The final part of the LIFE 2021 call for proposals is open! The deadline for applications is 10 March 2022 at 17:00 CET.
Under the topics Circular Economy & Quality of Life and Nature & Biodiversity, specific projects are financed concerning, amongst others, used textiles/textile waste and high quality compost from collected organic waste.
Waste prevention is the best waste management policy option, according to the waste hierarchy - the EU's main rule for the environmental ranking of waste management policies. Its main objective is to reduce waste generation, the environmental impacts of waste management and the hazardousness of the waste generated.
To support this objective, the EU and all its Member States have put in place legislation that promotes activities in products' life cycles aimed at reducing the amount of waste generated.
This report aims to assess progress towards the main objective of waste prevention: decoupling (i. e. breaking the link between waste generation and economic growth).
In order to identify and analyse possible bottlenecks and opportunities in the current post-consumer plastic recycling landscape in Flanders, available data sources were summarised and relevant sector organisations and companies interviewed. Specifically, interviews were organised with companies working on polyolefins in order to gain greater insight into the potential for circularity of the value chain for this type of polymer and its applications.
Within the framework of the Circular Economy Initiative Deutschland (CEID) and its three interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral working groups, more than 130 experts from industry, science and civil society have summed up their findings in the Circular Economy (CE) Roadmap for Germany, which consists of a consolidated opinion addressing society as a whole.
This Roadmap, which has focused - right from the beginning - on shaping a consistent and common target vision for a circular economy in 2030, is a scientifically-based framework for action that systemically describes the necessary steps for Germany to transition to a CE and provides decision-makers from politics, industry and science with concrete recommendations for action.
Recycling is key for the circular economy. Chemical recycling could one day become a trouble-shooter solution for any remaining unrecyclable applications and replace incineration. However, it is not yet a sustainable technology.
Ecopreneur.eu - the European Sustainable Business Federation - has concerns about linear economy lock-ins, high CO2 emissions, competition with mechanical recycling, lack of scale, low quality, toxic residues, and large investments being drawn away from SMEs going circular.
Therefore it advocates to support the development of chemical recycling only if:
In 2020 the EU’s circular material use rate reached 12,8 %, i.e. almost 13 % of material resources used in the EU came from recycled waste materials, according to Eurostat.
The circularity rate - which is part of the EU monitoring framework on the circular economy - is the share of material resources used coming from recycled waste materials, thus saving extractions of primary raw materials.
The EROS Project, with the participation of AIMPLAS and ITC, is working to develop new recycling processes to recover composite materials from the aeronautics and wind turbine sectors to manufacture new products for the transport and ceramics industries.
The International Seminar on Plastics Recycling organised by Aimplas will focus on the current challenges and opportunities related to managing and recycling plastic waste. It will also raise awareness about ongoing initiatives designed to scale up efforts to achieve the objectives set.
A webinar series connecting the dots between EU decision-makers and recyclers. It will provide an opportunity to discuss the building blocks required to speed up the transition towards a more circular economy and achieve Europe's climate neutral agenda.
Recyclers’ Talks #6 will focus on the challenges and opportunities for the automotive value chain.
The Circular Navarre Catalogue 2021 is an update of the first showcasing booklet published in 2020. This new edition includes 30 organisations - based on circular business models - in the Spanish Navarre region, looking for international cooperation.
Reduce water use in Diageo's operations with a 40% improvement in water use efficiency in water stressed areas and 30% improvement across the company.
Replenish more water than Diageo uses for their operations for all their sites in water-stressed areas by 2026.
Invest in 150 projects to improve access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in communities near Diageo sites and local sourcing areas in all of Diageo's water-stressed markets.
Engage in collective action in all of their Priority Water Basins to improve water accessibility, availability and quality and contribute to a net positive water impact.
Achieve zero waste in Diageo's direct operations and zero waste to landfill in Diageo's supply chain.
Ensure 100% of Diageo's packaging is widely recyclable (or reusable/compostable).
Continue to reduce packaging and increase recycled content in Diageo's packaging (delivering a 10% reduction in packaging weight + increasing the % recycled content of the packaging to 60%).
Ensure 100% of Diageo's plastics are designed to be widely recyclable (or reusable/compostable) by 2025 and achieve 40% recycled content in Diageo's plastic bottles by 2025, and 100% by 2030.
Provide all of Diageo's local sourcing communities with agricultural skills and resources, building economic and environmental resilience (supporting 150,000 smallholder farmers).
Develop regenerative agriculture pilot programmes in 5 key sourcing landscapes.
Become Net Zero carbon in Diageo's direct operations.
Reduce Diageo's value chain carbon emissions by 50%.
