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The summary notes of a practitioners’ exchange about digital circular solutions and a mapping of digital solutions within the PREVENT Waste Alliance has been published!

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Congratulations to the new PREVENT Steering Committee!

Read the recently published report on “Achieving more circularity in the future global plastics agreement: Common criteria to improve packaging design“.

Wastiepedia – Self-study course on circular economy and waste management launched by the German-MENA University Network!

We started 2023 with an exciting leadership training for multipliers!

We are truly honoured to have worked with an amazing group of 15 circular economy changemakers from Argentina, Mexico, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Nepal, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Georgia, Greece, UK, Austria and Germany.

The training took place at Circular Valley in Wuppertal, Germany.

We are proud to present to you valuable insights from The Single-Use Plastics (SUP) Challenge, supported by the PREVENT Waste Alliance and ECCA Family Foundation and run by The Incubation Network!

There is a strong need to improve the trade flows of used goods, recyclables and waste to increase environmental sustainability. Customs authorities have an important role to play.

Therefore, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH commissioned an analysis on respective capacity building needs. The assessment focuses on one sector, plastics, and explores two country cases, Ghana and Tunisia.

How can we tackle the urgent issue of reducing plastic waste in Indonesia? More than 80 participants joined in to respond to this question and attended the Stakeholder Dialogue and Technical Exchange on Circular Solutions for Indonesia in Jakarta.

76 startups have joined The Single-Use Plastics (SUP) Challenge supported by the PREVENT Waste Alliance and conducted by The Incubation Network, with eight entrepreneur support organisations (ESOs) across India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam! They will be piloting solutions with over 50 F&B partners to reduce plastic waste and the single-use plastics in the industry.

In winter, the best startups with ideas for a circular economy will meet in Circular Valley®. Young companies that want to be part of the accelerator in Germany’s Rhine-Ruhr region can apply now.

The first report from the pilot project “Guideline for organic waste treatment in East Africa” by the PREVENT Waste Alliance is now publicly available. The status-quo report poses a legal, technical and economic guideline for dealing with organic waste as a basic strategy for politics, administration, research and the private sector for East African countries using the example of Ethiopia.

The Rethinking Plastics project has published a new report titled “Experiences with implementing the EU Directive on Single-Use Plastics” on the experiences of three EU Member States: Sweden, Germany and Greece. Download the report here. It describes in detail the content of the Directive, how it was elaborated and summarises how each of the case studies handled the transposition of the Directive so far. It also analyses success factors and briefly discusses remaining challenges.

What is necessary for a complete and rapid system change? Which technologies, innovations and government regulations bring which results? How do we need to link them together? And what are the priorities? The Röchling Foundation and WIDER SENSE invite you to join the POLYPROBLEM stakeholder dialogue in Cologne on 09 September 2022.

Due to an increased need for sparring and peer-to-peer learning on the set-up of EPR systems, PREVENT organised two sparring sessions on the topic of EPR for packaging in Argentina in the beginning of August. PREVENT members and partners came together to discuss questions like: Are voluntary PROs (Producer Responsibility Organizations) a good idea when there are no packaging waste regulations?

Is your social business in the areas of sustainable tourism and mobility in East Africa? Are you struggling to transition to a circular economy and with communication both your environmental and social impacts to communities and partners? If this is you, Yunus Environment Hub encourages you to apply for the GrowUp Incubator Circular Impact cohort that is now open for applications.

The new discussion paper “Corporate Plastic Waste Disclosures: Towards a Universally Accepted Framework” developed within the PREVENT sub-working group on Plastic Accounting (Corporate Stream) summarises the existing frameworks for corporate plastic waste disclosures and provides recommendations for their improvement.

Change-makers who are driving the transition to a circular economy are working in a highly disruptive environment. We know that business as usual will not lead to a sustainable future, that we need unprecedented, systemic solutions that support a social and environmental transformation.

In this context, many leaders are asking themselves how they can lead themselves, their teams and their organisations, and how they can drive social change.

We would like to thank all speakers and participants who attended our Circular Solutions Festival from 12 to 14 September 2022!

On 1 June, the EU-German Government funded ‘Rethinking Plastics – Circular Economy Solutions to Marine Litter’ project will kick-off its ‘Wasteless Wednesdays’ online knowledge-sharing series.

