Michael Brunn

The revised templates are intended to help shipowners meet documentation requirements under both the EU Ship Recycling Regulation and the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships with one set of certificates.

Electricity demand is on the rise, driven by electrification of industrial processes, data centre build outs and increasing demand from domestic users in developing countries.

A dedicated AI Innovation Hub will present AI-based applications for plastics recycling and provide demonstrations covering the value chain from feedstock and product design to collection, processing and material sourcing. The programme includes a live demonstration of swarm-robot sorting technology from Antfarm and a smartphone-based AI material analysis solution from Safi.

According to the organisation, e-waste recycling already contributes to climate protection and resource conservation. However, only around 40% of WEEE is currently reported as recycled. Recycling rates for plastics from WEEE are estimated at around 20%. Collection levels also remain below the EU collection target of 65%, resulting in the loss of secondary raw materials and limiting progress towards a circular economy.

Under the European public procurement framework, contracting authorities may award contracts directly to a legally separate entity without applying standard tender procedures, provided specific conditions are met. These include the requirement that the contracting authority exercises control over the entity comparable to that exercised over its own departments. In addition, the controlled entity must carry out more than 80% of its activities for the controlling authority or authorities, calculated on the basis of average total turnover.

Reducing persistent plastic pollution is a key challenge on the way to a functioning circular economy. Biodegradable materials offer considerable potential if their use is controlled and standard-compliant. The report "Addressing Persistent Plastic Pollution" by the Circular Bioeconomy Working Group uses case studies from agriculture, forestry and composting to show that certified biodegradable plastics can significantly reduce the long-term accumulation of microplastics.

The circular economy is considered a key concept for permanently decoupling economic growth and resource consumption. Municipal recycling in particular plays a central role in this context. The political goals are correspondingly ambitious. In fact, however, a clearly differentiated picture emerges. Some Member States are already well above this target, while others are making little progress despite political efforts. The question of which structural framework conditions promote or inhibit recycling performance is thus becoming increasingly important. The study "Municipal waste recycling in the EU: a multi-method analysis of determinants and country profiles (2005-2023)" by Slovak scientists has for the first time comprehensively examined these relationships for all EU member states in the period 2005 to 2023. The study has been published in "Frontiers in Environmental Science".

Despite ambitious European targets, the transition from linear to circular plastic systems is proceeding only hesitantly. A recent study by the EU project Nontox sheds light on the perspectives of actors along the plastics value chain and shows which barriers hinder change and which political and economic measures are needed to accelerate it.

Food loss and waste is a major sustainability problem as it consumes resources and causes environmental pollution. At the same time, the plastics industry is looking for alternatives to petroleum-based plastics.

European energy and climate policy is undergoing a decisive upheaval. In view of geopolitical crises, the need to reduce greenhouse gases and the growing demand for energy sovereignty, the European Union formulated an ambitious target in 2022 with the RePowerEU programme: by 2030, 35 billion cubic metres of biomethane are to be produced annually to partially replace fossil natural gas. Biogas is considered a beacon of hope in this context. But a closer look, such as in the report "Biogas policies in the EU - Levelling up or locking in?" by DUH, Changing Markets Foundation, EIA, EEB, Methane Matters and Zero Waste Europe, shows that this development is ambivalent and can contradict the basic principles of a true circular economy.