This position paper synthesises youth perspectives on the EU Circular Economy Act through a consultation survey of 57 responses across Europe, a youth check at the ECESP Annual Conference 2026 and additional qualitative stakeholder input. 

There are two main parts: Youth Priorities: What the Act Still Needs identifies what young people consider is missing or insufficiently addressed in the current framing of the CEA. From Policy to Practice: What Effective Implementation Needs explains how these priorities could be addressed through the Act and its implementation.

The paper concludes that lower material demand, durable product design, reuse, effective collection systems and strong public governance play a key role: recycling is not enough.