@zerowasteeurope.eu
Empowering communities and change agents to redesign their relationship with resources: nothing and no one is disposable. www.zerowasteeurope.eu Sign up to our newsletters: https://zfrmz.eu/XiWd2nOYCk4EX2psvM2e
For comms, the needs of the audience must be no. 1️⃣ – and no matter who you’re trying to communicate to, they’re people first.
ZWE's Head of Comms, @anaoliveira0519.bsky.social, sums it up: people connect with people, and a story always sticks with you more than any number could.
zurl.co/DtDUo
Today and tomorrow, participants will see these systems first-hand, hear from the people making it happen, and leave with a concrete blueprint for bringing reuse to their own cities.
How do we make reuse the norm again in Europe? Check out the ReuSe Vanguard Project (RSVP)👉
zurl.co/WlvfC
The numbers speak for themselves:
🥤 500B single-use cups disposed of globally every year, with 30–50% of urban litter budgets spent managing single-use waste
♻️ 1.5M reusable cups already returned in Aarhus since 2024
Denmark isn't just talking about reuse, it's doing it at city scale.
From Lisbon to Ljubljana, 50 city officials, policymakers, & reuse pioneers are in DK today, and we couldn't be more excited 🦢
Together with Aarhus and Copenhagen, and with the support of TOMRA, New Loop and Mission Zero Academy, we’re kicking off a 2-day study tour on scaling urban reuse systems.
What if Europe had a ‘’transition to circularity’’ fund?
The Circular Economy Act can introduce this temporary measure to help circular businesses expand. Extended Producer Responsibility schemes must finance their fair share of this transition.
EPR for waste reduction proposal: zurl.co/4o1dA
The data is in, and it's clear that reuse is the future of European packaging. 📈
Based on data from 115 companies, the Reuse Barometer report remains the most detailed look at how the transition from single-use to circularity is doing on the ground.
Revisit the full Barometer 👇
📣Last chance to apply for our Head of Operations (maternity leave cover) position!
If you would like to lead our human resources, financial, legal, and organisational development, make sure you apply before 1 March: zerowasteeurope.eu/join-us/work...
🚨We are constantly exposed to toxic chemicals, and most of the time, we have no idea it’s even happening.
Thankfully, the Circular Economy Act can prioritise toxic-chemical policy, and ensure the health and wellbeing of every European citizen is protected.
Find out more here 👉 zurl.co/gS3pi
Over 40 zero waste practitioners from 18 countries gathered for the GLOW Network meeting in the Philippines to share strategies and a common vision around environmental justice.
On this World Day of Social Justice, our colleague Manon Jourdan shares lessons from the meeting: zurl.co/qwplX
Petrochemical industry talking points are being echoed at the highest levels of EU decision-making.
So we asked: who’s really influencing EU policy?
We compared petrochemical lobby demands and @ec.europa.eu rhetoric—and the overlaps are striking.
Check out the matches ⬇️ [1/1]
Our new study with the #MethaneMatters Coalition examines the full extent of O3 pollution in Europe, as well as one of its main drivers: methane emissions from waste, energy, and agriculture.
Explore the full report: zurl.co/Ny2M1
Check out the interactive map: zurl.co/lgm7r
No one is dreaming of a future where the crops are dying, and the air you breathe can shorten your life 🏜️
But right now, pollution from ground-level ozone (O3) is doing exactly that - and it's rising.
[1/2] 🧵
How can the EU Circular Economy Act help us prevent waste instead of only improving recycling? 💡
👉 Check how this would work on the infographic below, and read the full ZWE policy brief: zurl.co/071hn
𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 - 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿, 6 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀)
Candidates must:
- Be able to start working by no later than 30 March.
- Already have a valid work permit for Belgium.
Applications reviewed on a rolling basis.
Apply on the ZWE website before 1 March 2026: zerowasteeurope.eu/join-us/work...
We want to know what you think of our work and how we communicate.
👉 Fill in our 2026 Audience Survey via the QR code below or zfrmz.eu/BTrsdlK5SpNd...
