12 Jan 2021
The roadmap for the EU strategy for sustainable textiles has been published and will be open for feedback until 2 February 2021.
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Secondary raw materials
Azienda Agricola Mannu: mushrooms and fertiliser from coffee grounds
Coffee grounds contain many nutrients which are excellent for growing mushrooms. This secondary raw material is even ready for use, having been sterilised at 80 to 90°C by the coffee machine. What's left once the mushrooms have been collected is a good fertiliser.
RETEX Panels: construction materials made from recycled waste
RETEX products are the first ones in the market that utilise textile, plastic and rubber waste from the construction industry on a large scale. The panels are made of shredded textile waste that has been pressed and bonded together using a proprietary manufacturing process and are designed to replace various types of wood-based construction panels.
Promotion of the circular economy in the Hotel Industry in Cyprus and Greece – Preliminary assessment of the current status of circular economy
Promotion of Circular Economy in the hotel industry in Cyprus and Greece
This report is published by the Cyprus Federation of Employers & Industrialists (OEB), the Institute of Greek Tourism Confederation (INSETE) and the public policy consultancy adelphi (Germany) as part of the European project Hotels4Climate financed by EUKI.
The report aims to assess the current state of circularity in the hotel industry in Cyprus and Greece by conducting national surveys in both countries targeting hotels in order to:
- identify the priority sectors within the main services offered by hotels, the business challenges and opportunities to move to circular economy,
- create successful, flexible and resilient circular business models, and
- identify a number of internal and external barriers that raise obstacles to the transition to circular economy.
Antri Constantinou
Summary of Wallonia's strategy
Circular Wallonia
This model reinforces Wallonia's objective of renewing its industry and will ensure that the region is better able to cope with future crises.
The strategy will achieve this by fully integrating the alterations and adaptations required by climate change, and by making Wallonia more independent in terms of resources and global supply chains.
Wallonia’s vision is based on the following guidelines:
- Moving towards a carbon-neutral economy;
- Moving towards a resilient and inclusive economy;
- Stimulating innovation as a catalyst with emphasis on the digital transition and nature-based solutions.
Particular attention is paid to the six value chains: Construction, Plastics, Food, Water, Textiles and Metallurgy
Les Partenariats, socle de l'économie circulaire
Partnerships are a cornerstone of successful circular economy initiatives, shows EpE report
The circular economy is an alternative to the dominant economic model, which causes considerable damage to the environment as it is based on the linear use of resources.
The development of the circular economy has been hindered by a number of economic, technological and regulatory constraints.
EpE's natural resources commission has spent three years identifying what makes circular economy initiatives successful. An analysis of 27 circular economy initiatives carried out by companies shows that partnerships are one key to overcoming these constraints. A closer examination of these partnerships sheds light on various forms of governance.
Recovering contaminated plastics from automotive, construction and electrical appliance industry waste
The European NONTOX Project aims to eliminate hazardous and unpleasant substances from plastic waste and thus convert non-recyclable plastics and recycling waste into new resources.
Critical Raw Materials: civil society calls for firm and fast action to secure supply and maintain a strong industrial base in the EU
Critical Raw Materials: civil society calls for firm and fast action to secure supply and maintain a strong industrial base in the EU
The EESC and CCMI believe that the present/future of critical raw materials resilience is of essential concern to EU's organised civil society. For this reason, and because the CEAP represents a step forward with a clear roadmap for initiatives and actions, the EESC recommends that the Parliament and the Council support this approach.
The EESC position concerns 6 main objectives:
- Supporting sustainable primary sourcing in Europe
- Fostering secondary sourcing from waste and circular reuse
- Maintaining extractive and processing capacities in the EU
- Investing in activities that can foster substitution
- Diversifying trading partners and supporting developing countries
- A more frequent review of the critical raw materials list.
12 Jul 2021
Join the online workshop on Traceability, the accuracy of information and market surveillance in the Textile Industry which will be held on 12 July 2021, from 10:00 to 13:00 CEST, as part of the consultative process for the development of the Strategy for Sustainable Textiles.
Circular textiles - Knitting the way to a sustainable future
Circular textiles: Knitting the way to a sustainable future
Textiles are an important issue for cities, as people generate more and more textile waste. City authorities are required to provide for separate collection of used textiles but have limited ways of putting the waste generated to good use.
Eurocities’ paper on circular textiles is published ahead of the Commission's new Strategy for Sustainable Textiles, planned for autumn 2021, to help the EU shift to a climate-neutral, circular economy (CE) where products are designed to be more durable, reusable, repairable, recyclable and energy-efficient. It focuses on a sustainable recovery of the textile sector from the Covid-19 crisis by:
- making it more competitive,
- applying CE principles to production, waste management, etc.
