Strategic research and innovation agenda on circular economy

CICERONE aims to bring national, regional and local governments together to jointly tackle the circular economy transition needed to reach net-zero carbon emissions and meet the targets set in the Paris Agreement and EU Green Deal. This document represents one of the key outcomes of the project: a Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for Europe, to support owners and funders of circular economy programmes in aligning priorities and approaching the circular economy transition in a systemic way

Increasing re-use of construction and demolition materials and products - Measures for prevention of waste at Swedish recycling centres

The study presents a range of challenges to increasing re-use. Low interest and the lack of habit among the potential clients is one of the most important challenges for reuse at a larger scale. Reuse is also often inhibited by limitations such as quantity, quality and higher costs. Limitations such as high costs of storage, improper handling during storage and the potential risks of undesirable or hazardous substances entering the reuse stream are also inhibiting reuse. There is a considerable lack of information on regulations regarding the reverse logistics and handling of reusable C&D flows. Lack of information, knowledge and awareness throughout the value chain were also often named as one of the main barriers. The study presents cases which are seemingly addressing several of the above-mentioned challenges. The case examples detail how municipalities could build or facilitate cooperation across the C&D value chain. For instance, some simple screening tools, such as the “Material Atlas” could improve the information regarding material safety and several environment issues of reusable materials. The “re-purposing” concept might be useful to overcome challenges related product and material diversity. Information platforms, such as “Digital marketplace” and/or “Sharing platform” can reduce the transaction costs in reverse logistic chains.Den här genomförbarhetsstudien har syftet att kartlägga och systematisera föreskriftande tekniska- och ekonomiska aspekter som är viktiga för återanvändning av bygg- och rivningsavfall. Studien fokuserar främst på material som finns tillgängliga på återvinningscentraler (före och efter det kommer till återvinningscentraler) huvudsakligen från hushållens renovering. Information för studien insamlades främst genom undersökningar, intervjuer, litteratur och observationer på plats vid återvinningscentraler. Den här rapporten finns endast på engelska. Svensk sammanfattning finns i rapporten

E-avfall och råmaterial: från miljöfrågor till affärsmodeller

Denna bok är resultatet av EU-projektet E-mining@schools, som samfinansieras av ett internationellt konsortium bestående av EIT RAW Materials i samarbete med elva internationella partners. Målet är att öka kunskapen och medvetenheten hos skolelever om miljömässiga och etiska överväganden och affärsmöjligheter relaterade till e-avfall och dess livscykel. En digital utbildningsplattform underlättar undervisningen i klassen. Publikationen riktar sig till gymnasieskolan, yrkesskolor och samhället i stort samt innehåller läromedel för lärare om ämnet elektrisk och elektronisk avfallsutrustning (WEEE)1 , råvaror och deras livscykler och deras betydelse för hållbarhetsmålen. Boken introducerar och förklarar på ett populärvetenskapligt sätt olika begrepp, som kritiska material, cirkulär ekonomi och de sociala och miljömässiga aspekterna av e-avfall. Särskilt fokus läggs på kritiska material och urban gruvdrift.Publikationen innehåller läromedel för lärare om ämnet elektrisk och elektronisk avfallsutrustning, råvaror och deras livscykler och deras betydelse för hållbarhetsmålen. Boken introducerar och förklarar på ett populärvetenskapligt sätt olika begrepp, som kritiska material, cirkulär ekonomi och de sociala och miljömässiga aspekterna av e-avfall

E-waste and raw materials: from environmental issues to business models

The book is the result of the EU project E-mining@schools, which is co-funded by an international consortium consisting of EIT RAW Materials in collaboration with eleven international partners. The aim is to raise knowledge and awareness among students regarding the environmental and ethical considerations and business opportunities related to e-waste and its lifecycle. The publication targets lower/upper secondary and vocational schools and the society at large. The book provides teaching materials for teachers on the topic of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE), raw materials and their life cycle and their importance for sustainability objectives. The book introduces and explains in a popular science manner different concepts, such as critical materials, circular economy and the social and environmental aspects of e-waste. Special focus is placed on critical raw materials and urban mining.Den här rapporten finns även på svenska, rapport nummer B2355-S

Reusability and the potential environmental impact of small electronics - Literature review and discussion

Unused electronics kept in stocks represent a delayed or lost opportunity for reuse or remanufacturing. The reuse potential depends on the remaining physical durability and perceived or factual technological obsolescence. The greatest potential for reuse is when the products are still within their designed lifetimes, thus products should be sent to second life as soon as they are no longer in use. An extension of lifetimes of small electronics through domestic reuse could bring clear environmental (especially climate) benefits in comparison to recycling, incineration, or stockpiling.  About 8,000 t of small electronics annually enter incineration together with mixed household waste. Environmental and economic benefits could be attained if a more effective waste management system would divert WEEE flows towards material recycling and especially - reuse. The magnitude and nature of the benefits depend on the quantity of collected electronics, composition, and the effectiveness and the efficiency of sorting and recycling.  Drawing definite conclusions about the impacts of increased collection and current recycling vs keeping WEEE in stocks is difficult as it depends on future households’ behaviour, the efficiency of e-waste management as well strategies governing re-valorisation of WEEE.This study is part of a short assignment as a part of investigation of a possible deposit-return system for small electronics in Sweden. The study aims to explore the potential of reuse of small electronics kept in stocks by households; the environmental impacts/benefits of increased recycling and reuse. The research is mainly based on the literature review which was complemented with some estimates of e-waste shares in mixed household waste and the potential economic value of metals present in electronics. </p

