Ijility review complaints,Fortune Rabbit app download.Recharge Every day and Get Bonus up-to 50%!

Welcome to the last Circular Economy Newsletter of 2024!

As we close out the year, this edition of Circular Economy News celebrates inspiring stories and innovative projects advancing the circular economy in Ireland and around the globe.?From repair and reuse initiatives to ground-breaking research and policy developments, it’s all about creativity and committing ?to circularity this Christmas.

In Ireland, we’ve seen many festive efforts to reduce waste, including upcycled decoration competitions, preloved toy swaps, and the Rediscovery Centre’s Circular Christmas Guide. We are also celebrating milestones like the Toy Library hitting 1,000 users, Rediscovery Centre’s 20th anniversary, and the Circular Economy award-winning Relove Fashion competition. On the policy front, reports from the EPA offer actionable insights to tackling food waste and meeting circular economy targets. ?

Globally, we’ve seen innovative solutions like circular tennis balls, an exhibition of hundreds of repaired socks, and reusable pizza packaging, alongside the recently published textile reports, and the stalling of the Plastic Treaty negotiations.

Grab a festive drink of your choice and dive in.

Circularity in Ireland

To start us off with something creative and positive, we’d like to congratulate Playhouse Derry for bringing The Story of A Jumper to life. In?this tale a much-loved jumper finds a place where holes and souls are mended, gaining new life and friends! Watch the story here.?

?

On a more sombre note, Ireland’s waste generation has grown by 20% over the past decade, according to the EPA’s 2022 Circular Economy and Waste Statistics Report. In 2022, Ireland generated 15.7 million tonnes of waste, equal to 8kg per person daily. While this is slightly less than 2021, meeting 2025 targets will remain a major challenge. Read more here.?

?

The Government of Ireland has restarted Reverse the Trend, Ireland’s first national sustainable fashion campaign. As part of the campaign, sustainable fashion influencer Fionnuala Moran?shares her introduction to the sustainable lifestyle, while they chat with local designer Megan McGuigan?about her slow shopping habits.

?

On December 20th, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications with special responsibility for the Circular Economy, Ossian Smyth, announced funding of €650,000 for 13 projects under the third?Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme. Participants include BladeBridge, the Irish Green Building Council, the Clean Technology Centre, and the Rediscovery Centre. Learn more about all the funded projects here.

?

Wicklow County Council celebrated Christmas in circular style, hosting an upcycled Christmas decoration competition for primary students across 20 schools. Each creation demonstrated a unique approach to repurposing discarded items in innovative ways. Read more here.?

In additional playful news, RTE recently highlighted the Toy Library, an initiative launched in June by a PhD student from University College Cork, that allows users across Ireland to share their pre-loved toys. Read more about this story here—and don’t forget to explore your local toy swaps?for last-minute pre-loved Christmas gifts!

?

In another bid to reduce toy waste, lots of preloved toys have found new homes for Christmas after a Wicklow swap shop. This sustainable Scout Group held their first ever toy swap event for Christmas, inspired by the Big Toy Swap, a project by the Rediscovery Centre and Jiminy Toys, which promotes sustainability and reusing pre-loved toys. Read more about this playful Christmas initiative here.?

Munster Technological University?researchers have identified two ways policymakers can cut household food waste, building on the EPA's Stop Food Waste programme. The research provides recommendations for behaviour change strategies and pathways for large-scale reductions in household food waste. Read the research in full here.

?

Relove Fashion, the sustainable fashion competition for young people in Ireland, was awarded the Circular Economy Award at this year’s Environmental Forum Awards in Cork! By providing young people with an opportunity to learn about where their clothes are from, and showcase their creativity while promoting sustainable fashion practices, the competition encourages a shift towards a more circular and sustainable society. Huge congratulations to the Relove Fashion Team at the Rediscovery Centre and thanks to our supporters, the Regional Waste Management Planning Offices! You can read more about the competition here, and explore more Environmental Forum award winners here.?

Northern Ireland launched its first Food Strategy Framework in November, led by DAERA Minister Andrew Muir. Titled Food at the Heart of Our Society - A Prospectus?for Change, it aims to position Northern Ireland as a leader in sustainable, healthy, and nutritious food. Learn more about the strategy framework here.?

?

Dublin North West Partnership and FoodCloud teamed up for a 12-week Food Club in Finglas, demonstrating the impact of smart, community-driven solutions. In just three months, they saved 904kg of surplus food, delivered 380 meals, and prevented 2,893kg of CO2 emissions—an innovative approach to tackling food waste and climate impact while supporting the local community. Read more about FoodCloud’s work here.?

While we’re on the topic of food, Media Planet’s Sustainable Food Campaign was launched earlier this month, with excerpts covering food waste, sustainable diets, planet friendly farming and more. Read here.?

?

Cytech Ireland?at the Rediscovery Centre has launched its first Home Mechanic course, beginning in?the new year. This 2 day course is perfect for commuters eager to keep their bike in top shape. Learn more about the course?and explore the calendar here.?

?

And in final news for the circular economy in Ireland, the Rediscovery Centre celebrated 20 years?of turning ideas into action at the centre on December 12th.? A big thank you to everyone who came along. We look forward to sharing our stories with you in 2025.?

