A European project (SLASORB), tested if metal slag can be used as filter media to remove phosphorus from wastewater for the first time in Europe. This could filter and recover the excessive input of phosphorus in water bodies like rivers and lakes which causes eutrophication due to use of fertilisers in agriculture. * Material impact: reuse of 0.5-1.3 million tons slag/year. Read more at:

Repurposing metal slag for phosphorus filtration

The EU institutions are finalizing negotiations which will set binding targets
in the revised directive on national emissions ceilings (NEC). The directive
will set limits on certain harmful pollutants to be met by the member states
by 2030, as air pollution is the most important environmental health problem
affecting Europe's cities.

 _ 
_

Read more at:

<http://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/quality/standards.htm>

Government program for air quality standards

ECAP is €3.6 million EU LIFE funded project which aims to reduce clothing waste across Europe and embed a circular economy approach. The project runs for three and a half years, ending in March 2019. Objectives and targets The focus of ECAP is to adopt a circular approach to divert clothing waste from landfill and incineration across Europe. Specifically it aims to: \- Divert over 90 tonnes of clothing waste from landfill and incineration. \- Reduce the carbon, water and waste footprints of clothing in Europe. \- Ensure that fewer low grade textiles go to incineration and landfill. \- Prevent waste in the clothing supply chain. \- Encourage innovation in resource-efficient design, recycling of textile fibres and service models to encourage business growth in the sector. \- Influence consumers to buy smarter and use clothing for longer by using the existing Love Your Clothes consumer campaign.

The ECAP is a governmental backed action plan to adapt sustainable practices in the clothing sector

large_blob

medium_blob

small_blob

thumbnail_blob

blob

Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana, also known as GrEEn, is a four-year joint project from the&nbsp;European Union, the&nbsp;Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana, the&nbsp;United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)&nbsp;and SNV. The project will be implemented in the Ashanti and Western regions of Ghana and will contribute to addressing the root causes of irregular migration by supporting sustainable and climate-resilient local economies, green jobs and development in regions of departure, transit and return.

Creating Circular Jobs in Ghana 

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a concept of a policy instrument particularly that has gained increased attention by policymakers due to its potential contribution to circular material flows. It has been mentioned in several EU strategies and was also confirmed in the ‘Council conclusions on making recovery circular and green’. The article seeks to work out implementation options for DPPs and how these options might benefit stakeholders and society by supplying information on the origin, composition and dismantling options of a product. Thus, the implementation of such a tool could facilitate tracking and tracing materials and compiling information in one unique database. By making businesses deliver to these objectives, the obligation to generate high quality product information can be a valuable contribution as regards to designing more sustainable products and their handling once they reach their end-of-life.

Towards a Digital Product Passport Fit for Contributing to a Circular Economy

The EU Waste Framework Directive (WFD) define the basics principles related to waste management for Member States of the European Union. The EU WFD sets a waste hierarchy which starts with prevention and it ends with disposal. It was amended in 2018 and alongside others amendment it was legislated that Member States should promote re-use activity and repair networks, facilitating proper waste management and that by 1st January 2025 Member States shall set up separate collection for textiles (WFD, Article 12b DIRECTIVE (EU) 2018/851).

The EU imposes separate textiles waste collection by 2025

RESYNTEX is a European Union's Horizon 2020 funded research project which aimed to accelerate the European transition to a more circular economy researching into innovative recycling process for textiles. Its objective was to produce raw materials for textiles and chemicals using post-consumer non-wearable textile waste.

RESYNTEX: innovation in textile recycling

At present, only the European Union (EU) has adopted PV-specific waste regulations, which cover PV-specific collection, recovery and recycling targets. Based on the extended-producerresponsibility principle, the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive requires all producers supplying PV panels to the EU market (wherever they may be based) to finance the costs of collecting and recycling end-of-life PV panels put on the market in Europe. Lessons can be learned from the experience of the EU in creating its regulatory framework to help other countries develop locally appropriate approaches.

EU pioneer in PV electronic waste (e-waste) regulations

The project 'Rethinking Plastics - Circular Economy Solutions to Marine Litter' is focusing on solutions regarding the transition towards a circular economy with the aim of reducing plastic waste leakage into the sea. It considers 7 counties of China, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Key areas of the pilot projects are consumption and production, waste management and ports and fisheries encouraging green public procurement, awareness rising and education.The project offer advising, promoting knowledge exchange and best practice sharing through policy dialogues, workshops and conferences as well as implementing activities in more than 20 pilot projects in China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam to examine new approaches and develop best practices.

