The Waste Framework Directive mandates that from 2025, EU Member States must establish separate collection systems for used textiles.
This briefing provides an overview of the state of play of textile waste generation, collection systems, treatment capacity and the different classifications for used textiles in Europe. It also identifies factors which must be considered when implementing separate collection systems, with a view to fostering the circularity of textiles without inadvertently increasing exports, incineration or landfilling.
It is underpinned by a report from the European Environment Agency’s European Topic Centre on Circular Economy and Resource Use.
The publication of CEMBUREAU's Net Zero Roadmap is a key moment for the EU cement sector: the roadmap looks at its climate ambition, the key levers to decarbonise cement production, and the policies needed to get there.
Cement and concrete are also going circular. Circularity is an integral part of the net zero ambition, allowing for significant CO2 reduction throughout the cement and
concrete value chain. Over the past decades, the European cement industry has promoted circularity by using waste materials to make cement, both as raw materials and as fuel in its kilns.
This shift has picked up the pace over the last few years, with the adoption of new methods to develop the role played by cement and concrete in the circular economy.
An overview of professional retailers who sell recovered building materials. These operators often offer other services as well, such as dismantling and cleaning, tailor-made components and specialised advice.
Technical documentation on the most common construction products on the reuse market.
Recent projects in which reuse materials have been applied successfully and inspiringly.
Useful documents and links for visitors who want to gather additional infomation.
The Sustainable IT Summit took place on 23 April in the United Arab Emirates, organised by Circular Computing which, unsurprisingly, is endeavouring to promote circularity in the IT sector. The summit was attended by IT industry leaders who discussed sustainability challenges in this sector and the opportunities offered by circular processes such as remanufacturing.
The general consensus was that remanufacturing and acceptance of reused devices is inevitable: 20% of enterprise laptops bought will be pre-used in a few years.
Sustainable Estimatics is a carbon tracking tool, intended to help the insurance industry manage new environmental, social and governance (ESG) regulations and become greener and less wasteful.
It empowers insurers to quantify and mitigate the carbon dioxide equivalent emissions associated with their entire car insurance claims process. As regards the circular dimension, it enables insurers to compare the environmental impact of repairing car parts versus replacing them.
The initiative will help circular economy projects overcome the challenges related to development and investment readiness. It will bring local governments, investors, Project Development Assistance providers and external service providers together with CircularInvest and DEFINITE-CCRI project owners and SMEs to foster the exchange of expertise, pinpoint opportunities and generate momentum.
Basically, it will advance circular economy objectives by facilitating the development of financeable, high-impact, low-risk circular projects.
By registering, you will be part of the network mailing list and invited to all future information sessions.
The Plastics Technology Centre AIMPLAS continued to increase its activity on the circular economy. In 2023, it presented 206 projects on the subject, provided more than 1100 technological services to companies and participated in 76 training and conference activities.
This redoubled activity went hand in hand with an increase in people and facilities carried out based on environmental sustainability criteria in conjunction with an emissions reduction plan that enabled the Centre to obtain the REDUZCO seal from the relevant Spanish Ministry.
The 6th Refill & Reuse Trade Fair will take place on 13-14 May in Paris, in the heart of the Parc Floral. It's an opportunity to find out about the world of refill and reuse and to learn more through masterclasses, conferences and discussions with over 75 speakers from various sectors.
InvestCEC, working with the DEFINITE-CCRI project as part of the CCRI initiative, is hosting a webinar on "Empowering entrepreneurs for investment success". It will take place on 11 April and aims to enable entrepreneurs to overcome funding challenges and attract investments in the circular economy.
This is an official side event of the World Circular Economy Forum.
Ms Blees is a lawyer in Germany and holds a Master of Law degree from George Mason University (USA). Before joining EuRIC, she worked at a Brussels-based consultancy, advising multinational companies on environmental, health and safety matters.
EuRIC is a confederation which represents the interests of European recycling industries within the EU. It spans the majority of waste streams, and so can facilitate cooperation between national recycling and resource management federations and companies from over 23 European countries, operating both locally and globally.
EuRIC represents:
5 500+ companies generating an aggregated annual turnover of about €95 billion, including large companies and SMEs involved in the recycling of and trade in various resource streams
300 000 local jobs which cannot be outsourced to non-EU countries
a million tons of waste recycled each year (metals, paper, glass, plastics, WEEE, ELVs, tyres, textiles, construction & demolition, etc.).
By turning waste into resources, recycling loops recycled materials back into value chains. Recyclers play a key role in bridging resource efficiency, climate change policy and the industrial transition.