
Aimplas coordinated the European Life Ecomethylal Project, which has ended with the construction of a plant capable of extracting up to half a kilo of methylal from each kilo of non-recyclable waste.

Aimplas coordinated the European Life Ecomethylal Project, which has ended with the construction of a plant capable of extracting up to half a kilo of methylal from each kilo of non-recyclable waste.
Biorizon has been co-creating technologies for the production of bio-aromatics at the Green Chemistry Campus in Bergen op Zoom since 2013. Together with industrial partners, Biorizon creates and develops innovative chemical processes for the production of renewable aromatics from residual biomass. Their aim is to enable commercial production of bio-aromatic building blocks by 2025.

The Market-driven Circular & Bioeconomy EU Green Week Partner Event on 8 June 2021 brings together representatives of European projects based on industry-academic partnerships in the fields of biodiversity, forestry, engineering, chemistry, agriculture, and transport.

Frontrunners of the BioCircular Economy 2.0: Nordic-Netherlands Roundtable is an official WCEF (World Circular Economy Forum) Side Event held on 27 May 2021 under the auspices of the ECESP. This timely Nordic-Netherlands Roundtable will focus on creating a shared need between Nordic-Dutch frontrunners with the aim to lead and accelerate the transition to a Circular Bioeconomy 2.0. It will gather a select group of Nordic-based and Dutch corporate leaders and frontrunners who are leading by example as well as key EU decision-makers. This is the very first time that such a virtual roundtable is being organised.

New sustainable packaging will extend guacamole’s shelf life by 15% thanks to labels and additives extracted from the avocado itself. The GUACAPACK Project aims to use renewable sources to develop an innovative biodegradable packaging system that includes barrier labels and antioxidant additives from avocado waste.

Welcome to have your say on the Sustainable Products Initiative, one of the deliverables of the Circular Economy Action Plan!
The feedback period runs until 9 June 2021 (midnight CET). The Commission would like to hear your views. Through public consultations you can express your views on aspects of EU laws and policies before the Commission finalises its proposals.

The session on Chemical waste as a resource – examples from the distribution sector (hosted by Fecc) on 22 March highlights opportunities for and experience of using high-quality second-hand chemicals, while connecting a variety of value chains. Result: reduced waste, CO2 emissions saved, plus the implementation of a circular business model in the chemical supply chain.
It is possible to make products safer and more sustainable by assessing their performance at the design stage of product development, according to the EEA. This approach would reduce risks from chemical pollution and support Europe’s transition to a circular and low-carbon economy.

The Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) is an international, non-profit think-and-do tank. Together with companies, political organisations and civil society actors, the CSCP pursues its mission to mainstream sustainability towards the good life for all.
From H2020 projects (R2Pi, Scalibur, Refresh and Spread), to CE Missions to Japan and Mexico, to launching the Consumer Insight Action Panel with the European Economic and Social Committee, co-developing the European Circular Cities Declaration or designing and running the Academy of Change – a unique capacity building programme that can be replicated across various topics - the CSCP integrates multiple stakeholders and various perspectives to help implement a systemic transition towards circularity.

The virtual event Industrial symbiosis as an opportunity for carbon neutrality on 23 February (9:00-13:00 CET) will launch the CircLean network as a concrete opportunity to tap into the potential of industrial symbiosis (IS) for European businesses. This pilot initiative, led by DG GROW, aims to increase the availability and quality of information about the impacts and benefits of IS in the EU.
Wallenius Water Innovation is a Swedish clean-tech company that works with UV light to prevent bacterial growth in metalworking fluids. The non-toxic solution secures long-lasting process fluids without using hazardous biocides. In this way, fluids can more easily be reused in the installation rather than be disposed.
PU foam pressurised containers are used to fill gaps and to insulate and install window and door frames so as to make buildings airtight. OCF (one-component foam) producers have invested in a recycling company which recycles the metals in the packaging material, the reactive residual polyurethane prepolymer and the propellant.
Ragn-Sells collects, treats and recycles waste and residual products from businesses, organisations and households.

The 2021 ACI European Food & Beverage Plastic Packaging Summit will focus on reusing and recycling plastic packaging and future directions and scientific development in this field. It will also review relevant European legislation.

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:
ZERO BRINE proposes a circular economy approach to reduce the negative impacts of brine from process industries and create economic value from the reuse of its constituents, such as sodium chloride, magnesium, calcium, sulphates, sodium bicarbonate, heat and fresh water.

NOx (nitrogen oxides) are emitted during combustion in air at high temperatures and/or pressure; if they exceed recommended levels, this has a negative impact on the population. The authors found that when moist, limestone (CaCO3) readily sorbs NO2 to form calcium nitrate, which provides the basis for developing a surface flow filter. The substrate was made from “over-recycled” cellulose fibres such as newsprint, magazines and packaging fibres which are too weak for further recycling. The substrate was coated with fine-ground calcium carbonate and micro-nano-fibrillated cellulose, which was used as a binder and essential humectant to prevent a stagnant air layer forming. Pre-oxidation countered the action of denitrification bacteria colonising the cellulose substrate.

Want to discover the latest on industrial symbiosis and the future of sustainable industrial practices? Join this event on 27 October to learn about experiences and case studies regarding successful implementation of industrial symbiosis, find out about tools and gain access to guidelines to kick-start resource efficiency in your own industry.
A solvent-free adhesive that is suitable for recycling and also for bonding of recycled plastic films has been developed by Henkel to be used for multilayer packaging.
Saperatec is able to reclaim all individual raw materials from composite materials, thus making them available for recycling.
The AZMUD Project proposes innovations which will help reduce the consumption of water, energy, nutrients and pesticides, and promote the use of waste water in greenhouse cultivations.

The European Association of Chemical Distributors (Fecc) acknowledges the Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) and supports the initiative for a more sustainable approach by ensuring that used resources are kept in the EU economy for as long as possible.
However, on behalf of the European chemical distribution sector, particularly the numerous SMEs it represents, Fecc would like to raise the following points:

The Alliance for Flame Retardant Free Furniture welcomes the new Circular Economy Action Plan and calls on EU institutions to address the unnecessary use of chemicals preventing circularity and the achievement of climate goals, such as toxic flame retardants in furniture, which endanger people’s and firefighters’ health as they migrate out of products and can lead to increased fire toxicity.
The use of such retardants is a historical, hazardous and ineffective practice which is not proven to reduce the number of fires. It is at odds with circularity objectives and their presence in furniture runs counter to the ambition to introduce and increase circularity.
Ensuring fire safety is a must, but it needs to be done in ways that are not hazardous.
LIFEPOSITIVEMgOFDG - a project co-financed under the EU's LIFE programme - is about designing and implementing a novel technique for air pollution abatement which respects circular economy principles.
C123 is an EU-funded project aiming at transforming the largely available and unexploited methane resources into C3 hydrocarbons, particularly propylene.
ekolive provides a new innovative eco-/biological method of zero-waste mining and processing of local primary and secondary raw materials, aimed at creating local resources of metals and minerals.