The #WeChooseReuse campaign kicked off the new year with two meetings with the European Commission. On the 26th January and 2 February we met with Virginijus Sinkevicius (Commissioner on Environment, Oceans and Fisheries) and Frans Timmermans (Executive Vice President of the European Commission) to discuss the challenges that businesses and local authorities face when implementing reuse solutions and the role of the EU in driving the transition to reuse systems.
#WeChooseReuse partners and stakeholder groups joined us, giving voice and representation to the business sector, local authorities and civil society, including: Gérard Bellet, Founder of Jean Bouteille, Kerstin Suchan-Mayr, Mayor of Saint-Valentin (Austria) and Liina Kanarbik, Circular Economy Officer at Tallinn City (Estonia).
These two meetings gave the campaign the opportunity to share the journeys that businesses and cities have made to implement reuse solutions in a system that is designed for single-use. Emphasizing that citizens have a great enthusiasm for these solutions, implementation does not come challenge-free. In light of this, we discussed the pivotal role that the EU can play in scaling up reuse systems and the effective measures the European Commission should propose to support reuse, in particular the revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive and the upcoming initiative for food services to transition to reuse.
EVP Timmermans and Commissioner Sinkevicius both reiterated their support for the EU to adopt ambitious measures on prevention and reuse, building on the Circular Economy Action Plan and the SUP Directive.
There must be an end to one-way to go cups too, that did not exist 25 years ago and there should be nature left for the next generation.We need EU carpet recycling and reduce or ban polyester because of the bad impact(6kg washload 500000 plasticmicrobeads) plus to think about refill bottles for medication.Also Recycling plants in Europe not somewhere in Asia or Africa.thanks for quick steps towards a sustainable future #SDG12