The Roman public transport provider, Atac, has launched +Ricicli +Viaggi (the more you recycle, the more you travel), a pilot scheme in which riders can pay for travel with PET plastic bottles.
To create a circular economy for Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers, Starlinger, a plastic packaging machinery and process technology engineering company from Austria, has simulated a closed loop for polypropylene - the main component of big bags- in cooperation with renowned big bag manufacturers Louis Blockx and LC Packaging.
At the intersection of science, design, and waste management, PuriFungi develops natural cleaning systems. PuriFungi's new product is an ashtray made of mycelium and cigarette butts.
adidas, one of Europe's premier sportswear manufacturers, is increasing the use of sustainable materials in its product range. From 2024 onwards, only recycled polyester will be used in every product and on every application where a solution exists.
In 2019, Stella McCartney partnered up with adidas to solve the problem of product waste with the introduction of two new apparel innovations.
The SaltGae project hasestablished real scale demonstration sites in Slovenia, Italy and Israel that show the long-term techno-economic performance of microalgae technology for the efficient treatment of saline wastewaters from the food and beverage industries.
The Finnish city of Lahti has been pioneering industrial symbiosis at the Kujala Waste Treatment Centre where all sorts of waste are reused. Several companies have established interconnected material flows, thus making one’s residues another one’s raw materials.
Estonian leather goods maker Stella Soomlais has come up with an innovative bag design that enables old or damaged leather bags to be turned into new leather goods, with little leftover material.
Estonian company Gelatex Technologies has designed a new textile made of gelatine - a substance derived from livestock industry waste. Compared to other materials, this innovative textile is the closest thing to leather. The product is easily scalable, quick to produce and environmentally-friendly.
By identifiying good practices in turning biomass to heat or power, the uP_running project is unlocking the strong potential of woody biomass residues produced by Agrarian Pruning and Plantation Removals.
CuanTec is a Scottish blue biotech company that replaces plastic with natural alternatives. Sourced from waters of the Atlantic, CuanTec takes waste from fisheries and obtains the natural biopolymer chitin. Their process uses biology rather than chemistry to create chitin and chitosan of high quality and purity, which are in demand for over 3,000 industrial uses around the world.
Toxic substances linked to a range of adverse health impacts can be present in carpets sold in the European Union, the European Public Health Alliance and the Health and Environment Alliance warned today following a new study by Anthesis. The study identifies over 59 hazardous substances found in carpets sold in the EU, including endocrine disruptors and carcinogens, linked to serious health conditions such as cancers, learning disabilities and fertility problems.
Transforming the linear economy, which has remained the dominant model since the onset of the Industrial Revolution, into a circular one is by no means an easy task. Such a radical change entails a major transformation of our current production and consumption patterns, which in turn will have a significant impact on the economy, the environment and society. Understanding these impacts is crucial for researchers as well as for policy-makers engaged in designing future policies in the field. This requires developing an in-depth knowledge of the concept of the circular economy, its processes and their expected effects on sectors and value chains.
This paper reviews the growing literature on the circular economy with the aim of improving our understanding of the concept as well as its various dimensions and expected impacts. On the basis of this review, it attempts to map the processes involved and their application in different sectors.
The paper suggests that research on the circular economy is currently fragmented across various disciplines and there are often different perspectives and interpretations of the concept and the related aspects that need to be assessed. This fragmentation is also evident in the available studies that adopt different approaches in calculating the impacts, which makes efforts at comparing the results from different sources very challenging.
Finally, this paper suggests that there is limited information on the indirect effects on the economy (e.g. impacts on the value chain or changes in consumption spending patterns) as well as the social impacts of the circular economy transition.
8 billion plastic bags end up in the environment in Europe every year. They have dramatic impacts on the environment, and especially on marine ecosystems, killing every year thousands of marine animals, and affecting no less than 260 different species.
