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We know you know—if you follow the EU news cycle, it's impossible not to: the European Parliament elections will take place next week. The results—whatever they end up being—will significantly impact the future of EU environmental legislation.
How can we prepare for this new cycle? By demanding a fair, safe, and zero waste Europe!
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The Europe we want - 2024 European Parliament elections | |
On 6-9 June, citizens across all 27 EU countries will vote for the Europe of tomorrow in the European Parliament elections. The same question is on everyone's mind: what Europe will we choose?
For us, the choice is clear: the Europe we want is a zero waste one! But what exactly is a “zero waste Europe”? And how does it impact our day-to-day lives as citizens?
Understanding what vision and policies can drive us towards a sustainable, just, and equitable future for all is more important than ever. Our short video presents Zero Waste Europe's (ZWE) hopes and aspirations for a waste-free Europe, and the crucial steps needed to achieve this vision.
We hope the next composition of the European Parliament and European Commission help bring us closer to a zero waste future. From our side, the ZWE network commits to working every single day at the European, national, and local levels to ensure this becomes a reality for everyone across the continent.
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| Fair Resource Foundation: The annual ZWE network meeting was a gathering to remember | |
For ZWE and it's network of members, April is the time of year we look most forward to, as we get to spend precious time with like-minded zero wasters from across Europe during our annual Network-Wide Gathering.
This year, we asked our Dutch member Fair Resource Foundation (FRF) to share some of their standout moments and key take-aways from our time together in Ghent. Read more about their experiences and highlights from the gathering via the link below. | |
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| Ghent and Leuven say 'Ja graag!' to reusable packaging | |
On 27 May, the Belgian cities of Ghent and Leuven simultaneously hosted their ‘Mini Bowl, Maxi Impact’ press conferences to officially launch 'KOMBAK,' a project led by our member, the Fair Resource Foundation (FRF), in close collaboration with IVAGO and the City of Leuven. The goal is to make reusable takeaway packaging an everyday reality for their citizens.
Because scale matters for reuse, HoReCa actors in both cities may benefit from an innovative financial mechanism to help them embark on this transformative journey.The first 25 establishments that switch from throwaway to reusable packaging will receive a financial boost: up to 750 euros per establishment for service costs.
KOMBAK is one of five city projects run under the umbrella of the ReuSe Vanguard Project that provides invaluable learnings for the designing and implementation of a shared but adaptable model for takeaway food and drinks packaging in Europe. | |
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| New textile report: Circularity in the sector is shot without tackling overproduction and -consumption | |
Our latest report on textiles, "A Zero Waste Vision for Textiles – Chapter 2: Circular and toxic-free material flows", reveals the extent to which reuse and recycling efforts will be undermined by overproduction and -consumption in the sector over the coming years.
To tackle the staggering amount of waste generated by textile producers, the industry must reform its practices now or risk deteriorating further into an unsustainable and harmful business model—at the expense of both human health and the planet.
It is not all doom and gloom, however. The report identifies a wide range of solutions to the current barriers and provides policymakers with key recommendations for achieving a circular textile industry. These include setting legally binding targets as part of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for textiles, as well as by including circularity requirements under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). | |
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| Humusz Szövetség: Hungary chooses refill in new video | |
What exactly happens to refillable glass bottles when they're returned? In this video by our member Humusz Szövetség, this question is answered with a behind-the-scenes look at 'how the sausage is made' - or perhaps in this context, 'how the bottle is washed'.
Made with the support from #breakfreefromplastic (BFFP), the video also makes the case for choosing reusable glass, as reusable glass bottles are associated with fewer GHG emissions compared to other materials. | |
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PZWA: City commits to reducing bio-waste in residuals | | As part the #ForkToFarm campaign, our member Polskie Stowarzyszenie Zero Waste (PZWA) has secured an important commitment from the municipality of Pruszcz Gdański to minimise the amount of organics going into mixed waste! Closing the loop on bio-waste offers multiple benefits to municipalities, such as creating more jobs in the sector, reducing pollution from incinerators and lowering methane emissions from landfills. | | ZWF: Setting the sights on overproduction of fast furniture | | Zero Waste France (ZWF) takes on 'fast deco' in their latest campaign, putting numbers on the environmental harm that follows every new social media interior trend. With fuzzy white couches, Barbie-esque decor and the like only being trendy for a season or less, European consumers are buying and discarding at alarming rates. To stop the overproduction and -consumption in the sector, ZWF is calling on policymakers to include fast furniture and decorations in France's EPR and invest in reuse in the sector. | | | |
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| Biomonitoring research on persistent organic pollutants in the environment of the waste incinerator in Zubieta, 2019-2023 | | | Zero Waste Europe – Annual Report 2023 | | | |
| Save us “Chemical Recycling” Man! Oh wait…you can’t! | | | Analysis of the separate collection rate of plastic beverage bottles up to three litres in Spain | | | |
| Open Letter on the Implementation of the RED in the European Union: Excluding Waste Incineration from the Waste Heat Targets | | | Feasibility of ambitious legally binding EU food waste reduction targets | | | |
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| Emissions reality check: the crucial role of biomonitoring in under-standing the real impact of waste incinerators | | | The fight against a new incinerator – A story of activism in Sofia | | | |
| Global Plastics Treaty – another brick in the wall? by Joan Marc Simon | | | |
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Zero Waste Europe gratefully acknowledges financial assistance from the European Union: Commission Directorate General (DG) Environment. The sole responsibility for the content of this newsletter lies with Zero Waste Europe. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the funder mentioned above. The funder cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. | | | |
Copyright © 2024 Zero Waste Europe, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this e-newsletter because you opted in via our website, our social media networks, or expressed interest to a member of our team. | |
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