millor que nou” (Better than new) campaign is an initiative from the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) that started in 2009. It provides people with free support services and access to repair shops, so that they can learn how to repair appliances and objects.
Remondis Acqua Group is a company specialising in systems for the production of high-quality water. They have developed new methods to protect raw materials and treat wastewater, with a new model of municipal sewerage treatment plant.
Europe is facing a growing mountain of used textiles. In North-West Europe 4700 kilotonnes of post-consumer textile waste are generated annually. Still, less than 1% of textiles produced are currently recycled into new ones, and around 50% are downcycled, incinerated or landfilled.
Automated sorting technologies could enable the industry to turn non-rewearable textiles into valuable feedstock for high-value recycling. Fibersort, a Near Infrared based technology, is able to categorise textiles according to their fibre composition, structure and colour.
At the end of each chapter of the report, recommendations are formulated for recyclers, manufacturers and brands to address the socio-cultural, physical and economic barriers for uptake of sorted textiles.
The report provides an overview of different organisations and an analysis of the local performances of 135 waste collection systems across Europe. It highlights the diversity of collection systems, with many different sorting systems and combination of collection modes (door-to-door, bring bank, combined, etc.).
This report is a publication of the ACR+ Waste Observatory whose objective is to allow consistent comparisons among local and regional authorities, in order to provide benchmarks on municipal waste management and identify effective waste strategies for quality recycling. The analysed data has been collected in the framework of the H2020 COLLECTORS project, aimed at identifying good practices to improve the quantity of sorted municipal waste leading to high quality recycling.
"Chambers for a Circular Economy - Actions to Support SMEs' Transition to a Circular Economy" aims to offer a clear overview of the wide range of initiatives led or co-managed by Chambers in the field of the Circular Economy, with the intention not only to inform and share innovative actions, but also to spur and motivate synergies, triggering collaborations and the creation of new business models. The aim of each and every of these projects is to enable businesses to evolve from a linear to a circular mode of production and consumption.
This publication presents a total of 32 projects initiated or co-led by Chambers in 13 countries, and categorized under 5 main topics:
Up to 90 million tonnes of food are wasted every year in the EU, half of which is generated at production and/or processing stage.
Being highly versatile and efficient, insects can bio-transform many of these materials (before they become "waste") into a wide range of higher-value products and ingredients that can further be included into the food and feed chains. Their added value goes beyond that of an alternative feed ingredient.
The lower Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) of insects confirms their efficacy, but also their ability to concentrate lower value materials into ingredients of superior quality, such as proteins and lipids, in line with the natural nutritional needs of aquaculture, poultry or swine.
For our future electricity system, a significant amount of wind and solar energy is required. In turn, these energy technologies require some specific critical metals. The current global supply of several critical metals is insufficient to guarantee a transition to a renewable energy system.
Calculations for The Netherlands show that additional wind turbines and photovoltaic panels already require a significant share of the annual global production of some critical metals.
This report outlines the magnitude of the issue and the complexity of the supply chain. It also identifies various paths towards solutions.
In the development of the circular economy, discussion around circular business models and circular revenue models is booming.
But what is a true circular business or circular revenue model? When can these models be applied, and what are the barriers that still exist?
For the past decade the authors of this paper have gathered practical experience with the implementation of circular revenue models such as lease, pay-per-use and take-back schemes. It is from this experience that they noticed that the current institutional economic framework hinders the transition to the circular economy.
The paper provides insight in four key barriers, providing a real-life business case as an example for each. It also includes a guideline for policy makers on how to address these barriers.
This report assesses the Aviation sector value chain in the context of Circular Economy principles.
It offers an overview of the aircraft lifecycle, new supplier-consumer programmes already initiated by the industry and a proposal for the reconversion towards a more circular business model.
The assessment of the value chain was carried out according to the Circular Economy perspective (Redesign, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle).
This report advises the companies involvled in the EACP-EUROSME project, as an instrument to start the implementation process towards a Circular Economy business and as research for further financial support for project funding.
This factsheet on Metal Recycling developed by EuRIC highlights the importance of both ferrous and non-ferrous metal recycling and their substantial benefits for the environment and the economy in Europe. The Brochure outlines the environmental benefits, the economic and international trade aspects of steel, aluminium and copper recycling.
Samen werken aan circulaire fietsinfrastructuur. Een integrale en systematische aanpak by Stichting Circulair Bouwen is a report on a 2-year programme carried out with EU funds on building a circular bicycle road infrastructure. Over this period of time, valuable information has been gathered on how to promote and organize circular building efficiently.
