Ecomondo 2026 will take place from 3 to 6 November at the Rimini Expo Centre in Italy. The 29th edition of the event will focus on the circular economy, resource management, environmental technologies and industrial sustainability.

Finnish foundry sand reclamation specialist Resand has increased its equipment financing facility with Norion Bank from €14.5 million to €25 million, supporting new customer agreements and international expansion.

Technical issues with DIWASS are causing operational disruptions because market participants are unable to submit notification requests for exports to Turkey and other third countries. The European Waste Management Association (FEAD) has now issued a statement referencing feedback from the European Commission.

The foundational technical standards for the digital product passport (DPP) are in place. At the international conference DPP4EU 2026 (June 1-3, Brussels), experts are presenting the newly published European standards to a broad industry audience and discussing concrete steps toward implementation.

In July 2023, the European Commission adopted its proposal for revising and merging the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive and the 3 R Type-Approval Directive into a Regulation on Vehicle Design and Management of End-of-Life Vehicles. The proposal aims to strengthen the EU single market while reducing the negative environmental impacts linked to the design, production, use, and end-of-life treatment of vehicles and contributing to improving the circularity and sustainability of the automotive and recycling sectors.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been in the spotlight for more than a decade due to their potential impacts on human health and the environment. This is especially true for certain compounds such as PFOS and PFOA, while the impacts associate with the chemical form of PFAS known as 'PFAS polymers', which in simple terms consist of larger molecules, have been considered to be lower.

This shift is visible across several flagship initiatives: from the Green Deal to the Clean Industrial Deal and, most recently, the Commission's Steel and Metals Action Plan.