Plastic credits are one part of the solution to tackle the plastic waste crisis – this is the message of the group of plastic credit voluntary standard setters who are active in the PREVENT Waste Alliance. In view of the current preparations for the upcoming UNEA Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Ending Plastic Pollution, the group for the first time has developed a joint position.

It is time for international trade and business practices to move beyond extractive linear economic models and to reconnect resource use with social and environmental well-being. With a recent Call for Action an international group of experts propose solutions to overcome structural barriers and accelerate the circular economy transition.

In The SUP Challenge from the PREVENT Waste Alliance innovation programme “Innovate and PREVENT” several Entrepreneur Support Organisations (ESOs) will support start-ups in tackling single-use plastics in the F&B industry in South and Southeast Asia.

In Vietnam, the ESO “Schoolab” partners with the Incubation Network and CL2B, with funding supported by the PREVENT Waste Alliance, to initiate The SUP Challenge Programme – an acceleration program to support and pilot local initiatives focusing on reducing or avoiding single-use plastics in the Vietnam F&B industry. Schoolab welcomes startups, SMEs, NGOs and teams of students that are based in Vietnam and currently working on products, services towards refill, reuse and/or plastic material alternatives, to join us to tackle this challenge!

The lecture series of the German-MENA university network does not only cover the theory behind waste management but also includes experience reports from GIZ and German communities. Don’t miss the opportunity to discuss waste management with them on May 12th and May 19th.

As part of our The SUP Challenge eight Entrepreneur Support Organisations (ESOs) will accelerate startups in South and Southeast Asia to pilot their solutions with the F&B industry to reduce single-use plastic waste. Applications are now open!

Today we are happy to publish a new discussion paper developed by the PREVENT-StEP joint Working Group called Practical Experiences with the Basel Convention: Challenges, Good Practice and Ways to Improve Transboundary Movements of E-Waste in Low and Middle Income countries. Over the last year, the working group has collected experiences from low and middle income countries on exporting e-waste or fractions thereof to environmentally sound recycling facilities abroad according to the Basel Convention. This paper aims to provide a constructive input to the discussion around the continued implementation of the Basel Convention and its processes worldwide.

In April the ReduCE-Waste pilot project by the PREVENT Waste Alliance met with Tanzanian stakeholders in order to undertake first steps towards a national implementation plan of the Basel Convention in the country.

How do we treat waste? And how can we implement the 3Rs? The German-MENA University Network – a pilot project supported by the PREVENT Waste Alliance, tackles these kinds of questions in their lecture series. And the best part? – Everyone is invited!

The BE.Innovative contest on behaviour-centred design, which is part of the Innovate & PREVENT programme, has entered the next phase. All selected finalists have started working on their behaviour-centred solutions for waste prevention.

Entreamigos delivered the first Credits from the PREVENT pilot project on Plastic Credits to waste collectors in Mexico. The Credits stand for fair remuneration of the collectors which pays them for the environmental service that they are doing

Are you an NGO or private company that wants to start an innovative project to promote the reuse, refurbishment and repair (RRR) of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) in low- and middle-income countries? This is your chance!

Apply for the RRR Accelerator to get access to funding between €10,000 and €20,000 as well as tailored non-financial support in the preparation and implementation of your project idea! The RRR Accelerator is looking for innovative projects that support RRR which can be implemented in a five-month period between May and September 2022.

Delterra and The Circulate Initiative recently released a thought-provoking report exploring how investing in behaviour change could pay for itself in recycling outcomes – Making ‘Cents’ Of Recycling Behavior: The Return On Investment Of Spreading The Recycling Habit.

The social German-Kenyan start-up Smart Wood Solution has launched a crowdinvesting campaign and offers investors an attractive opportunity to realize social and environmental impact with their investment.

Ghanaian company Akwaaba Feeds, producer of sustainable and locally sourced animal feed, is adopting a circular economy approach. Main ingredient for their animal feed is the larvae of the black soldier fly, which are cultured on the bio-waste of leftover food. The remains are used as natural fertilizers. The company is now seeking investment via the crowdinvesting platform frankly.green.

On 24-25 November 2021, the Academy of Managers for Construction and Cities (AMC) under the Vietnamese Ministry of Construction and Expertise France organised the Training of Trainers course on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging with around 60 participants online and in-person. The course was part of a series of similar training workshops that will be organised in the coming time.

Are you interested in behaviour-centred design strategies? Join our new innovation programme to get the opportunity to learn new skills, receive coaching as well as funding to develop and launch your behavioural solutions!

