The Großes Walsertal region has developed a Circular Economy Strategy: it has set itself the objective of introducing circularity at every stage of the value chain, from production to consumption, repair and waste management. Smart product design and increased recycling and reuse activities will contribute to gradually close the loop of each product life-cycle in the region.
The Großes Walsertal communities act as role models by sharing tools, offering vouchers for local food stores (as part of the leisure activities funding) and implementing binding green criteria for events organised on their territory.
reCIRCLE is the market-leading industrial solution for reusable packaging for takeaway catering. The "lunchbox as a service" concept saves millions of disposable containers every day.
PU foam pressurised containers are used to fill gaps and to insulate and install window and door frames so as to make buildings airtight. OCF (one-component foam) producers have invested in a recycling company which recycles the metals in the packaging material, the reactive residual polyurethane prepolymer and the propellant.
In its position paper, Eurocities aims at contributing to the revision of the EU legislation on packaging and packaging waste by making proposals on:
packaging design (to facilitate separate sorting by citizens, and further dismantling for reuse or recycling, i.e. less complexity in packaging materials)
compostable/biodegradable plastic packaging (citizens cannot distinguish between biodegradable/compostable and more ‘conventional’ ones; the Commission should assess if this packaging can benefit the environment or create more littering and hamper waste collection, reuse and recycling)
reuse and recycling (new legislation should consider EU-wide mandatory labelling to identify packaging as reusable, recyclable or compostable) and
Addressing the growing calls for a recovery response that is in alignment with other global challenges, these specifically selected opportunities all optimise the use and circulation of assets, materials and nutrients. As governments take the critical action necessary to safeguard national economies and work towards a transformation that is resilient to future global risks, the circular economy has never been more relevant.
The Circular Plastics Alliance aims to boost the EU market for recycled plastics.
It covers the full plastics value chains and includes over 330 organisations representing industry, academia and public authorities. It is open to all public and private actors from European plastics value chains that are ready to contribute to delivering on the alliance's declaration, specifically that by 2025 at least 10 million tonnes of recycled plastics should find their way into products and packaging in Europe each year.
Companies and business associations are encouraged to submit voluntary pledges on recycled polymer(s) to be produced or used by their organisation by 2025.
Close the Glass Loop wants to achieve an average of 90% collection rate of used glass packaging at EU level by 2030 and a better quality of recycled glass.
The Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging (CEFLEX) initiative is a collaboration of over 180 European companies, associations and organisations representing the entire value chain of flexible packaging. It wants all flexible packaging to be designed for easy collection, sorting and recycling, with valuable new markets and applications created for the recycled materials.
CEFLEX stakeholders represent the full value chain including: raw material producers (plastics, paper and aluminium foil), ink, coating and adhesive suppliers, film producers and flexible packaging converters, brand owners, waste management companies, recyclers, extended producer responsibility organisations and technology suppliers.
