CIA: putting coffee husks to good use
The Italian company CIA has found that the most appropriate way to reuse coffee husks is as a fertiliser and soil conditioner by composting them in organic farms.
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Rural
Fiusis: energy and fuel from pruning olive trees
Italy's Puglia Region has large expanses of olive groves. Pruning these trees yields around 800 kilotonnes of residual biomass each year and Fiusis uses this biomass to produce energy.
Ristorazione Sostenibile 360°: how to make catering wholly sustainable
Ristorazione Sostenibile 360° is the first voluntary certification programme for regional catering, suitable for any type of restaurant in the Emilia-Romagna Region (IT).
Recovering critical fertilisers such as phosphorus from sludge treatment
How to recover phosphorus through the agricultural use of digestate produced by co-digestion of sewage sludge and other organic waste.
Azienda Agricola Mannu: mushrooms and fertiliser from coffee grounds
Coffee grounds contain many nutrients which are excellent for growing mushrooms. This secondary raw material is even ready for use, having been sterilised at 80 to 90°C by the coffee machine. What's left once the mushrooms have been collected is a good fertiliser.
A tool-sharing corner of Asikkala municipal library is a significant step towards circularity
The Maallemuuttajat 2030 project and Asikkala Municipal Library set up a tool-sharing library service.
28 Jun 2021 to 09 Jul 2021
From 28 June to 9 July, join the European Commission's experts online for the Horizon Europe Info Days. This 10-day event will enable prospective applicants and other EU research and innovation stakeholders to get information and ask questions about the new features, main funding instruments and processes of Horizon Europe.
Knjižnica alata: borrow a tool instead of buying it
Knjižnica alata is an initiative in Beli Manastir, Croatia, which was started seven years ago by Duško Kostić. This project is the only one of its kind in the country, and consists of a tool library where people can borrow the tools they need.
08 Jun 2021
The Market-driven Circular & Bioeconomy EU Green Week Partner Event on 8 June 2021 brings together representatives of European projects based on industry-academic partnerships in the fields of biodiversity, forestry, engineering, chemistry, agriculture, and transport.
Sălacea Romania: Going from 0 to 40% waste recycling rate within 3 months
Romania’s recycling rate of 13% is one of the lowest in the EU with most waste going to landfill. The publication explains how the city of Sălacea, in the north-west of Romania, not only managed to quickly rise from almost no waste recycling to 40% in 3 months, but also how the community reduced its overall waste by 55%.
The case study also explains how political will, commitment from local waste operators and involvement of the community were key to the success of the strategy. The municipality introduced door-to-door household separate collection for 5 types of waste (paper and cardboard, plastic and metal, glass, bio-waste, residual waste) and implemented a four-week education programme with citizens before changing the collection infrastructure.
25 Mar 2021
Thanks to innovation, forests will be key for sustainable urban development. The European BASAJAUN project will optimize the use of forest products to boost the economy in rural areas and obtain new materials and construction systems based on the circular economy of wood.
AIMPLAS will participate in the development of new profiles manufactured from natural resins and reinforcement agents.
23 Mar 2021
On 23 March an online event is organised to launch Circular Regions - a data-driven platform bridging bottom-up and top-down circular initiatives for mission-oriented eco-system transformation in a network of regions.
26 Mar 2021
The Policy Lab for stakeholders will feature a discussion about the tools that are better able to speed up the transition towards a circular economy and ensure that it is delivered equitably. The findings of the Policy Lab for Regions will be used to kick off the discussion on 26 March 2021.
Alchemia-nova: treating waste water using green walls
Alchemia-nova, the Institute for innovative phytochemistry and closed loop processes, has colloborated with vertECO, GRETA and LooPi to develop three types of green walls, which treat wastewater to service water standards and create plant biomass and fertiliser.
12 Feb 2021
The call for tender ‘Operation of the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative’s Coordination & Support Office (CCRI-CSO)’ is now open for submission with deadline 1 March 2021.
The Khalifa Award Report: turning the date palm industry circular
Data palms are becoming ever more important globally and in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa). The Khalifa Award Report, inspired by 46 contributors in 21 countries, focuses on the 5 Ps - People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnerships - which shape the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The bio-circular economic potential of the date palm industry has yet to be explored. In some cases, it is a necessity that can save lives in oases prone to fire hazards caused by climate change; it can also provide new green jobs in the sustainable economy transition. The European circular economy transition can serve as a model for adaptation in the MENA region.
More info on date palm recycling on pages 162-3 of the report.
Sandra Piesik
The Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production
The Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) is an international, non-profit think-and-do tank. Together with companies, political organisations and civil society actors, the CSCP pursues its mission to mainstream sustainability towards the good life for all.
From H2020 projects (R2Pi, Scalibur, Refresh and Spread), to CE Missions to Japan and Mexico, to launching the Consumer Insight Action Panel with the European Economic and Social Committee, co-developing the European Circular Cities Declaration or designing and running the Academy of Change – a unique capacity building programme that can be replicated across various topics - the CSCP integrates multiple stakeholders and various perspectives to help implement a systemic transition towards circularity.
04 Dec 2020
In this webinar on 4 December, Tondo and Circularise will discuss the potential of blockchain technology to support the transition to the circular economy.
Life DOP & Virgilio: Circular economy in a high-quality dairy industry
This Life DOP project operated in partnership with the Italian dairy company Consorzio Latterie Virgilio uses livestock waste in anaerobic digestion plants to produce renewable energy and renewable fertilisers (solid digestate) which are then exported to non-livestock areas.
Cultivation using wool
In order to create a new commercial use for raw wool, the Italian association Post Industriale Ruralità has developed a form of vertical hydroponic cultivation using wool instead of soil.
09 Dec 2020 to 10 Dec 2020
An online study tour on re-use & repair for municipalities and public waste companies which aims to create an inclusive circular economy at local level.
10 Dec 2020
Always wondered how the circular economy could help your city/region in its energy transition? This FEDARENE webinar on The energy dimension of the circular economy is for you!
Saccharide Agenda
A saccharide strategy for the Dutch Chemport Region
Saccharides are a valuable and readily available source of renewable carbon. There are unique opportunities to produce renewable intermediate chemicals and polymers from regionally available agricultural products and imported feedstock in the period up to 2050.
Industry in the Chemport region (Northern Netherlands) has several options to further reduce CO2 emissions, including recycling or circular chemistry and shifting towards bio-based feedstock, acting as a catalyzer for other industries.
Important focus areas of the saccharide roadmap are:
- developing technologies/markets
- strengthening/expanding feedstock production
- developing incentives/regulations
- further developing an integrated approach, cooperating and improving the knowledge base.
A typology of circular economy discourses: Navigating the diverse visions of a contested paradigm
A typology of circular economy discourses: Navigating the diverse visions of a contested paradigm
This research reviews the long history and diversity of circularity thinking to develop a comprehensive timeline, which identifies and conceptually classifies 72 different CE-related concepts from the Global North and South alike (such as industrial ecology, Gandhian and steady-state economics, buen vivir, doughnut economics, degrowth).
In November 2020 the paper was completed with an interactive timeline that helps researchers and practitioners better situate and navigate the concept of circular economy, both in its rich historical origins and in its theoretical diversity. It thus fosters a cross-pollination of concepts and ideas which can help address the complex socio-ecological challenges of the 21st century.
To learn more about this timeline, please click here.
