ZERO WASTE EUROPE

Walking through Barangay Potrero in Metro Manila*, you see and experience the narrow but clean streets, small houses, “sari-sari” stores (convenience stores typical of the Philippines). Nearby, a waste workers cooperative takes a leading role in the system – they run a Material Recovery Facility (MRF), organise the local waste separate collection into four fractions […]

The post Solutions from the ground up: reflections from a global convening of zero waste activists appeared first on Zero Waste Europe.

This is a conversation I have had with many people in Europe, and the first instinct is always to look at the best performing systems in the Old Continent and see how to extrapolate this approach to other countries. This methodology has been trialled many times, and my experience of decades of work in both […]

The post If you were to design a Deposit Return System (DRS) for the Global South, how would you do it? appeared first on Zero Waste Europe.

Working no matter what’s happening – this is how the daily operations of Ukrainian waste management companies can be described during the war. Despite severe shortages of funding, time, and staff, they continue to operate under extremely difficult conditions and are still creating change in local waste management systems. As participants in the “Zero Waste […]

The post Creating сhanges despite the crisis: waste management companies in Ukraine appeared first on Zero Waste Europe.

Back in 2006, the foundations of what became Zero Waste Europe were laid by a small group of civil society groups and communities. Their conviction was simple: waste isn’t inevitable, and that no one and nothing should be disposable. Twenty years on, that idea matters more than ever.  We enter 2026 in a world going […]

The post New year, clear choice: we’re not racing to the bottom appeared first on Zero Waste Europe.

It’s time to discover and learn more about the people behind Zero Waste Europe’s work and magic! In addition to the ZWE Changemakers series, where you can learn more about our member organisations, we invite you to get a closer look at our staff, what they do, and what inspires them to work for a […]

The post #MeetTheTeam – Solène Fargeix appeared first on Zero Waste Europe.

We live in a world where everything has to be fast. Cars, the internet, even reading—speed-reading courses are more popular than ever (not to mention one-minute fairy tales for children). But nothing moves faster than fashion. It seems that when it comes to getting dressed, people are constantly racing against time. Once, fast fashion was […]

The post The Circulation Room – a reflection on ultra-fast fashion and sharing appeared first on Zero Waste Europe.

E-waste is the EU’s fastest-growing waste stream, rising by around 2% every year. In 2022, Europeans bought 14.4 million tonnes of electrical and electronic equipment, yet only 5 million tonnes of WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) were officially collected, about 11.2 kg per person. Nearly half of all e-waste slips through formal systems, and […]

The post What you need to know about e-waste, and how communities across Europe are taking action appeared first on Zero Waste Europe.

This year, I had the opportunity to join the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) delegation at COP30, where we collectively engaged in 55 events across dozens of pavilions. Being part of such a dynamic and solutions-focused team was energising, and the scale of engagement around waste, methane, and resource use was more visible than […]

The post Insights from COP30: reflections on zero waste, methane, and the growing momentum for real solutions appeared first on Zero Waste Europe.

It’s time to discover and learn more about the people behind Zero Waste Europe’s work and magic! In addition to the ZWE Changemakers series, where you can learn more about our member organisations, we invite you to get a closer look at our staff, what they do, and what inspires them to work for a […]

The post #MeetTheTeam – Anna Garstka appeared first on Zero Waste Europe.

Retorna, Zero Waste Europe, and Reloop organised a conference bringing together all the stakeholders involved in the future Deposit Return System in Spain. The Global Conference of Experts on Deposit Return Systems for Beverage Containers delivered a clear message: Spain is taking a decisive step toward a modern, effective waste-management model fully aligned with Europe. […]

The post “We need political momentum to launch the best Deposit Return System in the shortest possible time” appeared first on Zero Waste Europe.

In October, Rezero brought together in Inca (Balearic Islands) leading experts in the field of packaging reuse from Germany, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. More than sixty people attended this event aimed at the hospitality sector to dispel doubts about a model change that offers significant benefits for the industry. The BIT Centre in […]

The post From a single-use to a cooperative logic: the Balearic Islands reflect on the path towards reuse in the hospitality sector appeared first on Zero Waste Europe.

As part of the VI Estonian Zero Waste Conference, a series of engaging and thought-provoking workshops took place on 16–17 October, focusing on behavioural change, reuse systems, systemic transition, and inter-organisational collaboration within the circular economy. In this summary, we look back at the workshops and explore what both the facilitators and participants considered most […]

The post Insights from the IV Zero Waste Estonian Conference: what facilitators and participants highlighted appeared first on Zero Waste Europe.