An innovative, industrial-scale, multidisciplinary bio- and circular economy business area, ECO3, is being built. A new creative ecosystem has been developed, which exceeds traditional sector boundaries, and in which one person’s waste is another’s commodity. The plant is expected to be fully operational in 2018.

In the district of Leoben, about 12.300 tons of municipal waste were buried without any energy recovery until 2003. Since 2004 landfill regulations prescribe a pre-treatment of waste before landfill deposit and a new scheme for waste management with multiple treatment options – a residual waste splitting plant – allowed a reduction of municipal waste to a quarter and the production of heat and electricity for local use, reducing energy imports for the region.

Renault and Suez (formely Sita France), through their joint-venture INDRA have created a competitive end-of-life vehicle treatment program which is comprised of a network of 350 end of life (EVL) dismantlers. In 2016 recovered 355 000 end of life vehicles.

Take Back Chemicals is innovating by proposing a 'functional economy' business model in the use of chemicals. Traditional business models are based on sales per volume, whereas TBC uses "chemical leasing" and regeneration process for greater efficiency and sustainability.  

The report is based on the study of 3 cases in Belgium and 5 cases in the Netherlands with leading chemical industries.

Binee is a local recycling service to dispose of outdated electric and electronic appliances, gaining success by its understanding of consumers' expectations and behaviours. A right mix between convenience, digital tracking, transparency and reward system makes it an efficient approach to maximise 'Urban mining' in EEEW.