26 Mar 2020
At times of Covid-19 quarantine, Belgian startup ASmartWorld who reconditions second-hand smartphones, took the initiative to distribute them free of charge in old people's homes to help guests reconnect with their families.
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Recycling
One-woman's initiative in Belgium transforms broken umbrellas into raincapes and bags
Our industries and our current way of life make us produce more and more in an "ephemeral" way. We throw away big amounts of raw materials that we could easily reuse and launch back in the circular economy.
Parapluiestandupcycling decided to retrieve the fabric of broken umbrellas and to create a utility garment out of it.
PLATIRUS project - meeting the PGM (Platinum Group Metals) supply gap by recovering materials from secondary resources
The PLATIRUS project seeks to address the European shortage of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) by recovering PGMs from alternative secondary resources. It has the potential to offer a substitute for a large proportion of these critical raw materials which are becoming ever more scarce.
18 Mar 2020 to 20 Mar 2020
On 17 and 18 March 2020 the Circular Materials Conference invites you to reimagine materials with the help of emerging technologies and novel collaborations to create a circular future together.
Ecopack Bulgaria: recycling education through innovation
Two of Ecopack's latest and more innovative projects are aimed at raising public awareness on the separate collection and recycling of packaging waste.
RE4 project: designing solutions for circular buildings, integrating recycled materials from construction and demolition waste
The EU-funded RE4 project has developed prefabricated energy-efficient building concepts containing up to 85 % of recycled materials and reused structures from construction and demolition waste (DMW).
Citeo oeuvre pour réduire l'impact environnemental des emballages
Citeo est engagée pour un monde plus durable et oeuvre pour réduire l’impact environnemental des emballages ménagers et des papiers, en les transformant en nouvelles ressources.
Depuis 25 ans, les entreprises ont investi 10 milliards d’euros pour collecter, trier, recycler les emballages et les papiers. Cet engagement a permis de déployer la collecte sélective partout en France, de faire du tri le 1er geste citoyen des Français et de créer des filières de recyclage, en partenariat avec les collectivités locales, les filières matériaux et les opérateurs.
Citeo contribue à une mission d’intérêt général : ancrer la consommation durable, l’éco-conception et le recyclage dans les habitudes des entreprises et des citoyens de métropole et des Outre-mer.
Recycled post-consumer textiles - an industry perspective
Recycled post-consumer textiles - an industry perspective
Europe is facing a growing mountain of used textiles. In North-West Europe 4700 kilotonnes of post-consumer textile waste are generated annually. Still, less than 1% of textiles produced are currently recycled into new ones, and around 50% are downcycled, incinerated or landfilled.
Automated sorting technologies could enable the industry to turn non-rewearable textiles into valuable feedstock for high-value recycling. Fibersort, a Near Infrared based technology, is able to categorise textiles according to their fibre composition, structure and colour.
At the end of each chapter of the report, recommendations are formulated for recyclers, manufacturers and brands to address the socio-cultural, physical and economic barriers for uptake of sorted textiles.
Laundry by RacionaLUSO
RacionaLUSO offers a compact system that meets the recently-introduced Portuguese quality legislation for water reuse. With the availability of just 2m2, the system can treat 15m3 of water per day with a recovery efficiency of 80 % of water and 45.6 % of energy (thermal).
12 Mar 2020
A seminar where actors in the building and construction sector, policy-makers, academics and others can explore possibilities to accelerate the circular transition in the building and construction sector.
20 Apr 2020 to 22 Apr 2020
European Meetings on Circular Economy and Climate Protection - The future of Plastics in our society
This conference in Rome offers an exchange platform for discussing best practices and latest developments and solutions in the circular economy and climate field.
'Become a Miljönär' campaign: beneficial to circular consumption and participating businesses
The campaign “Be a Miljönär” [a pun which merges miljö (environment) with miljonär (millionaire)] has a long-term goal: reducing waste and making sustainable consumption a habit among people aged between 18 and 30.
Connecting local agricultural supply chains through insect farming
IPIFF Factsheet - Insect farming in upcycling food waste into high quality animal feed
Up to 90 million tonnes of food are wasted every year in the EU, half of which is generated at production and/or processing stage.
Being highly versatile and efficient, insects can bio-transform many of these materials (before they become "waste") into a wide range of higher-value products and ingredients that can further be included into the food and feed chains. Their added value goes beyond that of an alternative feed ingredient.
The lower Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) of insects confirms their efficacy, but also their ability to concentrate lower value materials into ingredients of superior quality, such as proteins and lipids, in line with the natural nutritional needs of aquaculture, poultry or swine.
Concours Design Zéro Déchet
Le concours Design Zéro Déchet invite depuis 2012 les étudiants et jeunes diplômés en design, sciences de l’environnement, ingénierie et arts appliqués à réfléchir sur le sujet de l’écoconception et de la prévention des déchets à travers l’élaboration de biens ou services innovants et durables.
19 Mar 2020
Drawing on the results of CIRC4Life, the event aims to present examples of circular business models, discuss barriers and enablers, as well as how to incentivise consumers to engage with circular practices. It will also discuss the new Circular Economy Action Plan by the European Commission.
