The annual EWWR Awards Ceremony took place on 4 June in Brussels at the European Committee of the Regions and revealed the names of the most outstanding awareness-raising actions on waste reduction implemented in November 2025. I am text block. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
On 4 June 2026, the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) Awards Ceremony celebrated the most outstanding actions carried out during the 2025 edition. The event took place in Brussels at the European Committee of the Regions and brought together around 80 participants in person, including numerous EWWR Coordinators and Action Developers. The ceremony was also streamed live, and a recording is available online.
The ceremony was opened by François Wakenhut, Head of Unit for Circular Economy & Secondary Raw Materials at DG Environment, European Commission; Sergio Pérez García from the European Committee of the Regions; and Françoise Bonnet, Secretary General of ACR+, who welcomed participants to this celebration of the European Week for Waste Reduction.
The conference was structured around four thematic panels moderated by Serena Lisai, Project Manager at ACR+ and European Coordinator of the EWWR:
- Communication that Prevents Waste
- Youth Leading the Change
- Waste Reduction with Social Impact
- Giving Electronics a Second Life While Empowering Communities
During these sessions, the finalists had the opportunity to present their initiatives—15 outstanding and creative waste reduction actions shortlisted by the EWWR jury—from a pool of 51 nominated initiatives, selected from over 13,100 actions. The sessions were further enriched by contributions from invited experts.
Giulia Lodi from Zero Waste Europe showcased several highly creative awareness-raising campaigns designed to draw public attention to the scale of waste generation and inspire lasting behavioural change.
Marie-Jeanne Gaertner from RREUSE shared insights into the potential of the social economy to drive the circular economy and waste reduction while creating opportunities for people at risk of social exclusion.
Rianne Driessen from Saxion University of Applied Sciences introduced the E6 project, which provides citizens with tools and solutions that make reusing and repairing electronics as easy and accessible as purchasing new products.
Paolo Campanella from FEAD highlighted the importance of engaging all waste management stakeholders to make waste sorting the easiest and most natural choice for citizens and businesses alike.
Serena Lisai then invited attendees to take part in the 2026 edition of the EWWR, which will take place from 21 to 29 November and will focus on the theme of Material Sufficiency.
The event concluded with the announcement of the winners in the categories of Public Administration, Business, Association/NGO, Educational Establishment and Citizens.
The EWWR Awards Ceremony was an EU Green Week partner event and took place alongside EU Green Week, offering a unique opportunity to connect with a wider community committed to sustainability and to participate in a broader programme of discussions, networking and knowledge exchange at the European level.
The EWWR 2025 Award winners
Out of the 15 finalists pre-selected by the EWWR Jury in April 2026, five actions were awarded during the ceremony. They are:
- Public administration and organisation category – awarded by Sergio Perez Garcia, European Committee of the Regions.
Don’t Hide Myself, I’m Transparent implemented by Navarra Waste Consortium.
- Business/industry category – awarded by Paolo Campanella, FEAD.
AMSA RAEE-Lab Project implemented by A2A S.p.A.
- Association/NGO category – awarded by awarded by Giulia Lodi, Zero Waste Europe.
Learn, Act, Live Better implemented by ELECTROCYCLE.
- Educational establishment category – awarded by Rianne Driessen, Saxion University.
Race Against Waste implemented by Race Against Waste.
- Citizen(s) category – awarded Frederik Ceulemans, Alderman of Brussels City.
Healthy Planet implemented by Edit Mária Bóka.