The European Week for Waste Reduction challenges people to act for promoting a circular economy approach

Every day, we are overwhelmed by commercials about the last shining phone launched on the market, able to take wonderful pictures and videos, to connect to all the new apps, to restore hundreds of files, even to make a coffee. Ops, not that (yet). We need to buy new stuff, the coolest clothes, the most advanced technology, and how to forget the slogan “pay 3, take 4”. In order to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle, some questions should be asked in advance. Do I really need new stuff? Can I repair my goods? Where the “old” phone is going to end up? Am I going to eat all the food stored in the fridge or how much of it will go to the rubbish?

The European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) was born in 2009 as an EU-funded LIFE+ project, from the initiative of public authorities around Europe willing to join forces against this incessant waste production, by promoting the waste prevention. Since 2017, the project has been financed and coordinated by a Steering Committee, while supported by several national and regional coordinators.

The EWWR is the biggest campaign to raise awareness about waste prevention in Europe. Driven by local and regional public authorities, we bring together all sorts of other actors divided by 5 categories — public administration, business, NGO, educational establishment, and citizens — who organise actions to raise awareness about waste reduction. What makes this initiative so special are the efforts and passion invested by the thousands and thousands of volunteers who spread the word about sustainable consumption and circular economy in their communities. The actions carried out under the EWWR address the 3Rs: Reducing waste, Reusing products, Recycling materials — in this order because if reducing and repairing are seriously implemented, recycling will be a very small part of the effort.

Every year, we announce a thematic focus to raise the awareness on a specific topic about waste prevention. In 2020, the campaign highlighted the importance of invisible waste referring to the large amount of waste generated during the manufacturing process of products. The topic of the next edition, scheduled from 20 to 28 November 2021, will be announced soon.

On June, the best actions are awarded by a jury comprising European professionals working in the environmental sector, during the EWWR Awards Ceremony. This year, it will take place online on 1 June 2021. You can register here to discover the outstanding actions of 2020 edition.

Since unfortunately, littering continues to affect our cities and nature, the EWWR encourages participants to educate their peers about waste prevention; and to clean up those areas where littering is impeding the well functioning of natural and human habitats. For this, every year we support the Let’s Clean Up Europe campaign. In Catalonia, the Agència de Residus de Catalunya (ARC), part of the Steering Committee, is strongly committed to fighting the waste production, by supporting the EWWR as regional coordinator and coordinating several clean-up actions within the LCUE campaign.