07 Oct 2020 to 08 Oct 2020
The Plastics Recycling World Expo is a dedicated free-to-attend marketplace for the plastics recycling industry. The event will host over 200 exhibitors presenting the full range of sorting, washing, size reduction and recycling equipment as well as materials, additives, and relevant services.
About Blanks gives new life to old books
About Blanks makes sketchbooks and notebooks from old book covers and recycled materials.
10 Jun 2020
The Plastics Circularity Multiplier group invites you to attend its first conference on the 10th June in Brussels. The event will bring together policy makers and representatives from industry and academia who will communicate on a range of EU-funded innovations that aim of bringing plastic materials into the circular economy.
03 Mar 2020
Le groupe AFNOR organise une conférence à Nantes le 3 mars 2020 de 9h30 à 12h30 sur l’économie circulaire. Au programme : panorama réglementaire, solutions pour s’engager, formations et dispositifs d’évaluation… Entrez dans la boucle !
EuRIC - Metal Recycling Factsheet
Metal Recycling Factsheet by EuRIC
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.
Circular Governance in The Hague - Made in Moerwijk
Made in Moerwijk is a social circular initiative in The Hague that seeks to give new life to waste products.
Circular Governance Oslo - Action plan to reduce Plastic Pollution
To prevent plastic from entering the environment and reaching the Oslo Fjord and to remove existing plastic pollution, an action plan with short-term and long-term measures was co-created by many stakeholders in Oslo.
Circular City Governance in Prato
Thanks to its textile recycling techniques, Prato is considered one of the most advanced and innovative industrial cities in Italy.
20 Jan 2020
Applications to the European Social Innovation Competition 2020 are now open! Under the theme Reimagine Fashion: Changing behaviours for sustainable fashion, the 2020 competition is looking for projects and ideas that will change the ways we produce, buy, use and recycle fashion, moving towards increased global sustainability and changing consumer behaviour at local, national and European levels.
VALOR - Valorisation Alternatives to Landfill for Organic Residues
The Dublin City University VALOR project is investigating potential recovery options for the Organic Fraction of the Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) and Bio-Stabilised residual waste (BSRW). The project fully diagnoses the recovery options for municipal solid waste and validates their use by determining their benefits and potential environmental risks.
USAD - Lithuania's Reverse Vending Machines - credit for plastic
In February 2016, the government of Lithuania implemented a “deposit return system”, to give consumers an incentive to return used beverage containers for recycling. To combat litter and increase collection and recycling rates, consumers would pay a deposit amount of €0.10 when purchasing eligible drink containers, to be refunded when the empty container is returned for recycling.
11 Jun 2020
The European Recycling Conference ERC 2020 will be linked to the International Recycling and Recovery Trade Fair, co-organised by EuRIC and FER (Federación Española de la Recuperación y el Reciclaje). At the ERC 2020, you can visit stands of more than 200 exhibitors from over 20 countries, grow your network and listen to the view of the European Recycling Industry.
The plastic waste trade in the circular economy
EEA briefing: The plastic waste trade in the circular economy
Europe is at crossroads regarding its management of plastic, plastic waste and the plastic waste trade. Rapidly growing amounts of plastic have negative environmental and climate impacts.
Plastic and plastic waste are traded worldwide. Exporting plastic waste from the EU to Asia is a means of dealing with insufficient recycling capacities in the EU. Waste import restrictions in China have shifted exports to other countries. Because some types of plastic waste have been added to the United Nations Basel Convention, the option of exporting plastic waste is becoming increasingly difficult.
This briefing provides an overview of exports of plastic waste from the 28 EU Member States (EU-28) to other countries and discusses its possible consequences and opportunities.
Italian Phosphorus Platform
The Italian Phosphorus Platform was set up to mirror the European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform, following an agreement between ENEA, the platform manager, and the Italian Ministry of Environment. This platform aims to reach national self-sufficiency in the Italian phosphorus supply with a circular approach.
Phosphorus a European critical raw material, with Europe being almost completely dependent on third countries for its supply (phosphate rock: 81%, phosphorus: 100%), and its end-of-life recycling rate is very low (phosphate rock: 17%, phosphorus: 0%) (source: 2017 list of Critical Raw Materials).
The platform features 4 working groups: market, technologies, legislation and good practices. More information on good practices in phosphorus recycling is available here (in Italian).
Circular economy for climate neutrality: Setting the priorities for the EU
Circular economy for climate neutrality: Setting the priorities for the EU
The previous Commission policy on resources management was part of the priority for jobs and growth and economic competitiveness. The circular economy will be no less important for the new political priority of climate neutrality; it will become one of the indispensable elements for meeting the EU’s ambitions.
EU climate policy and the circular economy are, by and large, complementary and mutually reinforcing. The circular economy is more than just another ‘product standards’ policy.
Circular economy products for the foreseeable future will require both technology push and market pull policies. The principal challenge will be to create ‘lead markets’ for the circular economy in combination with low-carbon products.