🔣 Survey in EN with translations available in ES, FR, DE, NL, PT, IT, GR, BG - Click on the translate button on the top right of the survey page.
If you were to design a Deposit Return System (DRS) for the Global South, how would you do it?
This question guided the @globaldrsplatform.bsky.social workshop in the Philippines on 1-4 Feb to develop a plan for a nationwide DRS system.
More on @jmsimonl.bsky.social blog: zurl.co/N4JL3
Such a trading scheme would:
👤 Be applied on a per-capita basis
🔥 Cover both landfill and incineration
🪨 Exclude major mineral and combustion wastes
♻️ Complement the EU ETS and ensure that policy actively supports prevention and the CE
Read the full report: zurl.co/wJid7
There is finally a way to unlock the EU’s waste targets … 📈
A cap-and-trade system for residuals 🌟
Current legislation shifts residuals from one disposal method to another, but by imposing a binding limit on total residuals, MS would finally have a strong incentive to prevent, reuse, and recycle.
Having an impactful EPR for food products equals:
- Implementation with a clear scope.
- Set targets for the volume of bio-waste found in residual (mixed) waste.
- Mandate immediate EPRFP implementation.
- Establish a strong EPRFP legal and governance framework.
Our recommendations: zurl.co/5GwFJ
We echo the words of our wider movement, @gaiazerowaste.bsky.social, in asking for a cessation of ICE- and US CBP-led violence.
How do we build and sustain resilient alliances and movements?
Last October organisations, alliances and cities from around the world gathered in Brussels to share knowledge, build connections, and strengthen collaboration on organics and movement building.
🎥 Watch the highlights: zurl.co/u98EV
Tell us what you think of us and what you want to see more of in our 2026 ZWE survey.
What are we doing well?
What can we do better?
The survey is only as long as your own engagement with ZWE :)
Fill it in using the QR code on the visual or lnkd.in/euFcV-km
Thank you. ❤️
Why should we have an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for food products?
Why is the EU Circular Economy Act the perfect opportunity to mandate it and implement it?
ZWE has just published its ‘’Extended Producer Responsibility for Food products - policy recommendations’’: zurl.co/5GwFJ
🤔 What does it really take to make bio-waste systems work at the local level?
📍 From Bulgaria, France, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, to Ukraine, these stories show what’s possible when communities are empowered and the right systems are in place 👉 zurl.co/bZdGP
The EU aims to scale up waste-derived materials to boost the #CircularEconomy♻️
But @ec.europa.eu’s End of #Waste proposal for recycled #plastics has major gaps, especially on chemicals, risking circularity and safety🧐
Our recommendations with @rethinkplastic.bsky.social:
👉 eeb.org/en/library/e...
Together w/ @rethinkplastic.bsky.social, we had a great exchange w/ @jessikaroswall.ec.europa.eu, w/ Aline Maigret representing ZWE, to discuss the Winter Package, the Circular Economy Act, and PPWR implementation.
Here's to continued dialogue for EU policy to deliver a truly circular economy!
How can we include the waste sector, especially incineration, under carbon pricing without passing the costs on to citizens?
Join the be Waste Wise webinar on 12 Feb to discuss how carbon pricing can drive climate action and and ensure a fair transition for all.
Click on the link to register⬇️
How did this change happen – and what can we do to scale and replicate it?
Check out the lessons learned in our latest case study and factsheet on the bio-waste success story of Montenegro:
Case study 🍌 zurl.co/9ByqM
Factsheet 🍃 zurl.co/Iy1Ba
Through the tireless work of Zero Waste Montenegro with support from #ForktoFarm, decentralised, community-centred pilots have cropped up across MNE. Today, more than 700 households across 4 municipalities practise composting or separate collection, collecting more than 100t of bio-waste per year!
It’s wild to think that in 2023, Montenegro 🇲🇪 barely had any infrastructure supporting separate collection and/or recycling of organics (counting a single composting facility for green waste in the whole country) 😰
2 years later, the picture looks vastly different.
