27 May 2021
This event on 27 May will present the innovative approaches taken by five European projects (FOODRUS, CO-FRESH, FAIRCHAIN, LOWINFOOD, PLOUTOS) working on synergies to address sustainable agri-food value chains.
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Waste management
Mater: chairs from spent brewery grain
In Denmark, the interior design company Mater has developed chairs made out of brewery waste. The production method uses plastic waste and the grain left over from beer production at the Danish brewery Carlsberg.
Fjällräven up-cycles wool as a by-product of the meat industry
Fjällräven is giving wool waste a second life by using it for innovative purposes, like padding in jackets or backplate in backpacks.
TAPA: Rubber substitute for sustainable materials in car components
Cikautxo worked with the TAPA (ThermoplAstic fluid handling Pipes for cooling circuits in Automotive sector) project, funded by EIT RawMaterials, to develop new materials for pipes and hoses. They substituted natural rubber with a 100% recyclable thermoplastic material (thermoplastic elastomeric, TPE), using energy-efficient extrusion technology.
SUSTAINair: bringing the aerospace and aviation sectors in line with circular principles
The Horizon 2020 project SUSTAINair was launched recently. It aims to research and develop solutions to increase resource efficiency and aircraft performance while cutting down on waste and material costs throughout the aircraft life cycle - what is known as "circular aviation".
SUSTAINair: circular economy for the aviation and aerospace sectors
SUSTAINair is an H2020-funded platform developing circular economy principles for the aviation and aerospace design, manufacturing, operations and end-of-life phases. This EU-funded research project aims to make the entire supply chain ecosystem greener, in line with the Circular Economy Action Plan, and to set new standards for aerospace manufacturing, enabling an increase in cross-sector synergies.
The SUSTAINair project provides the aviation sector with a path to a more cost-effective, low-carbon economy, while tackling the increase in resource consumption, waste and emissions. Because of this, the SUSTAINair project has been endorsed by the Future Sky research initiative of the Association of European Research Establishments in Aeronautics (EREA).
Mihaela Rozman
13 Apr 2021
PlastiCircle Final Forum on 13 April will display technologies for the circularity of packaging waste.
09 Sep 2021 to 10 Sep 2021
The 2nd International Conference on Circular Packaging on 9-10 September aims to connect industry, academia, design studios, brand owners and anyone involved in the packaging life cycle. It will focus on sharing knowledge, good practices and ideas, and forging new links in the shift from linear to circular packaging supply chains and business models.
Aerocircular: upcycling end-of-life aircraft parts
Aerocircular provides green, service-only, economical end-of-life aircraft recycling and upcycling services to fleet owners.
Herning and DFD do their bit to keep useable clothes in use
The partnership between Herning and DFD has led to a new circular business model for the work clothing used by the municipality’s technical operations department.
RecyOuest: How to clean plastic used in farming without water
RecyOuest is a green economy start-up that recycles contaminated filamentary thermoplastics such as agricultural nets and twines.
Purrot: A self-cleaning vibrating Rotor-filter to separate manure or treat waste water
PURROT is a filter that can mechanically separate organic matter and nutrients from liquid, without using chemicals.
Circular Soap in Park Split Hotel, Croatia
The Croatian project titled "Responsible Business for a Clean World" involves collecting unused soap in hotels and sending it to a soap factory, where it is cleaned, sterilised and recycled into new soap products, which are then offered back to customers at the hotel.
Purified Metal: Responsible processing of contaminated steel scrap into high-quality raw material
Purified Metal Company can responsibly process contaminated steel scrap into a high-quality raw material.
11 May 2021
On 11 May at 3 p.m. CEST, join Rijkswaterstaat, Madaster, Restado/Concular and Institut National de l’Economie Circulaire for online interactive workshops showcasing success stories and identifying challenges and opportunities in fields such as public procurement, digital logbooks and circular design for infrastructure work. Registrations are open!
ConnectedBin: Artificial intelligence and Internet of Things for smart waste management
ConnectedBin has developed a waste container solution using artificial intelligence to identify waste types and sort them properly. The Internet of Things system reports on waste types and amounts, making waste collection more efficient.
Residuos do Nordeste: an education and awareness campaign on the circular economy
Residuos do Nordeste, an intermunicipal waste management company based in North-Eastern Portugal, is running an education and awareness-raising campaign called "Educar para uma Economia Circular" related to the top of the waste management hierarchy: prevention.
Studio Thomas Vailly's flower power: how to make leather and glue from sunflowers
Studio Thomas Vailly's project makes use of what is left of the sunflower crop to produce innovative materials.
TailoredTile reinvents wall decoration
TailoredTile creates decorative tile pieces completely made of recovered plastic. The company also promotes circular economy by accepting used tilegrams in exchange of purchase discounts, as this material can be crushed and shaped more than once.
University of Coimbra: using natural flocculants from waste eucalyptus wood to treat wastewater
A team of researchers from the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC) has developed an innovative wastewater treatment technique using natural flocculants extracted from waste eucalyptus wood.
Using walnut waste to control plant parasites
A team of researchers from the research centre CIEPQPF and the CFE of the University of Coimbra has developed an innovative application for recovered waste from walnut fruit: compounds with a “nematocidal” effect have been extracted that can control plant-parasitic nematodes affecting a wide range of species.
The start-up Yoyo offers a behavioural-change programme for recycling
Yoyo is a French start-up that has developed an innovative behavioural change approach to enhance recycling in communities.
Circulair Friesland's three lines of action: Doing. Learning. Telling.
Friesland, a province in the north of the Netherlands, has a strong cultural identity, its own language, an economy mostly devoted to agriculture and 20 000 companies - 99% of them SMEs. The province faces economic and demographic challenges but is becoming one of the best examples of a successful transition towards a circular economy. It aims to be the most circular EU region by 2025.
According to the public/private association Circulair Friesland, this province is thus:
- Doing: policies on the circular economy, financing circular SMEs and research, ambitiously developing public procurement
- Learning: active member of the Association of Cities and Regions for sustainable Resource management and involved in European projects
- Telling: sharing their story with others.
Soeco: upcycling office furniture
Soeco Kontorsmöbler is a Swedish company that recycles and refurbishes office furniture. Its goal is to take furniture which would most likely be thrown away and transform it into an item that either looks like or is new.
SEA2SEE makes eyewear from 100% recycled marine plastic and fishing nets
SEA2SEE, based in Catalonia, designs and produces optical frames and sunglasses in Italy, as well as watches in Switzerland, entirely made from recycled marine plastic collected by fishermen in Spain, France and West Africa.
The Danube Goes Circular - a platform for collaboration and awareness raising
The Danube Goes Circular is a circular economy platform, under the Interreg MOVECO project, which involves sixteen partners from the ten Danube countries. The platform offers a space for collaboration, awareness raising and a market place for reusable materials. Hence, it provides opportunities for trading materials and expanding their circularity.
Moreover, the platform offers information on how to extend a product’s useful life cycle and on legal requirements and business good practices linked to the promotion of circular economy.
Another benefit of the platform is that various stakeholders interested in circular topics can team up, which would ideally encourage the formation of partnerships.
For more information on the strategy named The Danube goes Circular, please click here.