Brussels to present circular economy plans in bid to reduce waste

The European Fee will lay out its plans on Wednesday for the EU’s transition to a extra round economic system because it makes an attempt to maneuver away from unneccesary waste and in the direction of long-term sustainability.

Brussels says it is without doubt one of the principal components of its objective in reaching the bloc’s 2050 local weather neutrality goal in addition to halting biodiversity loss.

One organisation in Belgium, La Tournevie, which has created a device library, is already forward of the curve.

This round economic system venture lends instruments to residents as a solution to cut back the shopping for of latest ones and promote reusing and repairing.

In keeping with Olivier Beys from La Tournevie, the concept is targeted on offering prime quality instruments to individuals, in order that they keep away from shopping for low-cost and poor high quality stuff which may by no means be used once more.

“So principally, our huge concept, which exists for a very long time, is to simply share the instruments and share the associated fee with a lot of individuals on this case, 4 or 5 hundred individuals,” Beys instructed Euronews. “And that that allowed us to cater to everybody’s wants whereas additionally stimulating a restore economic system, stimulating firms who make prime quality instruments somewhat than stimulating those who create poor high quality.

“In order that was form of the concept and to make it accessible for everybody and never only a small group of individuals with some huge cash.”

The venture began in 2015 and at the moment has greater than 400 subscribers that pay €40 per yr to take the instruments dwelling as many instances as they need.

There are instruments for working with wooden, steel and even welding — simply a number of the issues that may be borrowed on this Brussels device library.

Serving to the atmosphere is without doubt one of the apparent advantages to this method, however not the one one, as Jean-Pierre Schweitzer from the European Environmental Bureau explains.

He says Europe is coming into an age of uncertainty and threat, and a extra round economic system will help to keep away from any potential disruption.

“Having the chance to restore and make the merchandise — the products we already personal — last more is a crucial query for resilience, in fact, as a result of in case you can entry spare components domestically somewhat than having to import them from the opposite aspect of the globe, which means at an area scale the place you will have extra management of your provide chain, you could be extra resilient,” Schweitzer instructed Euronews. “So, that is undoubtedly one other profit from the round economic system”.

The European Fee can also be engaged on find out how to implement a round economic system within the textile and building sectors.