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.
SUSBOARD is a new Horizon Europe Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Europe (CBE-JU) innovation project. It aims to develop a 100% bio-based, formaldehyde-free and cost-competitive adhesive for particleboard and medium-density fibreboard. The adhesive is manufactured using secondary biomass streams, and will greatly facilitate recycling and recovery.
The Horizon Europe iCOSHELLs project aims to reduce soil pollution and promote restoration, improve soil structure and biodiversity, and increase soil literacy. It has launched an open call for new stakeholders and prototypes (innovative practices, technologies, circular solutions or tools), to be tested in real-life conditions within the Living Labs.
The Government of Chile and the European Union invite Chilean and EU companies to submit detailed proposals describing innovative solutions to build or strengthen a sustainable and circular value chain that can contribute to Chile's environmental, social and economic development. The focus is on textiles, organic materials, photovoltaic panels and plastics.
Specialists, companies and key stakeholders from the packaging value chain will address the challenges and opportunities posed by the transition toward more sustainable models and explore the latest trends in barrier packaging materials and solutions.
