Zero Waste Europe

Communities across Europe keep showing us waste incinerators are neither wanted nor needed 👎 It's time to listen to their stories of courage, determination, and hope as they denounce waste incineration's harmful effects and urge authorities to invest in healthy, circular solutions. Join the ''Better than burning: stories from the ground'' webinar on 2 October 2025 to hear these stories firsthand and: - Connect with grassroots activists driving real change. - Discover how to join the growing movement saying ''NO'' to burning waste. - Uncover the hidden dangers of waste incineration for our health, climate, and communities. Speakers include: - Amélie BOESPFLUG MDPhD of Collectif 3R. - Regina Stoilova of EA "Za Zemiata", Friends of the Earth Bulgaria. - Winnie Oussoren of Milieudefensie Jong (Young Friends of the Earth Netherlands). - Brex Arevalo of GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives). - Maija KRASTINA (moderator) of Zero Waste Latvija. More information and registration: https://lnkd.in/e-M_wTmU

On Tuesday, MEPs adopted the revised Waste Framework Directive, which for the first time ever includes legally binding targets for food waste reduction. If you ask Jack McQuibban, these targets are a pretty big deal. Why? Because they can end up playing a major role in climate change mitigation, particularly EU methane reduction, if prioritised properly at the national level 🌡️🌍 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/evDFnYBW Theresa Mörsen Janek Vähk European Environmental Bureau Deutsche Umwelthilfe Changing Markets Foundation Environmental Investigation Agency Global Methane Hub

EU’s new waste directive sparks debate: progress made, but far from enough to tackle food waste, fast fashion, and climate impact. Zero Waste Europe Read More: https://lnkd.in/gA7zwERa #ZeroWasteEurope #WasteFrameworkDirective #FoodWasteReduction #TextileWaste #CircularEconomy #EUClimateGoals #Sustainability #FastFashionImpact #EPR #ClimateAction

It’s all good and well for a municipality to sort and collect textile waste… but if you don’t sort and collect your waste data, how can you ever hope to improve your system? 🤔🗑️ In this new STICT blog, TEXroad’s Hanna Gavrylova discusses the importance of metrics and data insights in understanding your city’s waste flows and ultimately reducing the amount of textiles discarded. Learn more via the comments ⤵️ Zero Waste Belgium Fair Resource Foundation Ekologi brez meja / Ecologists Without Borders Association Zero Waste Estonia SA

♻️☕Making reusable takeaway cups as easy as bottle returns In Berlin, returning your reusable coffee cup is becoming just as simple as returning a deposit bottle at the supermarket. 🛒 Together with REWE Group, RECUP, Sykell, PROFIMIET GmbH, TOMRA, and Sielaff GmbH & Co. KG Automatenbau Herrieden, Environmental Action Germany (Deutsche Umwelthilfe) has launched a one-year pilot project in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. How it works? ☕ RECUP cups are already available in 80+ HORECA businesses, from major chains like Kamps, Le Crobag, and Burger King, to local favorites like Holzmarktperle and Blumental. 🫴 The cups can now be returned through reverse vending machines at selected Rewe supermarkets. 💧 Returned cups are washed centrally and redistributed to local cafés and restaurants. At Zero Waste Europe, we support this initiative and brought on board several RSVP project partners, Rezero (ES), Circular Economy Portugal, Fair Resource Foundation (NL), and Plastic Change (DK), to share the learnings across Europe. 💡 A small change with a big impact: making reuse the convenient, everyday choice, reducing single-use waste. One cup at a time. The ReuSe Vanguard project published a guide for European cities, governments, and businesses on how to set up and grow reuse systems for takeaway food and drink packaging. Link in the comments below 👇

New #WFD food and textile waste measures miss the mark on aligning with EU climate goals 🎯 Today, MEPs adopted a revision of the Waste Framework Directive, but while we welcome the new measures, there’s still a long way to go: 🍌Food waste targets have finally been introduced, but food manufacturing and processing are being let off the hook with a minimal reduction target of 10%—a disappointing outcome given the reduction potential of the sector. 👗The text still lacks crucial provisions for textile waste, including concrete targets for collection, reuse, and recycling. Read our full reaction in the comments below!

💚 Join the Zero Waste Europe team! We’re looking for a Packaging & Reuse Policy Officer (Maternity Cover, 60%) to support our EU advocacy on the Circular Economy Act, Packaging Rules, and Single-Use Plastics Directive. This Belgium-based hybrid role runs until mid-March 2026. You’ll collaborate with our passionate policy team, the Rethink Plastic Alliance, and external partners, helping shape a circular, waste-free Europe. We’d love to hear from you if you have: 🔸5–7 years of EU waste/environmental policy experience 🔸Strong English skills (other languages a plus) 🔸A proactive, collaborative attitude 📅 Deadline: 14/09/2025 Apply now! 👉 https://zurl.co/hBTIr #hiring #BrusselsJobs

No one knows waste like we do—and soon, you will too 🗑️💡 Every month, we gather the most important news in (zero) waste, from innovative solutions from the ground to the latest developments in EU waste policy—and show you exactly how it all connects. Want to level up your waste game? Subscribe to our newsletter 📨 https://zurl.co/IsqpA

♻️ Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): time for a reboot? The concept of EPR was born in the early 1990s to make producers responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products. But when transposed into EU law, EPR became mainly about financing end-of-life waste management. ✅ Over the past 30 years, EPR schemes have mobilised resources for waste collection and helped build recycling infrastructure, from packaging to batteries, ELVs and WEEE. ⚠️ Yet, decades of implementation also reveal major limitations. 📖 Read more in our report: https://zurl.co/QBDQQ That’s why, together with almost 30 European cities and progressive businesses, we are calling on the European Commission to reform the EPR system under the upcoming EU #CircularEconomyAct. 📜 Check out our manifesto in the comments below and sign it if you’re a city or a business ready to push for real circularity! 👇 #EPRRreform #BreaktheSingleUseBias 🏙️ Cities supporting the call: Ville de Paris, Ville de Bruxelles - Stad Brussel, City of Tallinn, Ville de Bordeaux, Métropole de Lyon, Nantes Métropole, Majetin (CZ), City of Kranj, City Hall of Viladecans, Úľany nad Žitavou (SK) 🏢 Businesses endorsing the manifesto: Capsa21, Carton Vert, circolution GmbH, ConsomAction, cupstack, Dutch Cups B.V., ECO Bihor, ETERNITY SYSTEMS, NewLoop, Opopop colis, RePack , Recirculate Systems Limited, Vytal Global, RECUP, ECOGESTUS Lda Rudolf Frýželka | Antonin Grêlé-Rouveyre | Alasdair Hood | Alessandro Marchiaro | Sylvie Droulans | Teresa Ribera | Jessika Roswall | EU Environment and Climate

Methane 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 for climate change mitigation 🌬️🌡️🌍 CH4, or methane, is responsible for a third of global warming to date, and with more than half of emissions being caused by human activities, it’s not irrelevant how we tackle it. On 15 October 2025, the #MethaneMatters Coalition will host its second annual conference in Brussels. Join us in person or online for high-level discussions on EU methane reduction and thematic breakouts on how we might reduce CH4 in waste, energy, and agriculture. Register via the link below 👇