Ristorazione Sostenibile 360°: how to make catering wholly sustainable
Ristorazione Sostenibile 360° is the first voluntary certification programme for regional catering, suitable for any type of restaurant in the Emilia-Romagna Region (IT).
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Recovering critical fertilisers such as phosphorus from sludge treatment
How to recover phosphorus through the agricultural use of digestate produced by co-digestion of sewage sludge and other organic waste.
Ccrave: a circular lifestyle platform offering more than just the shopping experience
Ccrave is a content and ecommerce platform all in one, with a focus on waste-based and zero-waste products in the home, fashion and lifestyle categories.
Officina Naturae: a plastic-free choice for a plastic-free sea
All products (detergents and cosmetics) at Officina naturae are conceived to be safe and effective for humans and the environment in the name of sustainability, eco-design and circularity.
Renycle: from scrap to new nylon
Renycle® is a product obtained from recycled nylon 6, a highly valued material because of its excellent resistance, dyeability, softness and versatility.
Azienda Agricola Mannu: mushrooms and fertiliser from coffee grounds
Coffee grounds contain many nutrients which are excellent for growing mushrooms. This secondary raw material is even ready for use, having been sterilised at 80 to 90°C by the coffee machine. What's left once the mushrooms have been collected is a good fertiliser.
RETEX Panels: construction materials made from recycled waste
RETEX products are the first ones in the market that utilise textile, plastic and rubber waste from the construction industry on a large scale. The panels are made of shredded textile waste that has been pressed and bonded together using a proprietary manufacturing process and are designed to replace various types of wood-based construction panels.
A tool-sharing corner of Asikkala municipal library is a significant step towards circularity
The Maallemuuttajat 2030 project and Asikkala Municipal Library set up a tool-sharing library service.
Recovering contaminated plastics from automotive, construction and electrical appliance industry waste
The European NONTOX Project aims to eliminate hazardous and unpleasant substances from plastic waste and thus convert non-recyclable plastics and recycling waste into new resources.
URBIOFIN - from waste to bioproducts through biorefinery
The URBIOFIN project aims to demonstrate the techno-economic and environmental viability of an integrated and innovative biorefinery for the transformation of the organic fraction of municipal solid wasteinto new marketable bioproducts, chemical building blocks, biopolymers and additives for different markets like agriculture and cosmetics.
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Kreislaufwirtschaft im Großen Walsertal
A Circular Economy Strategy for the Großes Walsertal region
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.
Regional strategy for reducing the impact of plastics on the environment - #Plastic-freER
PlasticFreER is the Plan approved by the Emilia Romagna region (IT) Executive in 2019 for a shared strategy with public bodies, businesses, trade unions, associations and the scientific community to free offices, canteens, festivals and parties from disposable plastic and clean up public spaces, rivers, sea and beaches.
- A common path in 15 actions for an increasingly circular and sustainable economy.
- Reconvert, reduce and clean up: three pillars of the rule approved by the regional government which translate into support, with funds and incentives, for the conversion of companies producing plastic - particularly single-use.
- Aid to public bodies and private individuals who decide to reduce their use and a special cleaning project to remove waste from the beds of waterways/sea.
Saccharide Agenda
A saccharide strategy for the Dutch Chemport Region
Saccharides are a valuable and readily available source of renewable carbon. There are unique opportunities to produce renewable intermediate chemicals and polymers from regionally available agricultural products and imported feedstock in the period up to 2050.
Industry in the Chemport region (Northern Netherlands) has several options to further reduce CO2 emissions, including recycling or circular chemistry and shifting towards bio-based feedstock, acting as a catalyzer for other industries.
Important focus areas of the saccharide roadmap are:
- developing technologies/markets
- strengthening/expanding feedstock production
- developing incentives/regulations
- further developing an integrated approach, cooperating and improving the knowledge base.
Roadmap for circular economy in Serbia
Roadmap for circular economy in Serbia
The Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia has developed a Roadmap for the circular economy in Serbia, a document that aims to bring together, connect and promote all those actors whose knowledge, innovativeness and creativity can contribute to a faster transition to the circular economy.