Does food sorting prevents and improves sorting of household waste? A case in Sweden

This paper analyses household behaviour as response to changes in waste management systems. The paper discusses the results of a case study from Vellinge municipality (Sweden), where the introduction of separate food waste collection is thought to have a role in reducing the total amount of household waste and improving the sorting of packaging waste. The study relies on data from official waste statistics and a survey of 117 municipal residents focusing on households' perceptions, attitudes and self-reflected changes in waste sorting behaviour. The respondents mentioned the increased environmental awareness and the convenience of food waste sorting among the primary reasons for the perceived changes in personal waste sorting routines. The study also tested the significance of other variables, such as income, employment, economic activity, socio-demographics, infrastructure, waste tariffs, illegal dumping, and awareness raising campaigns. Most of the variables were static and none showed sufficient correlation to the observed reduction of waste collection rates and the improvements in sorting other waste fractions. The analysed case had particularly high income levels, which were the main dynamic variable under study. The analysis suggests that we may be observing an example of a decoupling between economic growth and waste generation rates. This observation is explained by the Kuznets phenomena and it is being discussed in this paper

Behavioral spillovers from food-waste collection in Swedish municipalities

We estimate behavioral spillovers from environmental policy within the context of a natural experiment on food waste in Sweden. Exploiting the staggered implementation of food-waste collection across Swedish municipalities, we use a difference-in-difference design to measure the causal effect of introducing such collection on another pro-environmental behavior, namely the sorting of packaging waste. Results suggest a positive spillover effect on packaging waste which corresponds to 5–10% of the population average and rises gradually over time, possibly due to slow implementation of food-waste collection in many municipalities. These estimates are unconfounded with a number of shifts in the waste-related incentives facing households, e.g. introduction of curbside collection of packaging waste from single-family homes. Although we are unable to directly account for all such factors, indirect robustness tests provide no compelling evidence that estimated spillovers are spurious

Circular management of excavation materials : Environmental benefit or environmental impact?

Syftet med studien är att öka medvetenheten om schaktmassor och framhäva potentialen för ökad klimat- och miljönytta genom en mer cirkulär användning samt en mer resurseffektiv och hållbar hantering. Rapporten beskriver den nuvarande situationen för hantering av schaktmassor och den motsvarande jungfruliga produktionen, samt vanligt förekommande begrepp i Sverige.  Utvärderingen av återvinning av schaktmassor innefattar både kvantitativa och kvalitativa bedömningar jämfört med deponering eller jungfrulig produktion. Klimataspekterna utvärderas kvantitativt genom att mäta CO2e-utsläpp per ton av schaktmassor i olika scenarier. Andra miljöaspekter belyses kvalitativt genom litteraturanalys där återvinning jämförs övergripande med deponering och ny produktion.The purpose of the study was to raise awareness about excavated materials and highlight the potential for increased climate and environmental benefits through a more circular, resource-efficient and sustainable management. The report describes the current situation in Sweden regarding the management of excavated materials and the corresponding virgin production, as well as common terms used. The evaluation of excavated material recycling includes both quantitative and qualitative assessments compared to landfilling or virgin production. Climate aspects are quantitatively evaluated by measuring CO2e emissions per ton of waste in different scenarios. Other environmental aspects are qualitatively addressed through literature analysis, where recycling is compared overall to landfilling and new production

Circular management of excavation materials : Environmental benefit or environmental impact?

Syftet med studien är att öka medvetenheten om schaktmassor och framhäva potentialen för ökad klimat- och miljönytta genom en mer cirkulär användning samt en mer resurseffektiv och hållbar hantering. Rapporten beskriver den nuvarande situationen för hantering av schaktmassor och den motsvarande jungfruliga produktionen, samt vanligt förekommande begrepp i Sverige.  Utvärderingen av återvinning av schaktmassor innefattar både kvantitativa och kvalitativa bedömningar jämfört med deponering eller jungfrulig produktion. Klimataspekterna utvärderas kvantitativt genom att mäta CO2e-utsläpp per ton av schaktmassor i olika scenarier. Andra miljöaspekter belyses kvalitativt genom litteraturanalys där återvinning jämförs övergripande med deponering och ny produktion.The purpose of the study was to raise awareness about excavated materials and highlight the potential for increased climate and environmental benefits through a more circular, resource-efficient and sustainable management. The report describes the current situation in Sweden regarding the management of excavated materials and the corresponding virgin production, as well as common terms used. The evaluation of excavated material recycling includes both quantitative and qualitative assessments compared to landfilling or virgin production. Climate aspects are quantitatively evaluated by measuring CO2e emissions per ton of waste in different scenarios. Other environmental aspects are qualitatively addressed through literature analysis, where recycling is compared overall to landfilling and new production