Academics are studying the challenge of including the informal recycling sector (IRS) in the circular economy.
This review explores the direct and indirect contributions of the IRS to various circular economy fields, drawing on relevant literature.
The modi operandi of different recycling value chains are captured in a typology.
Information on reported forms of collaboration, tensions and challenges in urban waste management is summarised in a conceptual framework to facilitate the transition to circular and inclusive wise-waste systems.
Important aspects related to circular business models and approaches to the IRS are discussed and avenues for further research proposed.
Circle Economy has partnered with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the World Bank Group initiative Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE) on jobs in the circular economy. S4YE is a multi-year initiative to generate and share evidence and data for a better understand of how the circular economy can help lead to a more just and inclusive world.
This report systematically documents the literature on circular economy and jobs, identifying gaps and suggesting ways to simultaneously promote environmental sustainability and good quality jobs. It provides valuable insights for policy makers to move towards a better environment that is just for all, helping to create win-win situations that are so urgently needed for the planet, its prosperity and its people.
This paper analyses CE policies and discourses in three European cities to draw critical insights and recommendations.
It first reviews the academic literature on urban CE policies to develop a new conceptual framework for analysing CE discourses and policies. This is then used to analyse and compare the CE policies of Glasgow, Amsterdam and Copenhagen.
Results show that technocentric approaches to the CE are dominant in the three cities. Moreover, they have very limited social justice policies for fair distribution of the costs and benefits of a CE transition. Key policy recommendations to address these shortcomings are thus proposed.
The insights offered by this paper are valuable for practitioners and academics seeking to improve urban CE policies.
The REEPRODUCE project will break new ground by establishing a sustainable and complete European industrial-scale value chain for recycling the rare earth elements in permanent magnets. REEPRODUCE will capitalise on the knowledge generated by previous R&D projects (REE4EU) and tackle all the remaining technical challenges along the value chain. This innovative technique will produce new permanent magnets using environmentally-friendly technologies at a competitive cost and using end-of-life products as a resource.
Save the date for this year’s EU Green Week: Europe’s largest annual environmental event will take place from Saturday 3 June to Sunday 11 June 2023. As part of the European Year of Skills, the EU Green Week partner events will focus on skills for sustainable, resilient and socially fair communities.
Registrations for organising an EU Green Week partner event will be open from 1 to 15 March 2023.
PEACOC was a pre-commercial H2020 pilot project for the efficient recovery of precious metals from European end of life resources with novel low-cost technologies.
The World Circular Economy Forum 2023 will be held in Helsinki from 30 May to 2 June 2023. This global collaboration forum is co-organised by Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra and Nordic Innovation, with international partners. It will attract more than 2 000 leading circular economy players in the world to Finland to find circular solutions that can help our economies fit within the boundaries of nature. Part of the programme will also be accessible online.
The ECESP Leadership Group on Circular procurement and the Leadership Group on Social Circular Hubs invite you on 12 January 2023 to their next joint #EUCircularTalks. Join the panelists to discuss the social impact of procurement in a circular Europe for developing countries. You will also learn how European procurement proceedings can integrate social aspects. The event will focus on the theory and dive into very concrete cases.
Attend the Horizon Europe-Cluster 6 Info Days on 13-14 December 2022 to get informed!
The Info Days will present the Research and Innovation topics of the Horizon Europe Cluster 6 (Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment) Work Programme 2023.