The roadmap seeks to encourage the private sector to use circular business models and to motivate industry to create new jobs, as well as to inspire a shift in business operations through the introduction of innovative and sustainable solutions. The roadmap has been developed by the Circular Economy Platform for Sustainable Development in Serbia project, which was initiated and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
A Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy
Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy in Ireland
The Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy fulfils the commitment in the Programme for Irish Government to publish and start implementing a new National Waste Action Plan. This new national waste policy will inform and give direction to waste planning and management in Ireland over the coming years. It will be followed later this year by an All of Government Circular Economy Strategy. The need to embed climate action in all strands of public policy aligns with the goals of the European Green Deal.
The policy document contains over 200 measures across various waste areas including Circular Economy, Municipal Waste, Consumer Protection and Citizen Engagement, Plastics and Packaging, Construction and Demolition, Textiles, Green Public Procurement and Waste Enforcement.
The City of Helsinki’s Roadmap for Circular and Sharing Economy
Circular and sharing economy to help tackle sustainability challenges in Helsinki
The City of Helsinki’s Roadmap for Circular and Sharing Economy is one of the 147 actions in the Carbon-neutral Helsinki 2035 Action Plan.
The roadmap includes the following four focuses:
- construction
- procurement
- green waste and
- sharing economy and new business opportunities in the circular economy.
The goals for each focus are set until 2035, with interim goals and supporting practical actions for each one.
Reducing plastic consumption and increasing the use of recycled plastic are among the main topics of the roadmap.
This roadmap is the result of debates in workshops with experts from both inside and outside the City. A team of representatives of the City’s Environmental Services coordinated the work.
Poland's Circular Economy Roadmap
The aim of Poland's Roadmap towards the Transition to the Circular Economy (CE), which was adopted in 2019, is twofold: first, to identify cross-cutting measures capable of having the broadest possible impact in Poland, both socially and economically; and second, to prioritise areas that will enable Poland to take advantage of its current opportunities, and to deal with existing or future challenges.
The Roadmap focusses on 5 areas in particular:
- Sustainable industrial production
- Sustainable consumption
- Bioeconomy
- New business models
- implementation, monitoring and financing of CE.
The Roadmap includes a set of tools, which are not purely legislative, to create the conditions for a new economic model in Poland.
EURATEX: Prospering in the Circular Economy
EURATEX: Prospering in the Circular Economy
In 2019 the European Commission set out a policy guideline to address global environmental challenges and circularity. EURATEX and its members welcome the ambition of the EU Institutions to change the old way and commit to engage with all relevant parties to deliver and implement a new Textile Strategy to boost the circular economy and be fit for the present and future generations.
This strategy by EURATEX is a starting point, with insights into solutions based on a 14-month consultation with members, involving over 100 companies and key stakeholders, focused on applied circular practices and future opportunities. It prioritises removing barriers to a large-scale uptake of circular economy in textiles, sets out 12 key points and puts forward 38 proposals.
SUMMARY/PRESENTATION OF THE CIRCULAR ARAGON STRATEGY
Aragon Circular Strategy
Aragón Circular is an economic strategy that aims to boost the circular economy in the entire region of Aragon. Its objective is to create a political, economic, and social framework that will allow Aragon to move towards an innovative circular economy. Furthermore, this strategy will generate high-quality employment and provide the backbone for the territory.
España Circular 2030: the new Circular Economy Strategy for a #FuturoSostenible in Spain
At the beginning of June 2020 the Spanish Government published España Circular 2030, the new Strategy for Circular Economy in Spain until 2030. It contains circular economy objectives and a series of strategic orientations for the period 2020-2030.
The strategy:
- sets up a series of objectives for 2020-2030 which will, inter alia, allow a 30% reduction in the national consumption of resources and a 15% reduction in waste generation (as compared to 2010);
- contributes to Spain's efforts to transition to a sustainable, decarbonized, resource-efficient and competitive economy;
- takes the form of successive three-year action plans providing for concrete measures to deliver on circular economy.
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TOP 10 Circular Materials by mass - Market study
Top 10 Circular Materials by mass - Market study
Every year, about 100 billion tons of material are taken from the planet - but only 10 billion are circularized. The results of the TOP 10 study clearly highlight the differences between the systems: the waste culture and concepts are different in the Global North and the Global South, as are the objectives of the respective legislations.