We look back on a wonderful general assembly last week! Together with many PREVENT members, we embarked on a digital journey, visited different thematic worlds and travelled back in time and into the future of PREVENT.

In November, a second in-person meeting of PREVENT Waste Alliance members took place at the E-Waste World Conference and Expo.

The discussion paper “Plastic credit schemes and EPR – risks and opportunities” outlines necessary quality requirements and standards to ensure that plastic credit schemes lead to more circularity and do not undermine incentives for EPR and waste prevention. It was developed within the PREVENT Waste Alliance sub-working group on Plastic Credits.

In November 2021 at the Plastic Free World Conference in Cologne, Germany, the PREVENT Waste Alliance facilitated a panel debate discussing the risks and opportunities of plastic credits with the Yunus Environment Hub, Rodiek & Co Gmb/Nehlsen AG, BVRio and the Wuppertal Institute. Further opportunities to get insights into the work of PREVENT were offered at an exhibition booth, during a panel discussion on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and at a members’ meeting.

Circular economy (CE) presents a meaningful lever to close the emissions gap. A new study published by GIZ on behalf of BMZ provides a practical guide on designing & implementing ambitious climate action by including CE in NDCs and long-term strategies.

PREVENT members Help, Rodiek-Nehlsen Group and “the fortunate planet” launched the “TFP – The Fortunate Planet” app in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia on 30 October 2021 to improve waste management and increase the recycling rate of the waste, supported by the PREVENT Waste Alliance.

The German-Mena University Network has started its second lecture series. Students from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco will be participating to interdisciplinary lectures about waste management and circular economy. Next to the universities of Rostock, Hamburg and Dresden external lecturers from the companies Ramboll, Expra, Black Forest Solutions, INFA GmbH and BN Umwelt GmbH will be presenting.

TONTOTON opens a plastic collection center in Cambodia and allows the local community to take charge of their clean environment while earning extra income. The integration of vulnerable coastal communities in cleanup activities creates a complete environmental and social cycle of preventing, collecting, and treating plastic waste.

MMD, the leading display specialist and brand license partner for Philips monitors, announced their collaboration with Closing the Loop and TCO Development in the PREVENT pilot project in Nigeria to sustainably reduce monitor waste.

New guidelines on best practices for credit systems related to the circular economy are now available in the Circular Action Hub.

Reuse instead of waste, recycle instead of incinerate: in the future, the Jokey Group and WWF Germany would like to jointly promote a functioning circular economy for plastic packaging.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and PREVENT Waste Alliance hosted a WCEF 2021 side event on Tuesday the 21st of September – moderated by Anni Schleicher, Deputy Editor at PackagingInsights, and with opening remarks by Christina Laun from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. More than 160 people followed the online debate.

The CAP-SEA project, which stands for Collaborative Action for Single-Use Plastic Prevention in Southeast Asia, has recently published three new papers. Thematically, the publications range from “design-for-recycling (D4R)”, through “recycled content in plastic material” to “considerations for packaging classification” and can serve as helpful working materials.

ValuCred publishes the report “Plastic Credits – Friend or Foe? Retrospective of recent market dynamics” as one of the first milestones of the PREVENT pilot project team working on an inclusive and transparent circular economy model.

DBFZ (German Biomass Research Center) contracted RETech (German RETech Partnership) to support the project “WasteGui – Guideline of urban and rural organic waste in the African countries using the example of Ethiopia“, which is funded by the PREVENT Waste Alliance, from 1st of July 2021 to 30th of June 2022. The scope of the project includes among others the transfer of knowledge to decision-makers and target groups on the basis of a guideline to be drawn up.

+++Update on the PREVENT pilot project “Plastic Credits for inclusive and transparent circularity“+++

A major milestone has been reached with the registration of the 100th waste management project to the Circular Action Hub (CAH), an innovative platform launched 12 months ago by UK and Brazil based not-for-profit, BVRio. The project recovers plastic from the Amazon and from the surrounding environment.

Join the Indonesian waste stakeholder map to support the stakeholder overview. The map creates insights in who is doing what and where.

The PREVENT Waste Alliance Toolbox Know-how to enable Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging has now been complemented with the video series: EPR Explained! Experts from different organisations share their perspective and insights on several topics surrounding EPR. Each of the 14 videos focusses on one distinct topic.

After World’s Oceans Day the 8th of June and the first anniversary since the publication of the Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) Program standards, it is time for their planned revision to improve and better adequate them to your needs.

