This position paper synthesises youth perspectives on the EU Circular Economy Act through a consultation survey of 57 responses across Europe, a youth check at the ECESP Annual Conference 2026 and additional qualitative stakeholder input. 

There are two main parts: Youth Priorities: What the Act Still Needs identifies what young people consider is missing or insufficiently addressed in the current framing of the CEA. From Policy to Practice: What Effective Implementation Needs explains how these priorities could be addressed through the Act and its implementation.

The paper concludes that lower material demand, durable product design, reuse, effective collection systems and strong public governance play a key role: recycling is not enough.

The Circular Aluminium Action Plan is the aluminium sector’s strategy for achieving aluminium’s full potential for a circular economy by 2030. The action plan aims to ensure that all end-of-life aluminium products are collected and recycled efficiently in Europe to maximise the aluminium recycling rates and to keep the material in active use. It builds on the aluminium industry’s Vision 2050 and provides policy recommendations for the sector.

The aluminium industry has the potential to be a key driver in achieving Europe’s ambitions for a climate-neutral and circular economy. Aluminium is by nature circular and fit for multiple recycling: it can be recycled over and over again without losing its original properties (lightness, conductivity, formability, durability, impermeability).

This technical publication analyses why the EU-Mercosur agreement may reduce tariff friction but does not remove the evidentiary burden created by EU product, circularity, carbon, deforestation and supply chain rules. 

It focuses on Brazilian suppliers, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, Digital Product Passport readiness, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and the need to convert operational reality into audit-grade, buyer-readable evidence for European procurement, compliance and board-level review.

In this document, Recycling Europe outlines its “DOs and DON’Ts” for the upcoming CEA, presenting key policy recommendations that can stimulate demand for high-quality recycled materials, expand recycling capacity and identify measures that could, conversely, undermine the competitiveness of the recycling industry by restricting the recycled materials market or increasing administrative burdens.

This is the Ellen McArthur Foundation's key policy recommendations for the Circular Economy Act.

They argue that by rapidly aligning regulatory requirements and fiscal incentives across the EU single market without further delay, the CEA can enable a European secondary raw materials market and circular business models to succeed, while harmonising environmental and industrial policy goals.

They propose three core policy levers:

1. Build a true EU single market where circular products and secondary materials can move freely.
2. Leverage price and demand signals to make upstream circular solutions the most accessible and affordable choice for buyers.
3. Treat the circular economy as a core industrial strategy to strengthen circular supply and value chains through industrial collaboration.

The Rediscovery Centre considers that:

• the call for evidence focuses too much on measures to enhance collection and recycling and too little on prevention, repair and reuse;
• tackling consumption rates and increasing reuse will also reduce the EU’s reliance on imports;
• welcomes the move to develop EPR schemes but feels that the non-profit sector and other key stakeholders involved in the design and implementation process should be involved as well as producers;
• more effective circularity metrics and targets are needed, including separate targets for consumption reduction, repair, reuse and preparation for reuse;
• dedicated and sufficient financial mechanisms and funding streams are needed to ensure the viability of prevention, repair and reuse initiatives across the EU.

Paper recycling is one of Europe’s greatest circular economy achievements. However, regulatory fragmentation, market imbalances and rising operational risks are placing pressure on recyclers.

Recycling Europe calls on EU policymakers to act. This manifesto proposes four measures to safeguard the success story of paper recycling:

• Design circular paper products: recycling should be expected and the CEA should drive demand;
• Reduce EU administrative burdens: EU-wide rules on end-of-waste criteria for recovered paper and shipments are needed;
• Secure access to global markets for recovered paper: not all recovered paper can be re-used within Europe;
• Address the fire risk from lithium batteries in waste management facilities: proper waste sorting is crucial.

With a significant number of ships expected to reach the end of their service life shortly, ship recycling presents a strategic opportunity for Europe. Boosting domestic ship recycling will:

• secure a steady supply of secondary raw materials and so strengthen Europe’s industrial resilience and strategic autonomy;
• make a meaningful contribution to the decarbonisation of the EU steel and construction sectors, supporting Europe’s broader climate and circular economy goals;
• create green jobs in the recycling and waste management sector;
• align with EU environmental policies preventing the export of hazardous materials and restrict exports of waste that harm the environment and human health in third countries.

Circul'R believes that it is vital to unite regulation, innovation and cooperation if circularity is to drive competitiveness and sovereignty. It feels that it is a mistake to prioritise recycling over circular business models, such as repair and reuse.

It therefore recommends:

• supporting circular business models by making them more competitive and boosting market access and financing,

• setting an EU target for reducing the material footprint, involving reducing consumption and coming up with more reliable and comprehensive indicators,

• changing the tax environment, including incentives for circular solutions and disincentives for linear ones, establishing European standards on repairability and binding circular targets and models of circular-oriented public procurement.