Circular economy
EU plans harmonised colour code for bin bags
The colour of garbage bags could soon be harmonised across the 27 EU member states under European Commission plans to improve waste collection and boost recycling.
Call it by its name: Synthetic gas and oil from old plastics is not ‘recycling’, it’s ‘recovery’
The term “chemical recycling” should only be used for plastic waste reconverted into new plastics. If those plastics are transformed into fuels or petrochemical products, the process should be called “recovery” instead, write Shanar Tabrizi and Fanny Rateau.
Chemistry’s waste problem
Europe's chemical industry needs to embrace circular thinking and urgently address concerns about substances getting into the environment or risk being crushed by regulators, writes Tom Parker.
Resilience: The missing link in the new Circular Economy Action Plan
EU member states need to integrate resilience into their national recovery plans in order to be eligible for recovery support, write Joke Dufourment, Natalia Papu and Yasmina Lembachar.
Businesses launch joint bid to improve conditions in cobalt supply chains
A coalition of businesses including Signify, Glencore and Fairphone have launched a joint initiative to improve the economic, working and social conditions of those working in the cobalt supply chain. EURACTIV's media partner, edie.net, reports.
Chemical recycling ‘promising’ for circular economy, EU official says
While chemical recycling opens new possibilities for the circular economy, only a full lifecycle approach will be able to determine the real environmental benefits in terms of saved energy and global warming emissions, a senior EU official has said.
Britain to get first commercial refinery for extracting precious metals from e-waste
The UK is to get its first commercial refinery for extracting precious metals from electronic waste, which will also be the world’s first to use bacteria rather than cyanide-based processes.
Economic meltdown threatens Europe’s war on plastic
Giving a new life to plastic trash gets Carlos Bento out of bed every morning. But the coronavirus pandemic has seen revenues drop up to 40% at Micronipol, the large recycling facility he runs in central Portugal, and it faces an uncertain future.
A stronger and self-reliant European industry through new inputs, innovation
Participants at a virtual conference called “Re-starting the EU economy - How can industry contribute to a resilient and sustainable industry?" agreed on one point: the key is to keep the market open, but with new inputs.
How Europe’s top food retailers are failing to disclose food waste-based emissions
European food retailers need to widen the scope of their greenhouse gas reporting in order to account for emissions resulting from food waste across their supply chains, writes Matthew McLuckie.
Sinkevicius: COVID-19 cannot be an excuse to curb EU’s green ambition
Member states cannot use the COVID-crisis as an excuse to weaken the EU's environmentral and health protection efforts, European Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius told EURACTIV Italy in an exclusive interview.
‘Open strategic autonomy’: A vision for Europe’s raw materials future
Europe’s “green recovery” will be based on industrial leadership in the production of computers, batteries, electric vehicles, and wind turbines, writes Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou.
EU recovery fund is a chance to accelerate the circular economy
The EU recovery fund can be used to unlock an estimated €1.8 trillion opportunity by 2030 by making better use of materials and reducing waste, write Patrick Schröder and David McGinty.
Portugal suspends foreign trash imports to cope with own waste surge
Portugal, which usually attracts huge mounds of rubbish from other European states because of its low waste management fees, has suspended imports of trash until the end of 2020 to protect domestic landfill capacity, the government said on Saturday (16 May).
Germany must become climate-neutral by 2038, says government advisory council
The German Advisory Council on the Environment (SRU) presented on Thursday (14 May) its report on the state of the country's environmental policy. With Germany's carbon budget now almost exhausted, researchers urge stronger climate action in all areas. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Coronavirus waste: Burn it or dump it?
Masks, gloves, and other contaminated garbage from hospitals and households, which have been piling up by the thousands of tons as Spain battled through the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, have undermined recycling chains and overwhelmed processing plants.
Spain’s circular economy says ‘adiós’ to countryside and city waste
The common goal of Spain’s circular economy implemented both at city and countryside level is to reuse waste, yet local agri-food companies and organisations are aware that this model needs to be adopted gradually in the sector. EURACTIV's partner Efe Agro reports.
Spanish businesses rising to the challenge of circular economy creation
Research in the food industry to achieve a circular economy is resulting in new composites, flavours and aromas from the same resources from which basic products such as wine, milk or fish are obtained. EURACTIV’s partner EFEAGRO reports.
Which world do we want after COVID-19?
The coronavirus crisis has caused a lot of suffering and uncertainty, but its aftermath offers us an opportunity to break with old habits and build a circular, sustainable and highly competitive economy, write Frans Timmermans and Bertrand Piccard.
EU dismisses industry calls to lift ban on single-use plastics
Deadlines have to be respected, says the European Commission in response to calls by industry to lift an EU-wide ban on some single-use plastic items because of health and hygiene concerns raised during the COVID-19 outbreak.
France, Germany join group of 10 EU countries calling for green recovery
Paris and Berlin have added their names to a growing list of EU capitals asking for the European Green Deal to be placed at the heart of the EU’s post-pandemic recovery plan.
Lithium tipped for EU list of critical raw materials
The soft, silvery-white alkali metal is expected to enter the EU list of critical raw materials later this year because of its strategic importance to the automotive industry, EURACTIV has learned.
Coronavirus slows US push to produce electric vehicle minerals
The coronavirus pandemic is hobbling US efforts to produce lithium, rare earths and other materials used in electric vehicles and high-tech equipment, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump’s plan to curb Chinese control of the strategic minerals sector.
Football’s ‘mini cities’ offer prime green testing ground
Stadiums are a great environment in which to trial sustainability measures because of the number of people who regularly attend sporting and entertainment events, according to those involved in their day-to-day running.