In the Global North, the goal is to decouple waste generation from consumption. In the Global South, waste increases with per capita income; here, the old consumption patterns and images of the rich Global North are often emulated.
Scorecards are used in the study to assess individual materials and their circular maturity in the region. The overall score is shown in the summary per material.
Innovation Deal for a circular economy
Innovation Deal for a circular economy: unlocking opportunities through public-private collaboration
By designing and enabling the use of Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries for multiple use-cycles, valuable materials are maintained, and a range of economic and environmental benefits can be unlocked.
Innovators from the automotive industry, Dutch and French public authorities, and the European Commission have collaborated to identify regulatory barriers to reusing EV batteries as energy storage devices and unlock solutions.
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.
France's Anti-waste and Circular Economy Law
France’s Anti-waste and Circular Economy Law: eliminating waste and promoting social inclusion
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.
Wasted bread: New culture medium for growing starters from bakery waste in the fermented food industry
Through fermentation, bread scraps can produce chemical compounds for the pharmaceutical and food industries, fuels and enzymes. The starters (which kickstart the fermentation process) obtained by this project confirm the huge economic and technological potential of a growing substrate obtained from low-cost matrices.
The protocol includes homogenisation of the waste bread (leavened bakery products), with the addition of enzymes and final sterilisation.
The culture medium can be liquid (broth), solid (agar) or dehydrated. The substrate can be used for cultivating lactic bacteria, yeasts and moulds (for the food industry).
About 10% of the bread waste produced monthly can be used to yield a culture medium for bacterial starters.
Promotion of the circular economy in the Hotel Industry in Cyprus and Greece – Preliminary assessment of the current status of circular economy
Promotion of Circular Economy in the hotel industry in Cyprus and Greece
This report is published by the Cyprus Federation of Employers & Industrialists (OEB), the Institute of Greek Tourism Confederation (INSETE) and the public policy consultancy adelphi (Germany) as part of the European project Hotels4Climate financed by EUKI.
The report aims to assess the current state of circularity in the hotel industry in Cyprus and Greece by conducting national surveys in both countries targeting hotels in order to:
- identify the priority sectors within the main services offered by hotels, the business challenges and opportunities to move to circular economy,
- create successful, flexible and resilient circular business models, and
- identify a number of internal and external barriers that raise obstacles to the transition to circular economy.
Les Partenariats, socle de l'économie circulaire
Partnerships are a cornerstone of successful circular economy initiatives, shows EpE report
The circular economy is an alternative to the dominant economic model, which causes considerable damage to the environment as it is based on the linear use of resources.
The development of the circular economy has been hindered by a number of economic, technological and regulatory constraints.
EpE's natural resources commission has spent three years identifying what makes circular economy initiatives successful. An analysis of 27 circular economy initiatives carried out by companies shows that partnerships are one key to overcoming these constraints. A closer examination of these partnerships sheds light on various forms of governance.
Re-defining Value – The Manufacturing Revolution Remanufacturing, Refurbishment, Repair and Direct Reuse in the Circular Economy
The Manufacturing Revolution: Remanufacturing, Refurbishment, Repair and Direct Reuse in the Circular Economy
This report connects the potential for resource efficiency, via circular economy and the value-retention processes (VRPs), with a policy-relevant lens. It is one of the first to quantify the current-state and potential impacts associated with the inclusion of VRPs within industrial economic systems.
In order to do that the assessment applies the different VRPs to a series of products within three industrial sectors and quantifies benefits in relation to the original manufactured product, such as the material requirement, the energy used, the waste as well as the costs and the generation of jobs.
The report also highlights the systemic barriers that may inhibit progressive scale-up including regulatory, market, technology and infrastructure barriers, and how they could be overcome.
Policy options to eliminate additional marine plastic litter by 2050 under the G20 Osaka Blue Ocean vision
Policy Options to Eliminate Additional Marine Plastic Litter by 2050 under the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision
The International Resource Panel think piece provides policy options to reduce marine plastic litter and achieve the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision, which voluntarily commits G20 countries to “reduce additional pollution by marine plastic litter to zero by 2050 through a comprehensive life-cycle approach”.
