Mapei: recovering unused concrete from mixer lorries
The Italian company Mapei has come up with a product which brings leftover cement in mixer trucks back into the production cycle.
The Italian company Mapei has come up with a product which brings leftover cement in mixer trucks back into the production cycle.
In 2019, Carrefour Belgium introduced a range of reusable and recyclable carrier bags made from marine waste. The retailer collaborated with Seaqual, an organisation that cleans up the oceans and seabed, to source the plastics needed.
Vanden’s plastic recycling plant transforms plastic waste into commodities, ready to be manufactured into something useful again.
The Shellworks designers’ collective recycles seafood shells to make bioplastic, in order to reduce plastic use and waste.
Ocean Cleanup has launched design sunglasses made from plastic removed from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
In 2017 JRK Waste management introduced an intelligent data system (ECONIT) to reduce the high quantities of mixed municipal waste in Czechia. The programme asks residents to scan their rubbish with QR codes. Information on the quantity and types of waste produced is then used by the local waste management agencies to improve collection and recycling rates.
SECONTRADE is the first and largest European online market for secondary raw materials, launched in Austria in 2018. It digitalises waste management and enables the trade of recycled materials across Europe.
Oryzite is a method for incorporating rice husks as a filler in all types of thermoplastics. The company transforms the rice husks into resin, which can then be used to obtain the same volume of injection-moulded plastic using much fewer fossil-fuel-based polymers.
The EPA is seeking proposals from the research community to help identify solutions to climate change and other emerging and complex environmental problems.The funding will be provided under the four EPA Research 2030 interconnected research hubs, including "Facilitating a green and circular economy".
Metal recycling plays a key role in Europe’s circular and climate neutral objectives. Thanks to their intrinsic properties, metals can be indefinitely recycled without losing their properties. Yet, more can be done to better reward metal recycling and circular metal value chains, while preserving the competitiveness of Europe’s recycling industry. Join EuRIC Recyclers’ Talks#3 on Circular Metals on 7 June 2021 to learn more!
An increasing number of countries consider implementing a deposit return system for single-use beverage containers to address today’s challenges, i.e.:
TOMRA shares lessons learnt from its 45+ years’ experience of innovating and managing deposit return systems globally in a new white paper including:
The white paper seeks to contribute to an educated discussion on recycling best practice – including what can be learnt from the past and what the future may look like.
Circular Week, an international campaign consisting of a series of events and initiatives devoted to circular economy and sustainable development, will take place on 12-18 October 2021 throughout Europe. Its goal is to promote the idea of a circular economy, support sustainable business models and establish cooperation between interested stakeholders.
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.
The New Circular Economy Action Plan identifies textiles as a key product value chain where there is potential to boost the EU market for sustainable and circular textiles. The European Commission has launched a public consultation to gather input on challenges and gaps as well as opportunities for the sector towards sustainability.
Romania’s recycling rate of 13% is one of the lowest in the EU with most waste going to landfill. The publication explains how the city of Sălacea, in the north-west of Romania, not only managed to quickly rise from almost no waste recycling to 40% in 3 months, but also how the community reduced its overall waste by 55%.
The case study also explains how political will, commitment from local waste operators and involvement of the community were key to the success of the strategy. The municipality introduced door-to-door household separate collection for 5 types of waste (paper and cardboard, plastic and metal, glass, bio-waste, residual waste) and implemented a four-week education programme with citizens before changing the collection infrastructure.
The Interreg MED Green Growth Community (GGC) will take part in EU Green Week, organising a partner event to present best practices on moving towards zero pollution in the agri-food sector, with a focus on the Mediterranean region. Join the webinar on 1 June! It aims to showcase how to make the agri-food value chain more sustainable by applying circular economy approaches.
By 2025, 100% recyclable beverage packaging & PET bottles of 50% recycled content.
By 2030, PET bottles of 100% recycled and/or renewable PET, 90% collected & more use of refillables.
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.
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.
Commissioned by the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP), which advises the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and co-authored by Circle Economy and Shifting Paradigms, this report uncovers the range of socio-economic and environmental co-benefits that circular mitigation interventions can bring to GEF countries of operation.
The report supports strategic advice by the STAP to the GEF and its implementing partners, and helps carve out a role for these bodies in accelerating the transition to a low-carbon circular economy. Its findings will be highly relevant to the development of future GEF projects and programmes across its different focal areas.
RE-sign has marketed an app matching up supply and demand for reclaimed construction materials.
Save the Date for FEAD's online event which is a registered EU Green Week 2021 Partner Event:
Waste management: combining the circular economy with the zero-pollution ambition
Tuesday 1 June 2021 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. CEST
REVOLVE magazine has published several articles on waste management and smart cities:
Future is waste. When it comes to climate change and environmental degradation, waste is both the problem and the solution.
This article focuses on the Interreg MED Green Growth Community's work on developing green and smart public services in Euro-Mediterranean cities.
Here’s a look at Euro-Mediterranean projects that have been making progress on the ground.
Coop Norway, Energizer and Swedish Refind Technologies have come up with a battery refund machine. People can drop off dead household batteries and walk away with coupons to put towards the price of new batteries.
The Italian project BIOCOSI (BIOdegradable and COmpostable packaging for sustainable, circular and smart industry) has come up with a revolutionary solution to the problem of wastewater in the dairy sector.
As the Horizon 2020 research programme becomes Horizon Europe, what better time to witness how great ideas turned into real projects? LOOPS will be the opportunity to show the resulting cutting-edge research, and the change it can bring to our communities. The 22 April episode will focus on smart and circular composite materials.
ACR+ has run a survey targeting municipal and local authorities (and their waste operators) to understand and assess the impact of the COVID-19 on their waste systems, in particular regarding the services provided, the quantities collected, the health and safety measures, as well as the finances and communication to users.
The report presents the main information and trends coming out of this survey. It also provides an overview of the measures taken by local authorities to tackle the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown measures.
Local data were collected to analyse the impact of municipal waste generation and sorting performances. Several illustrations of good practices addressing key challenges are also highlighted.