On 31 May, it was announced that the European Commission issued guidance on the EU rules on single-use plastics and adopted an Implementing Decision on the monitoring and reporting of fishing gear. These rules aim to reduce marine litter from single-use plastic products and fishing gear and promote the transition to a circular economy.

The European Commission is organising a series of targeted stakeholder workshops to gather input on challenges and gaps as well as opportunities for the sector towards sustainability.

The third workshop (15 June 2021) focuses on sustainable consumption and circular business models in the textile sector. 

Virtual MeetingPack 2021 is taking place on 27 May from 9:30 a.m. More than 130 packaging industry companies have confirmed their attendance at this event offering a strategic overview of the development of barrier packaging.

The 2021-2027 programme for Environment and Climate Action (LIFE) will become the EU’s most ambitious climate and environmental programme. It will enter into force retroactively from 1 January 2021.

Five consortium partners, including Ecopreneur.eu, have kicked off an EU-COSME funded project “Fashion For Change”. Over the next 3 years, they will help SMEs, designers and start-ups from the European fashion sector scale-up and accelerate their sustainable businesses while increasing awareness about circular fashion among stakeholders, including consumers. Share your views in the quick poll.

Spain manufactures 14% of all agricultural plastics in Europe. To optimize recovery of mulch films in the form of quality compost, AIMPLAS is developing the AGRO+ Project with funding from the Valencian Innovation Agency (AVI)

On 15 and 16 April 2021, participants representing governments, international organisations, the private sector, knowledge institutions, and civil society convened for the virtual World Circular Economy Forum + Climate (WCEF+Climate) hosted by the Netherlands and The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra.

New sustainable packaging will extend guacamole’s shelf life by 15% thanks to labels and additives extracted from the avocado itself. The GUACAPACK Project aims to use renewable sources to develop an innovative biodegradable packaging system that includes barrier labels and antioxidant additives from avocado waste.

Fishing industry by-products and municipal solid waste are transformed into bioplastics in the European DAFIA project, coordinated by AIMPLAS. DAFIA provides the automotive and food packaging industries with sustainable solutions by developing biopolymers, flame-retardant additives and barrier packaging.

AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, is collaborating with the Microbiology and Ecology Department of the Universitat de València on the DURPROMAT project, led by the industrial company DURPLASTICS. They are working to develop a new type of plastic that is more resistant to impact, UV radiation and the action of marine organisms.