The European Commission has launched a new call for tenders under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) which will be particularly relevant to stakeholders working on ship recycling. 

The call will finance a study providing the European Commission with an up-to-date analysis of the economic dynamics and effects of the use of controversial open registers for vessels, including the impact on the environment.

The European Commission has launched an open public consultation to offer users of imaging equipment and stakeholders involved in all areas of the value chain (original equipment manufacturers, component suppliers, users, repairers, remanufacturers of cartridges, recyclers, etc.) the opportunity to express their views on how to best address the policy challenges outlined in the call for evidence for this initiative. The initiative aims to ensure that:

• imaging equipment, such as printers, is designed to be energy- and resource-efficient
• consumers have the information needed to use their devices sustainably, including through maintenance and repair
• the generation of waste through the use of consumables (e.g. ink cartridges) is minimised.

On 3 July, the Court of Auditors issued a special report on the roll-out of the circular economy in the EU, entitled "Circular economy: slow transition by member states despite EU action".

The report provides recommendations on monitoring and investments. These are currently being addressed by the Commission which will take them into account when developing future circular economy policies.

On 27 June 2023 the ASEAN Secretariat, the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue and the European Union launched the ASEAN Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ACESP).

GO CHAMPLAST is a circular economy project that will produce advanced char from the waste substrate of mushroom cultivation and compostable films to replace current fossil products. 

ASOCHAMP, AIMPLAS and the companies Ingelia and SAV are developing this project to increase farm profitability by using advanced materials and reducing costs associated with treating agricultural waste.

The ELLIPSE project will address the valorization of two heterogeneous waste streams - slaughterhouse waste and paper and pulp sludge - generated in significant amounts in Europe, to produce cost-efficient polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs).

The technology will impact the European bioeconomy by valorising 20,000 tons of rumen content waste and 50,000 tons of paper sludge per year.

The European Commission has launched the LIFE Programme’s 2023 Calls for project proposals. This year, there are 611 million EUR available for nature conservation, environmental protection, climate action, and clean energy transition projects.

This year, ACR+ is organising not one but three events:

The ACR+ General Assembly 2023 (31 May) to help shape the direction of the network: organisations and ACR+ members will introduce, discuss and challenge ideas and solutions,

The Circular Economy Hotspot (29 May – 1 June), which will explore three key themes: Policy in Practice, Citizen Engagement and Innovation & Collaboration,

The 14th EWWR Awards Ceremony (1 June), which will assemble the 16 most outstanding initiatives on circular and sustainable textiles from among the 16 000 carried out during the EWWR 2022

The Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) of the European Commission has launched work on a study regarding “Background Data Collection for Future EU End-of-Waste Criteria of  Construction and Demolition Waste”.

In this context, the Commission is opening an online stakeholder survey, available until 31 August 2023.  

The European Commission has published the revised Circular Economy monitoring framework. This framework helps to track progress in the transition to a circular economy in the EU and considers how the circular economy can contribute to climate neutrality, resilience and global sustainability. The framework includes new indicators, covering material footprint, resource productivity and waste prevention targets.