The report shows the marine plastic litter trends relevant to 2050, summarizes the current plastic policy landscape and explores policy upstream and downstream interventions to reduce marine plastic litter and to transition to a circular plastic economy. They include, among others, actions to design out waste, incentivise reuse, and exploit market-based instruments.
ROOTS - circular policies for changing the biowaste system
CirculaR pOlicies for changing the biOwasTe System (ROOTS): a position paper
4 Horizon 2020 projects working on biowaste valorisation have teamed up to promote innovative solutions for the circular bioeconomy. This joint initiative is named ROOTS-circulaR pOlicies for changing the biOwasTe System. The projects - HOOP, ValueWaste, Scalibur and WaysTUP - are piloting new solutions to transform urban biowaste and wastewater into valuable products like Feed, Fertilisers, Bioplastics, Biopesticides, Proteins and Bioethanol.
The promoters have discussed their views and shared their concerns on policy barriers hindering innovations that lead to the Circular Economy for urban biowaste. As a result of the discussion, 4 focus topics have been singled out, accompanied by proposed solutions, that will constitute the key messages and be addressed in future initiatives.
Critical Raw Materials: civil society calls for firm and fast action to secure supply and maintain a strong industrial base in the EU
Critical Raw Materials: civil society calls for firm and fast action to secure supply and maintain a strong industrial base in the EU
The EESC and CCMI believe that the present/future of critical raw materials resilience is of essential concern to EU's organised civil society. For this reason, and because the CEAP represents a step forward with a clear roadmap for initiatives and actions, the EESC recommends that the Parliament and the Council support this approach.
The EESC position concerns 6 main objectives:
- Supporting sustainable primary sourcing in Europe
- Fostering secondary sourcing from waste and circular reuse
- Maintaining extractive and processing capacities in the EU
- Investing in activities that can foster substitution
- Diversifying trading partners and supporting developing countries
- A more frequent review of the critical raw materials list.
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ShopC - online marketplace for verified circular products from the fashion and lifestyle sectors
ShopC, is the first-ever online marketplace for verified circular products from the fashion and lifestyle sectors. Created at the heart of the Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship at the Copenhagen Business School, it came as an answer to the problem of conscious consumers wanting truly sustainable products but being bombarded with green-washing campaigns and untrustworthy sustainability claims.
ShopC as a circular marketplace for sustainable, circular products, focuses on transparency, upholding the values of sustainability and circular economy to the highest standard. It focuses on brands that make products that last and if their life comes to an end, they are re-looped back into the system in some way.
Green Tech Cluster in Austria
Welcome to Green Tech Valley, focussing on Climate and Circular Solutions. The Green Tech Valley is located in the south of Austria and is internationally regarded as the hotspot for innovative energy and environmental technology.
The Green Tech Cluster initiates growth through innovation. It brings together around 220 companies and research institutions shaping green solutions of the future. With 20 global technology leaders within an hour’s drive, the location forms one of the highest concentrations of companies in this industry.
Have a look at their Don't waste / Invest campaign: One-stop-shop recycling solutions for a wide range of waste fractions derived from Austrian excellence in achieving one of Europe's highest recycling rates.
ReziProK programme run by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research
ReziProK is a funding programme focusing on a resource-efficient circular economy and innovative product cycles, and is run by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). It supports research and development projects which will help reach these goals. The projects seek to close product cycles by developing appropriate business models, design concepts and digital technologies and thus contribute to the implementation of a resource-efficient circular economy.
The projects focus on:
- Promoting the use of recycled materials
- Extending or stepping up product use
- Improving the recyclability of electric vehicles
- Optimising and expanding remanufacturing
- General developments on the topic of blockchain.
SUSTAINair: circular economy for the aviation and aerospace sectors
SUSTAINair is an H2020-funded platform developing circular economy principles for the aviation and aerospace design, manufacturing, operations and end-of-life phases. This EU-funded research project aims to make the entire supply chain ecosystem greener, in line with the Circular Economy Action Plan, and to set new standards for aerospace manufacturing, enabling an increase in cross-sector synergies.
The SUSTAINair project provides the aviation sector with a path to a more cost-effective, low-carbon economy, while tackling the increase in resource consumption, waste and emissions. Because of this, the SUSTAINair project has been endorsed by the Future Sky research initiative of the Association of European Research Establishments in Aeronautics (EREA).