- and directing investment, research and innovation.
Accelerating the transition to the circular economy - Improving access to finance for circular economy projects
The transition to a circular economy is at an early stage in the EU.
Regulations, markets and investment tools, including financial risk assessment, are adapted to linear models. Generally speaking, externalities linked to linear business models are not taken into account. This poses a problem for emerging circular models, which have to contend with the challenge of accessing finance, as the financial sector sees circular projects as highly risky.
To improve the conditions for financing CE projects, the Expert Group on Circular Economy Financing identified the main areas where incentives are needed, addressing recommendations to policy makers, financial institutions and project promoters.
See also: Categorisation system and Incentives to boost the CE reports
25 Jun 2021
Aimplas coordinated the European Life Ecomethylal Project, which has ended with the construction of a plant capable of extracting up to half a kilo of methylal from each kilo of non-recyclable waste.
Van Werven: Plastics recycling
Van Werven Plastics Recyling specialises in creating high-quality raw materials from post-consumer hard plastics, collected from construction waste, industrial waste and municipal recycling centres. Van Werven has a separate machine for each type of plastic, as every material has its own properties.
Gr3n: chemical recycling of PET bottles and food containers is now possible at a reasonable cost
The Gr3n projects aims to contribute to the fight against plastic proliferation in the world by introducing an innovative process for profitable plastic recycling. This process uses microwave technology on a chemical reaction, and results in a ground-breaking, economically efficient chemical recycling process for PET.
Community composting in the city of Nitra
As part of the EU's Bioregio project, the Slovakian city of Nitra has developed a project for community composting by 50 households. The system produces compost, which can be used as a fertiliser by the community. The project aims to lower technical barriers to the reduction of bio-waste.
By producing beer from surplus bread, Toast Ale saves on land, water and energy
Toast Ale was founded in 2015 to reduce demand for natural resources by replacing virgin barley with surplus fresh bread.
29 Jun 2021
Lors d’un colloque organisé à l’ESCP, le 29 juin en présence de Florent Menegaux, président de Michelin, l’association française Entreprises pour l’Environnement (EpE) dévoile le fruit de trois ans de réflexion de sa commission «Ressources Naturelles» sur l’économie circulaire. Illustrée de 27 démarches concrètes mise à bien par des entreprises, la publication insiste sur l’importance des partenariats, décrit leurs principaux objectifs et, en collaboration avec la Chaire Economie Circulaire de ESCP-Deloitte, propose une analyse de la diversité des principaux modèles de gouvernance observés.
16 Jun 2021
Going the extra mile on the road towards a climate neutral and circular economy is a must to achieve the targets set by the European Green Deal - and tyre recycling is key. Tyres are complex products made from the very best quality raw materials, such as rubber, steel and textile fibres.
Recyclers have invested heavily in recovering more materials from end-of-life tyres while creating non-outsourceable jobs and contributing to environmental sustainability. However, there is still considerable room for improvement in the European Union with a view to optimising tyre recycling.
Join Recyclers’ Talks #4 | Boosting Tyre Recyclers - Essential to the European Green Deal on 16 June to discuss what is needed to achieve more circularity in tyres and a more sustainable value chain. Find out how different players in the tyre value chain can contribute to this goal.
Organic glues and adhesives by Menichetti
The Italian company Menichetti produces organic glues and adhesives intended for sustainable packaging. The raw material is obtained from leather and tanning industry by-products.
The Waste Transformers: Turning food waste into valuable resources on-site
The Waste Transformers transforms organic (food) waste in an anaerobic digester called a Waste Transformer housed in 20-foot shipping containers into clean energy, water and high-grade fertiliser whilst also upcycling the waste into new raw materials for paper, textiles or soaps. They do this all on-site where the waste is produced. No transport, no CO2.
Nic&Mic: Upcycling waste while supporting employment
Ocean Sole takes the world's most widely worn shoe, the flip flop, and turns it into art, and the Dutch company Nic&Mic sells it in the Benelux countries. Ocean Sole is Kenya-based and began with the desire to clean up beaches that were heavily polluted with plastic and flip flops. Ocean Sole has grown to employ 90 Kenyans.
18 Jun 2021
The European Commission is organising a series of targeted stakeholder workshops to gather input on challenges and gaps as well as opportunities for the textile sector in the transition towards sustainability.
SNEW Telecom – Circular telecoms and IT equipment with a social heart
SNEW has developed a circular system reusing the raw materials in existing equipment. It aims to give business telecoms and IT equipment a second life. Companies which hand over their old ICT equipment get either maintenance for their current equipment or money for the old equipment.