Au sein du défi global qu’est le développement durable, l’économie circulaire est un levier important pour les autorités publiques et les industriels. Le recyclage est l’un des leviers qui permet d’atteindre les objectifs d’économie de ressources et de diminution des émissions de gaz à effet de serre fixés à travers différents textes européens et nationaux. Ainsi, En France, on peut citer la loi n° 2015-992 du 17 août 2015 relative à la transition énergétique pour la croissance verte fixant, parmi d’autres, l’objectif d’augmentation de la quantité de déchets non dangereux non inertes valorisés sous forme de matière à 55% (en masse) en 2020 et 65% en 2025 ainsi que l’objectif spécifique aux déchets du bâtiment et des travaux publics de valoriser sous forme de matière 70 % des déchets en 2020.
As is the case with Mr. Jourdain, who was unaware of what he was writing, industries involved in packaging have already implemented the circular economy model. Results in material recycling are relevant proof thereof. Industries are not getting involved in this process out for ideological reasons but because it often makes sense from an economical point of view. Since we were lucky enough not to be starting from scratch, we offered a tangible approach through illustration for each main material and/or packaging category from: glass to paper, cardboard, food cartons, steel, aluminum, wood, and plastic materials. This also includes the energy consumed by the different materials and the waste produced by all the different activities involved. By digesting some of the best existing or developing practices, we wish to make the circular economy model a fully-fledged part of the packaging sector.
The report highlights real-life and practical examples on how to rethink the way we create the built environment, one that currently uses 40% of all extracted minerals worldwide. It offers a systematic view of the sector and identifies clear levers for circular change. With learning by doing in mind, Circle Economy and ABN AMRO share the insights gained during the build of the first fully circular building in Amsterdam’s financial district: ABN AMRO’s Cirl pavilion. With this report, Circle Economy wants to highlight the possibilities in the built environment sector – with all positive economic, social and environmental consequences that a circular building and planning process entails. This report follows the launch of Circle Economy’s Circle Built Environment Programme, a new programme that builds on the expertise the organisation has gained over the last four years in identifying and implementing circular strategies across industries.
This White Paper deals with the role of logistics in the Circular Economy as well as trends and developments in logistics which will enable the transformation of economy towards the Circular Economy.
The following publication provides an overview of why the cement and concrete industry is central to the circular economy and what can be done to leverage the opportunities.
The most used resources in the building sector, such as sand and metals, are non-renewable resources. Extracted, transported and processed in ever-increasing quantities, at ever-higher energy costs and with consequences which are far from negligible for the environment, their use does not fit with a sustainable logic. Thinking in terms of circular economy prompts us to take another look at these linear and consuming models, at both the level of materials for building, energy, land, and that of waste management.
This book will help you discovering a large number of experiments and actions which can be reproduced on your level of action. Their generalisation to the whole France is currently a priority if we want to lead the ecological transition of our society. Nevertheless, circular economy is not something which can be decreed, and each territory wishing to invest in it has to reinvent its own process to adapt and implement the concept to its own specificities.
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.
This conference in Rome offers an exchange platform for discussing best practices and latest developments and solutions in the circular economy and climate field.
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.
Unfortunately, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the event is cancelled.
Want to discover the latest on industrial symbiosis and the future of sustainable industrial practices? Join our event to hear experiences and case studies from successful industrial symbiosis implementation, meet a network of committed actors and work together to build common goals and objectives.
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.
On 20 February 2020, Eurochambres will present their newest publication on Chamber Projects in the area of Circular Economy and will discuss the upcoming Circular Economy Action Plan with representatives of the European Parliament and Commission as well as with civil society.
The Plastics Circularity Multiplier group invites you to attend its first conference on the 14 October 2020 (NEW DATE!) 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.
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 !
The launch conference of the Israeli Circular Economic platform brings together opinion leaders from all relevant sectors. Ladeja Godina Košir, Chair of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform Coordination Group, will make a presentation of the Platform during the opening session.
Interreg Europe project REPLACE launches its 2nd Public Event State of the art of circular economy across governance levels hosted by Lazio Region in Rome on 6 March 2020.