19 July 2019               COLLECTORS Newsletter #3

HIGHLIGHT

An exciting time for COLLECTORS 

The last half year has been a very happening period for COLLECTORS and the Consortium of partners involved in it. Having completed the first out of three phases of the project in early 2019 — the one focused on inventorying waste data — the Consortium made public two important deliverables in June. The first was a waste platform containing information about almost 242 waste collection systems from 24 countries (see below). The second was a library containing the data sources that the partners consulted while doing research for the web platform.  

The second phase of the project, which assesses the performance of waste collection systems through case studies, is already well underway. Twelve case studies are currently being analysed from an economic, environmental, societal acceptance and value chain perspective . Some preliminary results of the analyses were already presented at the COLLECTORS conference in Warsaw on 26 June. 

Not only that, but the partners are currently preparing to launch the third  (implementation) phase during autumn in order to translate the knowledge and information accumulated thus far into policy recommendations, guidelines and capacity building materials. Two upcoming meetings in Thessaloniki and Brussels will further cement the transition from theory to practice.

Through it all, the COLLECTORS Consortium has made it a point to maintain open and ongoing communication with its stakeholders in order to publicise its work and receive outside input on it. The main communications opportunity in the last six months was the project's public conference in Warsaw on 26 June. But the Consortium has also participated in important European events like the EU Green Week and the Raw Materials Summit 2019.

 

NEWS ABOUT THE PROJECT

New web platform and waste library are now online!

June 2019 marked the culmination of months of work that the partners in the COLLECTORS Consortium had invested in gathering information and inventorying data about waste collection systems. The result of these efforts was the launch of the COLLECTORS web platform, a compilation of factsheets about 242 collection systems for paper and packaging waste, WEEE and construction and demolition waste, as well as the publication of a waste library.

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Societal acceptance of waste collection in focus at COLLECTORS conference in Warsaw

On 26 June 2019, COLLECTORS, together with the City of Warsaw, co-organised a public conference on the topic of public participation in and social acceptance of new waste collection systems. The event was open to the public and fully booked, gathering almost 120 representatives of different European regions and cities, along with Polish municipalities and waste experts.  

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Parallel master classes at Warsaw conference shed light on separate collection of PPW, WEEE

The attendees at the COLLECTORS conference in Warsaw on 26 June also had the opportunity to participate in two master classes that focused on the importance of separate waste collection for two main fractions: paper and packaging waste (PPW) and WEEE. 

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COLLECTORS partners discuss multi-criteria decision making at Regional Working Group meeting

On 25 June, the day before the Warsaw conference, the COLLECTORS project partners gathered in the Polish capital to take part in a decision-making exercise under the umbrella of the Regional Working Group (RWG). They were also joined by nine experts representing different European regions.

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NEWS FROM THE PARTNERS

ACR+ marks 25th anniversary with announcement of carbon campaign launch

Over 60 representatives of ACR+ and its member institutions gathered at Dublin's historical Smock Alley Theatre on 13 June for the annual ACR+ General Assembly, the organisation has announced in a press release. The event kicked off the celebrations for its 25th anniversary with the announcement of a carbon campaign aimed at helping participants reduce their CO2 emissions across the entire lifecycle of products.

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Mark your calendars for the second International Electronic Waste Day on 14 October

After a successful first edition on October 13, 2018, WEEE Forum will organise the second iteration of the International E-Waste Day (IEWD), the organisation announced earlier this year. In 2019, the event will be celebrated on Monday, 14 October. 

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Telaketju project reveals promising market potential for circular textiles in Finland

COLLECTORS project partner VTT, together with five other Finnish collaborators, have completed the first phase of the Telaketju project, according to a press release published on 15 May. Launched in 2017, the project focuses on creating a business value chain related to the recycling, sorting and use of end-of-life textiles in Finland. 

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Ramboll to support Indonesia with waste management systems on several islands

Ramboll will be assisting the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (DEPA) and the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) in rolling out the Sustainable Islands Initiative (SII), a solid waste management project based in Indonesia, the consultancy announced in a press release published on 12 June 2019. The project is the result of a cooperation between the Indonesian environment ministry, DEA and DEPA.

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OTHER NEWS

EU to ban single-use plastics

The EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive (Directive 2019/904), which came into force on 2 July 2019, represents a milestone in the bloc’s efforts to contain the generation of plastic waste by forcing member states to prioritise non-toxic reusable products and reuse systems. The Directive enriches the EU’s plastics strategy, which was already one of the most stringent in the world, placing the bloc at the vanguard of the fight against single-use products.

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Circular economy a centrepiece of Finland's presidency of the EU Council

Finland took over the rotating presidency of the EU Council on 1 July 2019 with an ambitious agenda in which climate action will play a central role. During the six months it will spend at the helm of the institution, Helsinki will work to integrate the circular economy into the next Commission’s work programme, as well as to encourage member states to reach a consensus on key topics related to the circular economy, it has announced.  

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Waste sorting robots gain traction as countries strive to develop local recycling

As more and more countries scramble to set up their own recycling industries following China’s ban on imports of low-quality recyclables, the popularity of waste sorting robots has been on the rise. In recent months, reports about a flurry of such robots developed both by commercial companies and by research institutes have emerged, pointing to a growing interest in automating the task of waste sorting. 

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OUR LATEST PUBLICATION

Analysis of boundary conditions for waste collection systems

This report seeks to identify boundary conditions for waste collection system to positively contribute to the circular economy, for example by producing sufficient quantities of sorted materials available for high-quality recycling. It focuses on the three waste fractions covered by the project: paper and packaging waste (PPW), WEEE and construction and demolition waste (CDW). 

Read the report

 

MEET THE PARTNERS

 

UPCOMING EVENTs

The fourth COLLECTORS public conference in Thessaloniki
11 December 2019
Thessaloniki, Greece

European Union logo This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 776745.
The sole responsibility of this publication lies with the author. The European Union is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
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