Use 100% renewable electricity across all of Diageo's direct operations.
Society 2030: Spirit of Progress is Diageo's 10-year action plan to help create a more inclusive and sustainable world. This global leader in beverage alcohol has set itself 25 goals aligned to the UN's SDGs.
The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) and its members have set out the industry’s vision for the future: they intend to deliver renewable, climate positive and circular packaging for resilient food supply systems.
Through its robust and ambitious Roadmap, the industry commits to take action throughout the industry value chain, from sustainable sourcing to climate impact and recycling. Its ten commitments include increasing the collection and recycling of beverage cartons to reach a 90% collection rate and at least a 70% recycling rate by 2030, and decarbonising the industry’s value chain in line with the 1.5o C aligned science-based targets.
Every year, huge numbers of photovoltaic (PV) modules are being installed. This solar energy expansion greatly furthers the ecological transformation of the energy system. But to solve the climate crisis every aspect has to be taken into consideration. This is why this white paper wants to shine light on challenges currently occuring or to be expected in connection with used photovoltaic modules and their disposal in Germany.
To better implement the goals of a circular economy, this paper will retrace the steps in the lifecycle of a photovoltaic module and analyse problems and possible solutions along these stages. After a brief description of the occuring challenges, opportunities and solutions deemed to be effective and sensible in these matters are presented.
The European Union, the Canada Plastic Pact, the Circular Economy Coalition and the project Reducing Plastic Waste in Canada are hosting a WCEF21 two-hour Accelerator Session on circular economy for plastics with a focus on global supply chains on 15 September 2021.
According to the UN, in 2021 each person on the planet will produce on average 7.6 kg of e-waste, meaning that a massive 57.4 million tonnes will be generated worldwide. Only 17.4% of this electronic waste, containing a mixture of harmful substances and precious materials, will be recorded as being properly collected, processed and recycled.
Many initiatives are underway to tackle this growing concern, but none of them can be fully effective unless consumers are properly informed and really play their part. This year’s International E-Waste Day will focus on the crucial part each of us has to play in making circularity a reality for e-products.
The COVID-19 pandemic is having an immense impact on societies across the world. It has caused millions of deaths worldwide and challenged our health systems and economies. The pandemic - and responses to it, involving lockdowns, use of personal protection equipment and stay-at-home measures - has far-reaching health and economic consequences.
This briefing deals with the less visible effects on our environment and climate originating from changed use of single-use plastics due to the pandemic.
Renewable energy technologies, such as wind turbines, solar photovoltaic panels and batteries, are essential for Europe’s transition to climate neutrality. Deployment, maintenance and replacement of this infrastructure requires significant resources, including many substances included in the EU list of critical raw materials.
Waste arising from end-of-life clean energy infrastructure is projected to grow up to 30-fold over the next 10 years, presenting significant opportunities to reduce consumption of scarce raw materials by recycling metals and other valuable resources back into production systems.
Circular economy approaches such as repair and upgrading of equipment and recycling of end-of-life infrastructure can underpin the sustainability credentials of EU renewable energy.
The participatory info session Circular solutions for regions and cities – how to make it work will take place on Wednesday 13 October, 11:00 a.m. (CEST). Participants will learn more about the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI), which offers possibilities for cities and regions, ranging from knowledge-sharing and technical expertise to financial opportunities, and get insights and experiences from the local perspective.
France’s Anti-waste and Circular Economy Law is a great example of cross-sectoral collaboration. Policymakers, municipalities, NGOs and businesses worked together with the public administration to identify a richer range of needs, solutions, and policy measures. As a result, the law is ambitious and contributes to a system-wide transition towards a circular economy.
This case study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation is part of a series of case studies that exemplify elements of the Universal circular economy policy goals (2021) in practice.
Through its eight modules, the CICLO platform aims to upgrade, free of cost, the opportunities for up-skilling and re-skilling of long-term unemployed and low-skilled workers, in the field of the evolving circular economy market:
The material could be included in educational services offered by Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers, Training Centres, Higher Education Institutions, NGOs, SMEs, public services relevant to EU labour force, etc.
The second annual Circular Nonwovens Forum "Shaping together the circular economy for nonwovens" creates a platform for in-depth engagement with stakeholders on the challenges and opportunities arising on the path towards the circular economy for nonwovens, with a view to collectively finding ways and means to accelerate this transition. The event has been converted into a hybrid webinar for 2021.
Since 2019, the Foundation for Future Generations has been supporting student entrepreneurs with the prototyping phase of a product, service or technique with a positive impact on society. Discover the winners in the fields of the circular economy and zero waste during a webinar on 23 September 2021 from 3.30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