Rethinking Plastics - Circular Economy Solutions to Marine Litter

The project “Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana”(GrEEn) set by European and African partners is focused on addressing the root causes of irregular migration by supporting sustainable and climate resilient local economies, green jobs, and the development of local regions. As a result, the employability and entrepreneurship capabilities of the youth, women, and returnees are expected to improve. Work with local micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will also ensure that they are able to offer decent and sustainable jobs to the youth, women, and returnees; and are equipped to contribute to the development of green and climate resilient local communities.

The GrEEn Project: Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana

Responsible bodies for Sustainable Textiles Switzerland 2030 are the three associations Swiss and the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) provide strategic support in the steering committe and the office is run by the sustainability firm ecos.As a multi-stakeholder program, STS 2030 supports key actors in the Swiss textile and clothing sector to act in a socially and environmentally responsible manner and to implement transparent sustainability measures in their organizations. With a large part of textile production taking place outside of Switzerland, the program will at the same time be internationally coordinated and specifically tailored to the requirements of the Swiss context. In the long term, the multi-stakeholder program thereby contributes to the sustainable development as well as the competitiveness of the sector along the entire value chain.After an initial mapping, these targets and clear measures how to reach them were defined (Mai 2021). This approach provided a roadmap on how to implement international targets in the Swiss context and how to communicate transparently on their progress. In order to achieve the greatest possible impact, the activities of Sustainable Textiles Switzerland 2030 are aligned with similar national and international initiatives. Additionally, Sustainable Textiles Switzerland 2030 stimulates sustainable supply and demand by transferring knowledge on sustainable textile production and consumption.

Sustainable Textiles Switzerland (STS) is contributing in achieving the SDGs in the Swiss textile and clothing sector

The production and consumption of textiles have a high impact on climate change, the environment, the consumption of water and primary materials, and land use in the EU.To address this, the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles which was adopted by the EU Commission on the 30th of March 2022, will introduce eco-design requirements, a digital product passport, discourage fast fashion, harmonise EPR rules and address the unintentional release of microplastics in the environment.

EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles

Managing businesses can have high costs. To tackle this issue, some businesses rethought their business models to offer farmers a rental service for tractors, and also provide skillful labour when necessary, by using digital technology.

Digital technology enabling new business models

Vattenfall, an energy company has been assisting industries through electrification and exploring innovative and sustainable ways of producing plastics.

From Fossil Fuels to Renewables: Vattenfall's Innovative Approach to Plastic Packaging

Plastic Energy is a company that has developed a patented process for transforming plastic waste into high-quality, valuable products. By utilizing a chemical recycling process, the company is able to convert plastic waste into materials that can be used for a variety of applications, reducing waste and promoting a circular economy.

Plastic Energy's Waste Transformation Process: A Solution for Plastic Packaging

TerraCycle's Zero Waste Boxes provide a sustainable solution for hard-to-recycle waste, diverting it from landfills and incinerators. The company partners with individuals, businesses, and organizations to collect and recycle waste streams that are not accepted in traditional recycling programs.

TerraCycle's Zero Waste Boxes: A Solution for Hard-to-Recycle Waste

HP is a multinational technology company that aims to reduce its environmental impact through sustainable packaging design. One of the ways they achieve this is by designing packaging that is made for disassembly, making it easier to recycle or reuse the materials. HP is committed to achieving a circular economy by using recycled content, reducing packaging waste, and designing products that can be disassembled.

How HP works on climate pledges through its ink cartridges

As part of the European Green Deal, the European Commission launched a set of new EU-wide rules on packaging with the objective to putting an end to wasteful packaging, boosting reuse and recycling, through the support of the industry to provide consumers the ressources to become a real actor of the green transition.

The European Green Deal: A Program to Foster Sustainability and Circular economy

This case study illustrates how Tetra Pak is collaborating with local communities to foster sustainable development and engage them in the company's operations.

Tetra Pak: Engaging Communities to Foster Sustainable Development

Emrgy is a woman-led clean tech company that is redefining waterpower to be as local, rapidly deployable, and cost-eﬀective as solar power.

Transforming global water infrastructure into sources of distributed renewable energy

Policy—such as the EU’s Right to Repair legislation—can be leveraged to make repair the new normal.

EU's Right to Repair Legislation and Member States' Initiatives to Make Repair the New Norm

Rwanda’s Circular Economy Action Plan embeds circular principles into the construction sector.

Circular Horizon: Transforming Rwanda's Construction Sector with Circular Economy Principles

The European Union is a unique economic and political union between 27 EU countries that together cover much of the continent.