Rigiocattolo collects used toys, regenerates and puts them back into circulation. Its ambition is to become a bigger and renowed re-use centre that can also offer people a decent job.
So far, the debate on material use and recycling has primarily been held in terms of tonnes, cubic metres, and environmental impact. This is all highly relevant, but a focus on volumes and flows also leaves important questions unanswered.
The report takes a step towards painting a more complete picture, taking an economic value perspective on material flows, and it assesses Europe’s use of steel, plastics and aluminium in terms of Euros instead of tonnes. Its objective is to answer the following questions:
When 100 Euros worth of raw materials enter the European economy, how much economic value is retained after one cycle of use?
What are the main reasons for loss of material value?
PREVENT Waste Alliance is an international think tank, connecting circular economy practitioners worldwide.
It was launched in May 2019 and serves as a platform for exchange and international cooperation. Organisations from the private sector, academia, civil society and public institutions work together for a circular economy.
Its goal is tominimise waste, eliminate pollutants and maximise the reuse of resources in the economy. It promotes waste prevention, collection and recycling as well as increased uptake of secondary resources.
The members take part in working groups on plastics, e-waste and batteries, and organic waste. The Alliance has also produced a toolbox on Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging.
The academic paper "Analysing European Union circular economy policies: words versus actions" comprehensively reviews and analyses the EU’s circular economy (CE) policies. Results show a dichotomy between words and actions, with a discourse that is rather holistic, while policies focus on “end of pipe solutions”.
To address these limitations, the paper proposes a set of 32 science-based policy recommendations which can help strengthen circular economy policies both within and outside the EU. This research thus brings key insights for practitioners and academics seeking to better understand the EU’s CE policies and how to improve circular economy implementation at both national and international level.
See here for more results, insights and recommendations.
The Life-REPOLYUSE project was about REcovery of POLYurethane for reUSE in eco-efficient materials. It tried to solve the environmental challenge of the scarcity of resources and waste management in order to mitigate the effects of climate change. It addressed the problem of polyurethane plastic waste using innovative techniques.
This Life DOP project operated in partnership with the Italian dairy company Consorzio Latterie Virgilio uses livestock waste in anaerobic digestion plants to produce renewable energy and renewable fertilisers (solid digestate) which are then exported to non-livestock areas.
