At its production site in Brussels, BC materials blends and transforms ordinary earth streams - what some consider to be waste - into perfectly circular building materials.
Packaging plastics can offer an almost infinite range of options for manufacturers, both in terms of function and design. Their durability and resistance to degradation means that if they ‘leak’ into the environment, they stay there. Leakage has been increasing rapidly and its detrimental impact, especially on the marine environment, has attracted wide public and political concern.
EASAC established in 2018 an Expert Group to look at scientific aspects of plastics packaging and the circular economy. This report is the result of an 18-month investigation and reviews the negative consequences of the current linear economy for plastic packaging, the scope for improvement towards a more circular pattern and options for increasing recycling rates and reducing leakage into the environment.
LIFE REFOREST is a project funded by the LIFE Programme that aims to mitigate the soil loss associated with post-fire episodes in forest areas.
In 2018, the City of Antwerp kick-started the Circular South project. The aim is to encourage more efficient use of energy, water, waste and materials by the citizens of the New South district of Antwerp through an innovative community-driven approach.
This retrospective report is a review of the plans set out by Circular Flanders in the Kick-off Statement.
The most important finding? A good deal more was accomplished than initially anticipated. For example, the opportunity to launch three Open Calls, permitting the funding of over 130 innovative circular economy projects. The Green Deal on Circular Construction was also an unprecedented opportunity, as was the complementary reinforcement of the OVAM team of experts in ecodesign and area-specific operations, allowing the scope to expand.
This retrospective report is an interactive PDF. External links to downloads or online resources have been embedded on each project page for easy accessibility.
This factsheet on Metal Recycling developed by EuRIC highlights the importance of both ferrous and non-ferrous metal recycling and their substantial benefits for the environment and the economy in Europe. The Brochure outlines the environmental benefits, the economic and international trade aspects of steel, aluminium and copper recycling.
Cycle Terre project aims to set up an industrial process to reuse soil extracted from the excavation sites of the new subway and other construction sites in Sevran, France.
Compaction of expanded polystyrene reduces its storage and transportation costs before being sent for recycling. A compaction plant, owned by AIPE, is given for free to member firms to use.
By initiating collection and composting practices into a 1500 inhabitants city district, the El Ouidane project aims to combat the desertification and to protect a fragile environment such as oases.
KLIMIS has been using the woody part of Greek olive pits as heating fuel for its kiln in order to bake lime stones since 1968. In 1992, it developed a patented process to recycle the residual material from this combustion into highly-efficient, low-emission barbecue briquettes.
SK-Tex takes old clothing and turns it into products that can be used in cars, furniture and buildings. The company has been in operation since 1998, beginning as a textile raw materials trading company before developing into a recycling company.
Van Hulley is a Dutch SME that upcycles worn-out shirts into boxershorts, employing disadvantaged women as seamstresses every year and training them to join the labour market more permanently.
The ARA Innovation Space is a place for networking, interdisciplinary exchange and innovative creating around topics for a circular economy.
For civil society, artists, scientists, creative people, students, entrepreneurs and all those who are simply curious. The goal of the ARA Innovation Space is to connect people on a cross-disciplinary level to join forces developing and implementing innovative solutions – contributing to the sustainable use of our natural resources.
We organize workshops, networking events as well as creative formats such as exhibitions and performances on a regular basis.
French cement producers plan to increase alternative fuels use from 44% of the fuel mix to 50%, by 2025. To support this initiative, they aim, in collaboration with construction and recycling trade organisations, to double the amount of wood waste used in the energy supply of cement plants.
The integration of the steel sector into the electricity generation cycle is an example of collaboration between companies from different sectors significantly minimising the environmental impact of their facilities. This integration allows the steel production gases produced by the industrial processes of steel plants to be transferred to an electric company for use as additional fuel.
Cement recarbonation refers to the process where part of the CO2 emitted during the cement production is re-absorbed by concrete in use through carbonation.
Attero introduces a new high quality product that is used as ingredient for substrates and potting soils: biobased substrate compost. The process for achieving this quality is unique in the world of compost production.
The aim of LIFE GREEN SINKS project was to create a new "green" range of products, represented by innovative kitchen sinks manufactured by 100% recovered materials.
Kari Herlevi is a circular economy multitalent. He is currently leading the circular economy area at Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund. There, he is focusing on the transition to a fair and competitive economy that tackles the root causes of biodiversity loss, climate change and overconsumption of resources, by facilitating the development and scaling up of the best circular solutions from Finland and the world. Previously, he worked at Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation, where he was responsible for the Green Growth and Vigo accelerator programmes. Kari also worked in the Tekes Silicon Valley office for a few years, and is particularly interested in new ideas and fast-growing firms in the circular economy, not least on the African continent.
Ladeja Godina Košir, Founder and Executive Director of Circular Change, is an internationally renowned expert on the circular economy, speaker, (co)author of several CE reports and articles, and co-creator of international circular economy events. Ladeja was the finalist for the Circular Leadership Award 2018 (Davos WEF) and named in "The #EUwomen4future campaign” featuring extraordinary women active in research, innovation, education, culture and sport by Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth in 2020. She is recognised as the regional "engine of circular economy transition". She is co-author of the first Roadmap towards the Circular Economy and creator and team leader of the annual international Circular Change Conference. Ladeja has consulted on the national circular economy roadmapping process based on stakeholder engagement for several countries and cities (Serbia, Montenegro, Norway, Israel, Chile, etc.).
Ladeja has several international roles: chair of the coordination group of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP) in Brussels (2018/20), visiting professor at Doshisha University in Kyoto and co-leader of the Research Group Circular Economy Systems at the Bertalanfy Center for the Study of Systems Science (BCSSS) in Vienna.
Ladeja takes a transdisciplinary systemic approach and holistic view as an entrepreneur, communications professional, speaker, moderator, lecturer, mentor and passionate connector. She is empowering a new narrative and circular culture. She bridges the bioeconomy and the circular economy; one of the EU projects to which she contributes is Effective (Horizon 2020 & BBI JU), a multi-company collaboration to produce more sustainable, bio-based fibres and plastics for large consumer products using renewable feedstocks and innovative technologies. She also chairs the expert group for the BIOeast Foresight Exercise 2050. Ladeja works with governments, city authorities, companies, NGOs, media and universities, empowering true collaboration to enable circular change.
Tourism in the Philippines and Thailand is receiving increasing attention as an excellent development option but with the vulnerability of developing countries to climate change it is inevitable to take the environmental performance of the tourism business into serious consideration.
Covestro has developed an innovative technology that allows using CO2 as raw material for the production of chemical building blocks for high-quality plastics.
