In March 2020, the European Commission adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP), a cornerstone of the European Green Deal, Europe’s strategy for sustainable growth. The CEAP outlines initiatives throughout the entire product life cycle, targeting product design, promoting circular economy processes, encouraging sustainable consumption, and aiming to ensure waste prevention while keeping resources within the EU economy for as long as possible.
At CIRCOTRONIC, we aim to promote circularity in the electric and electronic equipment (EEE) sector. A key goal of our project is to implement the CEAP 2020 through a Transnational Action Plan. This plan, led by the Emilia-Romagna Region in Italy, is a collaborative effort among our partners. It compiles a series of actions, measures, and initiatives currently underway or planned for the near future in the project countries, with a specific focus on Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).
Work on this Action Plan began in January 2024. During a project meeting in Szczecin, Poland, the Emilia-Romagna Region, supported by ART-ER, presented the proposed structure and content of the report to partners. We identified the types of actions and measures to include and the specific information needed for each. The Emilia-Romagna Region provided a template for all partners to fill out, detailing at least three actions or measures each.
We have now compiled a total of 32 actions, categorized into six specific areas:
1. Prevention in the production of WEEE
2. Training of supply chain actors
3. Strengthening and improving the reduction of WEEE
4. Encouragement of research and innovation
5. Administrative and legal simplification
6. Public engagement
The initial statistical analysis and findings were presented at our last project meeting in Kosice, Slovakia, on June 11-12, 2024. The plan and its monitoring indicators will be finalized by the end of August and then sent to partners along with a letter of intent for formal adoption.
By adopting our Transnational Action Plan, we aim to foster and encourage the implementation of a circular economy and the CEAP 2020 within the EEE sector.
Written by: Irene Sabbadini, Art-Er