Plastic Free Campus (PFC) is now available in Indonesia. The free online program for Indonesian students and teachers is dedicated to helping schools fight single-use plastic pollution worldwide.

As plastics trading becomes ever hard due to international policies and a worldwide plastic pollution crisis, local, sustainable, replicable, and scalable plastic solutions are needed. E-plastics (plastic from electronic equipment) offer a variety of properties as a sustainable construction material. The challenge is how to not fall into a downcycling process.

Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia are stepping up their efforts to reduce their dependence on landfilling, modernise their waste management infrastructure and align their legal framework with that of the EU. International law firm CMS and the Berlin-based advisory firm Andreas von Schoenberg Consulting have published factsheets on waste management in the 3 Western Balkan countries.

+++Update on the PREVENT pilot project “German MENA university network for waste management and circular economy“+++

Educating future engineers and decision makers is the best way to equip the coming generations with the right know-how to help developing countries improving their local situation, and thereby enabling growth. As one of the PREVENT pilot projects, the German-MENA university network for waste management and circular economy started its education program, which addresses local universities in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco.

The DIN SPEC 91446 is the classification of recycled plastics based on Data Quality Levels for use and (digital) trading. Initiated by cirplus and DIN (German Institute for Standardization), the classification system supports parties involved in the trading of recyclates and plastic waste feedstock by increasing transparency.

The draft is out now. Download and comment here until 21 July 2021.

The World Resources Forum (WRF) 2021, under the theme of ‘A Green Deal for Sustainable Resources’ will take place on October 12-14, with an innovative hybrid format (online | Switzerland | Ghana). In order to advance a global multi-stakeholder dialogue on global governance and management of natural resources, WRF is calling for wide participation from industry, policy, research, and civil society.

+++Update on the PREVENT pilot project “E-nnovating Quito: Sustainable e-waste management supported by collect-and-learn vehicles”+++

The first sparring session within PREVENT’s “E-nnovating” pilot project took place on the 16th of June with the collaboration of the PREVENT members DIE, UBA and University of Kassel. The exchange helped to focus the approach of the pilot project, which is developing mobile vehicles, serving as learning centres & collection units at the same time.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy principle which can help eliminate pollution through packaging waste, moving towards a circular economy. The new online course introduces the concept and key elements of EPR schemes. Beyond that, it is a practical guide for the introduction of EPR, particularly in developing countries.

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability has launched ICLEI Circulars, a global platform offering cities concrete instruments and practical tools to kick-off their circular development journey.

Following a first exchange with the Basel Convention Secretariat in February on the challenges caused by notification procedures for the transboundary movement of e-waste, PREVENT and StEP have initiated a cross-alliance working group to collect experiences from members in different countries. The aim is to find ways to improve local implementation and facilitate transport to qualified recycling facilities abroad.

Garbage as far as the eye can see in front of a dam in Višegrad. The start-up everwave knew immediately that their waste collection boat CollectiX could help.

On 2 March 2021, TONTOTON has become the first company in the world to offer fully third-party certified plastic offsetting services by getting audited and certified by Control Union to the OBP Neutrality Certification developed by Zero Plastic Oceans (ZPO).

The Waste Flow Diagram (WFD) is a rapid assessment tool for mapping waste flows and quantifying plastic leakage. It is an excel-based tool that estimates the amounts of solid waste that leak into nature and oceans by various sources. It was co-financed by BMZ and developed in cooperation by GIZ, the University of Leeds, Eawag-Sandec and Wasteaware and is available for download.

Annually, nearly 400 million tons of plastic are currently produced worldwide. However, less than ten percent consist of recycled material. The second POLYPROBLEM topic report TREASURE HUNT by the Röchling Foundation and Wider Sense in cooperation with cirplus analyses why the vision of a functioning closed material loop is not yet reality and how this could change.

With the fund infusion, Dalmia aims to triple its recycling capacity by 2025. Growth is to be achieved through new facilities and technologies and extending into value-added product categories, such as food-grade applications like bottle-to-bottle recycling. This funding is part of Circulate Capital’s commitment to invest in India to transform the country’s waste management.

The PREVENT Waste Alliance came together virtually for its first general assembly. In addition to a thank you video message from the German Development Minister Gerd Müller (BMZ), the focus was on the communication of the pilot projects, which will now be implemented until June 2022.

