Last July 2, the Commission launched several initiatives to accelerate the EU’s transition to a circular economy and prepare the ground for the Circular Economy Act, expected in 2026. Circular economy enhances competitiveness and economic growth by promoting the reuse, recycling and remanufacturing of materials. The forthcoming Act will support the EU’s goals under the Competitiveness Compass and the Clean […]
What is the EU doing to manage waste better?
Every year on 30 March, International Day of Zero Waste raises awareness about the importance of managing waste responsibly and encouraging sustainable consumption and production. In the EU, the average person produces 511kg of waste each year and only 38% of waste is recycled. This is a serious challenge and the EU is taking action […]
Developing a master plan for textile circularity
tExtended enters phase two in the development of a blueprint for optimised recovery, reuse and recycling of discarded textiles. The EU-funded tExtended project is launching the second phase of its plan to optimise textile flows and ensure materials retain their value in a safe and sustainable way. Its innovations are helping to meet the need […]
Biorefinery advances waste treatment in Zaragoza
In October 2024, the EU-funded CIRCULAR BIOCARBON project inaugurated its flagship biorefinery in Zaragoza. The biorefinery will be used to transform sewage sludge and the organic fraction of urban solid waste, such as food residues and garden waste, into high added value products such as biopolymers, biofertilisers and green graphene. Biodegradable waste is a key […]
Leading the way to less food waste
Smart packaging and biodegradable films: these are two of the many solutions in the SISTERS project aimed at reducing food waste in Europe. When it started in 2021, the EU-funded SISTERS project joined the fight to reduce food waste in the European Union, where more than 59 million tonnes of food waste is generated every […]
New rules to improve the treatment and reuse of urban wastewater are given the green light by the European Parliament
Improved monitoring of chemical contaminants, pathogens and antimicrobial resistance. Drug and cosmetic manufacturers and Member States should finance additional treatment against micropollutants. Boosting the re-use of waste water to avoid water shortages MEPs on Wednesday gave the green light to new rules on the collection, treatment and discharge of urban waste water. The plenary […]
Spain: EIB and Otua sign €40 million loan to back the construction of a waste recycling plant in the Basque Country
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Basque Country-based Otua Group have signed a €40 million loan to finance the construction of a new plant for recycling plastics from automotive waste and to upgrade existing facilities for processing metal waste. The EIB loan promotes the transition to circular economy – in which industrial materials get reused rather […]
Waste: Commission decides to refer SPAIN to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to apply the waste management requirements
The European Commission decided to refer Spain to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to comply with the requirements of the Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC). The Waste Framework Directive requires Member States to take all necessary measures to ensure that waste management does not endanger human health or harm the environment. […]
LIFE Programme: Circular Economy, resources from Waste, Air, Water, Soil, Noise, Chemicals, Bauhaus
Objective The aim is to facilitate the transition toward a sustainable, circular, toxic-free, energy-efficient/climate-resilient economy and toward a toxic-free environment as well as to protect, restore and improve the quality of the environment. The specific objective is to cover one or more of the following topics as fully defined in section 2 of the Call document: Circular Economy […]