To follow up on the programme, a multi-year project will be carried out in cooperation with governments, companies, educational institutions and NGOs, under the lead of the Radboud University Nijmegen, which will include two important policy fields:
Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is offering a 100 % online course on Sustainable Packaging in a Circular Economy. Students and professionals with basic knowledge of the circular economy and an interest in or experience of packaging can start studying anytime, at the time and place of their choosing. The course material is accessible 24/7. This is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) that runs on edX.
You can enrol here.
The conference on "Young Researchers’ Innovative Ideas: Science - Start-Ups - Industry" will be held on 27-28 May 2021. The organisers are inviting young researchers and PhD students to prepare presentations about innovative solutions (social, organisational, marketing, product and process-related) relevant to businesses.
Save the Date for FEAD's online event which is a registered EU Green Week 2021 Partner Event:
Waste management: combining the circular economy with the zero-pollution ambition
Tuesday 1 June 2021 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. CEST
This is the registration for a general training on Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method. The webinar will take place on 27 May 2021, from 14:00 to 16:00 CEST.
How do data and data-based solutions support the success of circular businesses?
Join SITRA to find it out on 12 May at 9:30-11:30 CEST.
The Recycling Expo and Conference “eREC” on 3-8 May 2021 is a virtual platform for the recycling industry that facilitates the national and international exchange between companies and customers. Companies can use this platform to present themselves, their newest products, and innovations, and enjoy the advantages of online networking.
As the Horizon 2020 research programme becomes Horizon Europe, what better time to witness how great ideas turned into real projects? LOOPS will be the opportunity to show the resulting cutting-edge research, and the change it can bring to our communities. The 22 April episode will focus on smart and circular composite materials.
For the occasion of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU, from January to June 2021, CECOLAB (Portuguese COLAB for the CIRCULAR ECONOMY) was invited by the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education to organize an International Conference on circular economy on 20-21 April 2021.
Join Recyclers’ Talks #2 on 4 May to discuss what is needed to achieve a true circularity in textiles while lowering the impacts on the environment & climate and find out how different players in the textiles chain can contribute to this goal.
The "Circular Cities Program Poland", funded by the MAVA Foundation, aims to help prepare an analysis of the current waste flow in partner cities and to devise a strategy enabling them to move towards the circular economy. The official launch of the reports will take place on 19 April 2021.
This event on 15 April is organised under the umbrella of the weBuildBackSmart Initiative, which focuses on sustainable and circular solutions for economic boost in Southeastern and Eastern Europe.
About 50 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions are related to materials and the manufacturing of products. Strong Circular Economy policies are therefore needed to meet the climate goals. Ecopreneur.eu has worked out far-reaching proposals as input for the EU Green Deal.
Circle Economy launched a tool to close the knowledge gap between entrepreneurs and financiers: the Product-as-a-Service Question Kit helps overcome this barrier by leading both parties through a series of questions they need to ask themselves before starting their conversation.
From shoemaker to wind energy park engineer: 7.5% of all jobs in Belgium are circular, shows new analysis by the King Baudouin Foundation and Circle Economy. The baseline measurement of employment in the Belgian circular economy provides insights into the nature and number of jobs in the country’s circular economy.
On 20 September 2019, more than 100 public and private partners covering the whole plastics value chain signed the declaration of the Circular Plastics Alliance, which promotes voluntary actions for a well-functioning EU market in recycled plastics.
As global leaders gather in New York for Climate Week NYC in September 2019, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation has issued a new paper, in cooperation with Material Economics. As set out in Completing the Picture: How the Circular Economy tackles Climate Change, moving to renewables can only address 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It is urgent to tackle the remaining 45%.
Circular economy, the new concept for attaining sustainable consumption and production, will not be implemented without multisectoral and international cooperation. INNOWO, Circular Change, INCIEN Czechia, and INCIEN Slovakia are launching the International Circular Week this year to promote circular economy across countries. This International Circular Week will take place from 7 to 13 October 2019, and aims to engage all circular stakeholders in central Europe and beyond.
Share your preference regarding consumer labelling and sustainable lighting design with the CIRC4Life project! This H2020 project is looking for end-user input in the creation and design of new circular business models, and your opinion counts.
Are you active in the collaborative (sharing) and circular economy? Fill in the Collaborative X Circular survey to share your knowledge and support an EU-wide mapping exercise.
A coalition of 30+ business, environmental and social associations calls for an ambitious and comprehensive Circular Economy Bill in Scotland.
Writing for The Banker, European Investment Bank President Werner Hoyer says that "By moving to a circular economy, the world can create less waste, design better products and adopt healthier habits" -> more here.
