Tackling the end-of-life application of plastic based products is a major challenge. Single-use plastics are already under scrutiny by the European Commission, and certain products and packaging types will no longer be allowed on the market. However, demand for plastic will not disappear overnight. Ecomatters has worked together with partners across Europe in the flagship initiative eCircular to explore new ways for increasing circularity in plastics. The aim was to reduce the need for using virgin materials, to close the loop and create opportunities for change.

Year: 2018-2020 (finished)
Client: EIT Climate-KIC
Partner: University of Bologna, Wuppertal Institute, Montanuniversität Leoben, Lund University, TU Delft

The eCircular Flagship is a multi-year project, which is financed through the European cleantech innovation community EIT Climate-KIC. It brings together a strong network of research, academic, and business partners across Europe. Over the course project a number of (online) regional hubs have been established in Austria, Italy and Germany, with the aim to support:

• Scouting & identifying innovative ideas from industry and providing test beds.
• Incubation of innovative disruptive concepts.
• Knowledge sharing and capability building.

Additionally a knowledge base has been made available and a number of workshops have been hosted to develop new ideas with stakeholders from different backgrounds.

To facilitate working on new circular alternatives a tool was developed by Ecomatters. The tool enables designers and product developer and business developers to consider circular product and packaging strategies. It is freely available and easily guides the user on their way to deliver a circular solution. The tool builds on experiences of from start-ups and companies on the fore front of this development. The learnings that they experienced in practice have been distilled into this tool. Want to know more, check it out here.