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.
“Staramaki” is a straw made of wheat. It is produced by a social cooperative KoinSep in Kilkis, northern Greece. The most widely produced local product wheat is used to create a viable eco-friendly alternative to single use plastic straws. At the same time they create employment opportunities and promote social cohesion, as well as local and regional development.
RREUSE welcomes the European Commission’s proposal to develop a favourable policy environment for social economy actors, calling for an ambitious Social Economy Action Plan (SEAP) that would provide a policy toolbox enabling a green, fair and circular transition in the post-COVID economic recovery. In order to establish a sustainable EU socio-economic environment and maximise the SEAP’s potential, RREUSE seeks to put forward the following recommendations on four priority areas:
Mainstream the social economy within circular policies and beyond
Recognise the real value of social enterprises active in the circular economy
Improve access to funding for social enterprises
Acknowledge social enterprises’ role in (up)skilling to meet changing market needs.
Quid provides jobs for vulnerable people, especially women, in a field for which Italy is renowned: fashion. Quid markets its ethical and sustainable clothing under the label Quid Project. The project sources the raw material from the Italian fashion and textile world, using production surpluses and end-of-series fabrics. It therefore combines social and environmental impact.
The French company, Envie Autonomie, collects and renovates technical equipment, such as wheelchairs, used beds, walkers and other aids. In this way, they ensure a second life to important equipment.
PC4Change is a project of the Reware Cooperative - Social Enterprise, specialized since 2013 in the refurbishing of computers dismissed by large companies.