The online mapping of worldwide best practice projects of the German Environment Agency (UBA) is intended to provide an overview of international waste and wastewater management projects with German participation and to inform about the main points: WHERE and WHEN did WHICH international projects with WHICH goal and WHICH actors took place?

Brazilian company purchases Circular Credits to demonstrate compliance with local solid waste regulation. Transaction independently verified by SGS.

GIZ announces new project on marine litter and plastic waste prevention.

For the 5th time, the German Environment Agency (UBA) is hosting the European Resources Forum (ERF). The English-language conference will take place on 3 November 2020. The event will be held, due to the Covid 19 pandemic, as a virtual conference. More than 600 participants from over 40 countries are expected to attend.

Through Plastic Credits corporations can address the plastic waste they cannot yet eliminate. BVRio wishes to announce public consultation on the market-based approach to transparently and sustainably increase the value of plastic waste. They would particularly appreciate feedback from other plastic crediting systems make sure that the guidelines are suitable for everyone.

The number of private funds focused on circular economy have increased 10-fold since 2010 and its investments through public equity funds have increased 6-fold since 2020. The report published by the Ellen McArthur Foundation gives an insight into the multi-trillion-dollar opportunities that circular economy offers.

In July 2020 Landbell Group started work on an assignment to develop and pilot solutions for treating problematic e-waste fractions for recyclers in Latin America, the Balkans and East/West Africa. Together with the PREVENT Waste Alliance E-Waste Working Group, the project will also scope out and apply innovative finance mechanisms to cover the treatment costs.

The toolbox on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging has been finalised and we are pleased to announce that the material of the toolbox is now available for download. The EPR Toolbox contains various training materials which, among other things, explain how an EPR system can be established, what possible financing mechanisms exist and how the informal sector can be involved in a sustainable waste management as well.

PREVENT member cirplus is one of a total of 16 start-ups to be included in the Green Start-up Programme of the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU). The funding programme supports start-ups that combine solutions for environment, ecology and sustainability with a focus on digitalisation in an innovative way.

The increasing number of lithium batteries in the general waste collection raises the fire risk during the mechanical processing and conversion of waste into solid recovered fuels. To minimise such fire hazards, Lindner‘s Fire Prevention System (FPS) detects overheated particles in the material stream, cools them to a safe temperature and makes sure that objects that cannot be cooled can be safely removed by hand.

Can you partner with the informal sector for sustainable e-waste management? Yes! To find out how, take a look at the latest webinar from StEP (Solving the E-Waste Problem Initiative).

Pedro Moura Costa is the new representative of the civil society stakeholder group in the PREVENT steering committee. The 15 civil society members of the PREVENT Waste Alliance elected him to his new position in July 2020. From 15 August 2020 he will represent their interests together with Simone Walter (Help e.V.).

Waste pickers provide essential sanitation and solid waste management services. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, collecting and sorting what others throw away puts them at risk for infection. New resources for urban cleaning services and responsible agencies as well as outsourced companies and informal waste pickers help reduce the risks.

UN-Habitat presents two crowdfunding platforms: Planet Heroes and Earth Restore Network mobilise funds to support local and national governments and other waste actors in solid waste management service delivery and sustainable resource management, also during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Over 20 organisations in South-West Netherlands will collaborate to tackle plastics in rivers – to prevent them from ever reaching the North Sea.

After 2.5 years, Closing the Loop has exported more than 5,000kg of scrap lithium-ion batteries from mobile phones and laptops from Nigeria. These batteries were collected using their local collection networks already used for scrap mobile phones over the last 5 years. The collection and shipment of the batteries have been paid for through Closing the Loop’s innovative business model for circular electronics.

Closing the Loop has developed a new business model of waste compensation by collecting e-waste in developing countries on behalf of organisations in Europe.

The German Development Institute (DIE) applied insights from behavioural sciences to design letters providing information on recycling and waste separation in the city of Trelew, Argentina.

With funding from the Norwegian Retailers Environment Fund, Plastic Bank is engaging faith communities to stop ocean plastic and improve the lives of those who collect it.

The PREVENT working groups focusing on plastic and packaging waste are planning to work closer together in the future. The final decision on how exactly this should look like will be made at the PREVENT General Assembly on 8 May 2020 in Munich, Germany.

The members of the PREVENT steering committee met for the first time on 28 January. In an open exchange, the actors got to know each other and discussed the structure, design and strategic orientation of PREVENT. They are now optimistic about the joint plans for 2020.