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Hi there, Reader!

Happy #MayForMembers! After three wonderful days with our members in Portugal, we have been riding high on the energy from the gathering all throughout May. You can read more about the Network-Wide Gathering below and see some of the best shots in this blog.
   

ZWE Network-Wide Gathering 2023 in Guimarães, Portugal

At the end of April, Zero Waste Europe's (ZWE) members and team got together in Portugal for our Network-Wide Gathering (NWG). Bringing together over 60 people from across Europe, our annual gathering is one of the key highlights of the year. It’s the moment when our community of activists, practitioners and experts from across Europe come together to celebrate our achievements, share learning and ideas, strategise on all zero waste related topics, get inspired and strengthen our connections.

This year, our meeting took place in the beautiful town of Guimarães, one of the Candidate Zero Waste Cities in Portugal, and was co-hosted by our member ZERO and the Guimarães institution Laboratório da Paisagem.

During our three days together, we discussed our work at national and European level, shared stories and learnings from different national contexts, and strategised on specific topics, from food waste to reuse. Our members also elected three new Board members whose mandates will officially start later in 2023 - a warm welcome to Janine Röling from Recycling Netwerk Benelux, Maija Krastina from Zero Waste Latvia and Nathalie Cadot in her individual capacity.

In between meetings, dinners in gardens and a visit to the local orchards, we also spent time chatting, laughing and even singing - leaving us all energised, inspired and excited for our work together in bringing about positive change in Europe.

   
   

Zero waste news

     
Zero Waste Europe in Paris: Pushing for an INC-2 centered around sufficiency and reuse

Zero Waste Europe will be in Paris, France from 26 May to 02 June 2023, to participate in central and side events of the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-2), organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 


With our presence in Paris, and direct participation in these activities, ZWE wants to ensure that actions on sufficiency and plastic reuse are properly addressed in the upcoming Global Plastics Treaty, in line with ZWE’s “New Energy for Europe” manifesto. In addition to this, we gathered support from cities and municipalities across Europe to urge that INC-2 delegates put cities and communities at the heart of the negotiations in Paris - you can read more in our press release.


Our key asks include:

  • Align the Global Plastics Treaty with the climate agreement, i.e. plastic production should be capped at a level compatible with 1.5C degree warming; 
  • Ensure the scope focuses on the whole the life-cycle of plastics from production to disposal, incl. social and health impacts, as opposed to focusing on plastic litter only; 
  • Emphasise the importance of reuse and prevention by prioritising the scale up of existing solutions in priority sectors like retail, beverages, takeaway, deliveries, and e-commerce.

   
     
Join the Global Zero Waste Cities Summit 2023 on 31 May, 2023

With the first virtual Global Zero Waste Cities Summit just around the corner, it is hard to hide our excitement! Join us online on 31 May, 2023 for a day filled with valuable learnings and opportunities for connection and networking. 


The summit, which is organised by GAIA and Zero Waste Europe, brings together hundreds of municipal officials and waste management implementers from around the world under the overarching theme, ‘Local Leadership for Climate Resilience’. Catering to all time zones, the summit is divided into two tracks: the first takes place between 7-11 GMT (Asia Pacific, Africa and Europe), while the second takes place between 16-20 GMT (Americas).

   
     

Tune in online for our event "What we need to ensure the safety of food packaging" on 5 June, 2023 

This event, hosted in the European Parliament by Malte Gallée, MEP for The Greens/EFA, gathers stakeholders to share their expertise and views on the topic of food packaging safety in light of the ongoing revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).

Join us online on 5 June, 2023 to learn more about the existing concerns about hygiene and harmful chemicals in food packaging, best practices. and how the EU laws – and the PPWR in particular – should work to truly minimise impacts of packaging on consumers health and materials circularity.

   
   
     
Zero Waste Alliance Ukraine: Eco-residents. Adventures of Mariupol residents in Europe 
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine still on-going, some of Zero Waste Alliance Ukraine's (ZWAU) members have been forced to rethink the way they work. In the case of Mariupol, which has been occupied for more than a year, the entire staff of Mariupol Zero Waste (MZW) has been forced to leave their hometown, with some moving to other Ukrainian cities and others living abroad.   

Despite enduring such challenging circumstances, the staff of MZW has perserved and doubled down on the zero waste mission, even setting up the new project Ecoresidents.  Adventures of the people of Mariupol in Europe. With the Ecoresidents project, the staff members of MZW will study and gather data on zero waste practices in their new communties, contributing to the future ecological reconstruction of Ukrainian Mariupol. You read more about their learnings from Luxembourg, Italy, Germany, Georgia and Slovakia right here.
EBM: A less wasteful Europe Day
In Slovenia, our member Ekologi brez meja (EBM) celebrated the country's first zero waste Europe Day on 9 May, 2023. This comes after the European Commission in Slovenia signed a pledge with EBM to organise a 9 May event with less waste. During the celebration, the organisers reached a separate waste collection rate of 94%, with a total of 24.4 kg of waste created (out of which only 1.5 kg was mixed municipal waste).

PSZW: Mapping zero waste businesses in Poland
Our Polish member Polish Zero Waste Association has made a zero waste map, showcasing environmentally friendly businesses that tries to lessen their waste footprint. Created January last year, the map shows more than 4000 zero waste businesses and organisations across the country, ranging from repair and rental initiatives to secondhand shops and zero waste restaurants.
   
   

#MayForMembers

     

This year, we are celebrating #MayForMembers by taking a look back at some the moments we shared with our members during the Network-Wide Gathering in Guimarães, Portugal.

Our Portuguese member ZERO, who played a key role in making everything come together, has written a blog about the gathering; and if you prefer audio-visual content to the written word, our Cypriot member Friends of the Earth Cyprus has created a little video with some of our favorite photos!

   
   

Policy news

     
Impacts of allocation rules on chemical recycling – consequences on the environment and maximum circularity of plastics
Analysis from an environmental perspective of the proposed EU legal framework for pyrolysis and gasification
   

Other highlights

     
The role of Mixed Waste Sorting towards improved circularity of resources by Enzo Favoino
Zero Waste Europe – Annual Report 2022
   
   

Want to collaborate with us?

     

Do you want to collaborate with Zero Waste Europe and its extended network, and contribute to a truly circular economy?

Check out our current opportunities for collaboration:

  • Communications & Network Officer - Zero Waste Europe is looking for a new colleague to join the Communications team. The Communications & Network Officer will work on development and implementation of ZWE's communications activities and strategy, while also being the main Comms representative to our network.
    Deadline: 9 June 2023, 23:59 CET.
  • Business Development Manager - Mission Zero Academy (MiZA) is looking for a new colleague to take care of current and future customers. The Customer Success Manager will responsible for developing processes and systems around the customer service and sales as well as liaise with partners in different parts of Europe.
    Deadline: 28 May 2023, 23:59 CET.
   
     

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.

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