UtilDeco Group SRL has become Romania’s flagship work-integration social enterprise.
In 2023, it linked its textiles and coffee operations in a circular-economy pilot scheme: fabric off-cuts from uniform production and empty jute coffee sacks were upcycled into OPYA Fashion, a limited-edition collection of jackets, totes and accessories.
The enterprise is now scaling circularity through two major projects, one on digital product passports in textile products and the other on hiring workwear.
The PROMOFER project aims to use low value feedstock (straw, industrial wastewater and starch, mostly) to manufacture valuable biobased compounds. Specifically, it will improve the fermentation processes and downstream purification, solve bottlenecks upstream and downstream, and produce high-value applications.
The annual Circular Economy Insights Series helps shape strategies and informs the development of support for communities of practice across Ireland. It highlights research gaps and will guide work in this area.
The 2025 report is designed to support an evidenced-based approach to public engagement and communications for a circular economy. It integrates best practices, targeted market research, socio-demographic analyses and community initiatives to provide key insights and statistical evidence on the specific trends currently driving circular economy behaviour in Ireland.
It aims to strengthen capacity for high-quality communications and public engagement to ensure that Ireland is informed and enabled to participate in, and benefit from, the circular transition.
International E-Waste Day on 14 October will focus on Critical Raw Materials, the elements that are mined in only a handful of countries and are crucial to foster the green and digital transition.
Organisations, municipalities, schools, businesses and individuals are invited to get involved!
The WEEE Forum aimed to formulate recommendations on potential future targets for WEEE collection and on the method for calculating the collection rate which would foster the circular economy.
This study accordingly conducted a comprehensive assessment of current WEEE collection rate calculation methodologies and proposes a new approach for setting WEEE collection targets in the EU. It took a multi-phase approach, including data collection, model development and sensitivity analysis. Interviews with experts and stakeholders were also carried out to validate assumptions and explore new target-setting approaches.
The study concludes that the WEEE generated method is preferable to the current POM (put on the market)-based collection target.
Tuta, a German-based quantum-safe encrypted email and calendar provider, runs its operations with an eye to resource efficiency. It compresses user data for efficient storage and avoids replacing hardware unless actually necessary.
Mexico Circular Hotspot will take place on 5-6 November. It will focus on bringing together stakeholders from business, governments and knowledge institutions to advance the circular economy in Mexico and the Americas.