Circularity Around the World

The European Commission has launched a public consultation to update eco design and energy labelling requirements for electronic displays. This initiative seeks to align regulations with technological advancements and sustainability goals,?supporting the EU’s circular economy and climate objectives. Learn more here.

?

The world’s textile industry relies on 99.7% virgin materials, according to a new report by Circle Economy and the H&M Foundation. Despite this (shockingly) low figure, the Textiles Circularity Gap Report?reveals how circular strategies can transform the industry, making it three times more circular, halving its environmental footprint and reducing textile waste. Dive in here.?

In the UK, the Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd has launched an influencer-driven campaign aimed at reducing textile waste and encouraging citizens to donate used clothing, handbags, and shoes. Members of the public are encouraged to donate pre-loved items to Salvation Army clothing banks and share their experiences on social media using #MySalvationArmyDonation and #Reuse2Repurpose. You can keep up to date with the Reuse 2 Repurpose campaign here.

?

The UK fashion industry is progressing its exploration of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles. Following the September release of the EPR Sandbox white paper, the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT) and WEFT have extended the project by three months to assess the potential impacts of textiles EPR. Explore the White Paper here.

?

Olympic rowing champion?Imogen Grant impressed the circular community at the Sportsperson of the Year Awards wearing a dress crafted from sports kit she wore competing in the Olympics.?Upcycled by London College of Fashion, you can have a look at the gorgeous gown here.?

A project based on repurposing old bridal dresses in Glasgow has won a global sustainability prize. Students at Glasgow Kelvin College were tasked with unpicking old sample wedding dresses and creating their own, new designs from just the pre-loved fabric. Congratulations to all the designers for their Green Gown award! Learn more about the project here.?

?

In December, Global Fashion Agenda and the Irish Embassy in Denmark hosted The Sustainable Textiles Landscape in the 2024-2029 EU Mandate in Copenhagen. Policymakers, industry leaders, and experts discussed the EU’s evolving textile regulations, ending with a call for stakeholders to engage in consultations, and strengthen collaboration. Learn more here.?

Introducing the world’s first circular tennis and padel balls! Designed with recycled materials sourced from used balls collected across European clubs, Renewaball has successfully reduced the carbon footprint of its balls by 29% compared to traditional brands, demonstrating the environmental benefits of circular manufacturing. Check out how it works below, and read more about the initiative here.

?

Interested in reusable packaging? We have found a novel innovation from Mechelen, where a pizza takeaway?has taken the initiative to introduce ‘Boomerang’ reusable packaging for their pizzas!?Could your local do something like this? Learn more about this initiative here.?

Unfortunate news from South Korea as the Plastic Treaty Talks ended without agreement. At the fifth UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) meeting in Busan, South Korea, over 100 nations sought?to cap plastic production while several oil-producing countries were only prepared to target plastic waste. The INC-5 will resume discussions in 2025, with the venue yet to be announced. In the meantime, explore 5 key takeaways from the negotiations, and learn more about INC-5 here.?

?

The European Union has released new insights into what a cohesive labelling system for packaging could look like. A harmonised labelling scheme aims to boost packaging recycling, address diverse waste systems and consumer behaviour, and account for national and local differences across member states. Read the insights here.

?

Coca-Cola has been accused of (quietly) abandoning a pledge to achieve a 25% reusable packaging target by 2030. The company, previously found by researchers to be among the world’s most polluting brands when it comes to plastic waste, has deleted the commitment to have 25% of its drinks sold in refillable or returnable containers from its website. ?Learn more about this story here?and read their new sustainability strategy here.???

?

In its latest Circular Economy report, the British Chambers of Commerce has set out several recommendations aimed at ensuring British businesses, particularly SMEs, play a central role in advancing a circular economy. Key recommendations include a circular economy roadmap, localised solutions, ongoing business consultation, innovation funding for SMEs and strengthened supply chains. Read Beyond Linear, Moving Towards a Circular Economy?now.?

A plan to develop the UK’s first wetsuit recycling facility is among eight new projects funded by Future Fibres Network Plus. Many wetsuits are made from neoprene – which the UK currently has no way of recycling, meaning more than 380 tonnes is burned or landfilled each year. Learn more about this move here, and explore the work of a talented Irish wetsuit upcycler, the Upcycle Movement, here.

?

In the screenshot of a discussion with Apple below, the Restart Project highlights how challenging it is for consumers to repair their products.?In 2024, the Right to Repair coalition secured the EU Right to Repair Directive - but does this give EU citizens a full right to repair? Not yet. The legislation remains limited in scope, with product-specific rules that make it hard to understand repair rights for different items. Fortunately, you can explore the current state of the EU Right to Repair (as of 2024), which products are covered (hint: not many), its limitations, and how these gaps can be addressed here.

And finally, to end the newsletter on a positive note, we’re introducing… Socks: The Art of Care and Repair. This exhibit in Now Gallery by textile artist Celia Pym celebrates the beauty of mending?and the connections it creates. The centerpiece of the exhibit is a vibrant display of 488 socks, lovingly?darned by the Surrey Square Primary School. For many, it was their first experience of stitching and darning.?If you are in London, definitely try to pop in for a visit, but if not, then explore the exhibit through video here.?