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Have you missed the online event “Jump on board for a less-waste world” organised by ACR+ and the European Committee of Regions, as side event of the European Week of Regions and Cities? The recording, as well as the presentations, are now available!
You can find the full recording here.
We opened with some inspiring words from Francesco Lembo, Managing Director of the Association of Cities and Regions for Sustainable Resource management (ACR+) and Tjisse Stelpstra, member of the European Committee of the Regions.
The EWWR is a vibrant initiative that continues to attract new energies. As we gradually are understanding the effects of pandemic, we saw the role of proximity in the local communities and the power they have in promoting waste prevention and sustainable consumption. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Developement (OECD) published a study highlighting how many cities have already been active in planning for life after COVID-19 with a range of investments to pair economic recovery with environmental sustainability. It compares proximity to “a window to shift faster from a target of increasing mobility to one of enhancing accessibility by revisiting public space”. Let’s try to do not forget what we lived in the past year. We discover how living in proximity is a new way of living sustainability. (Francesco Lembo, ACR+)
Waste policy is very complex and it’s really necessary to adjust it at whole levels, global, European Union, national, regional, local and sub-local. Waste reduction involves significantly individual choices and individual behavior but it needs to be connected with community. So the Committee of the Regions has approved last year an Opinion on Towards sustainable neighborhoods and small communities — Environment policy below municipal level. We also have to consider communities below the municipal level: neighborhoods, rural villages, mountain hamlets, small islands, that do not have a mayor, a city administration, a municipal council. Some challenges are connected to waste at this level. So the Committee the of Regions calls for a tailored technical support by the competent level of governance for small communities to implement sustainable waste water and waste management to also address marine and coastal pollution through zero waste strategies. And we call for the promotion of existing initiatives and we encourage the development of measures to support social, innovative practices at sub-municipal level. Not only challenges but solutions can be found at this level. I would invite you to think what can be done in your community. And have a look to our opinion, or check the Local Agenda 2021, by the United Nations, or URBACT, the finalists and winners of the EWWR Awards, and the Green Capital Lahti Actions, or the Nature2000 and get inspired. (Tjisse Stelpstra, European Committee of the Regions)
Presentations – Towards a less-waste world! Good examples from Europe
- Jean-Pierre Schweirzer – Right to Repair: why the circular economy needs independent repairers and repair cafes
- Beatriz Yaben – The Community composting in the Pamplona municipality (in Spanish) – Check the video with English subtitles
- Carla Fransen – Zero Waste Apeldoorn – Check the video on the Apeldoorn Zero Waste Week
How to build a circular community: insights and tips from 4 EWWR Coordinators
Check the discussion among 4 coordinators of the European Week of Waste Reduction on minute 01:06:30 of the recording:
- Ivana Ristovska and Debora Paolini – International Association for Environmental Communication (AICA)
- Maria Do Céu Silva – Intermunicipal waste management of Greater Porto (LIPOR)
- Mireia Padros Tremoleda – Catalan Waste Agency in Catalonia (ARC)
- Cyrielle Dumas – Principality of Monaco Environment Directorate