MEMBER ZONE
October 10, 2024

Did you know that FEAD unveiled our Circular Value Chain Partnerships?

In April, during an internal workshop, we unveiled our Circular Value Chain Partnerships, a key part of our Vision for 2030. In this Visions for 2030, published in February 2024, we made it clear that to achieve a circular economy, we must bridge the gap between the waste management sector and industrial production. The need for the creation of Circular Value Chain Partnerships was identified. These partnerships aim to close the material loop, ensuring that valuable materials are not lost but reintegrated into production cycles.

We highlighted five key sectors where circular value chain partnerships can play a pivotal role: construction & landscaping, plastics packaging, renewable energy and batteries, automotive, and voluminous objects such as mattresses, furniture,
and textiles. These sectors represent critical areas where effective collaboration can maximise resource efficiency and promote sustainable practices.

To bring this vision to life, FEAD is launching five projects under the umbrella of circular partnerships, each designed to tackle sector-specific challenges and drive circularity.

1. Building Loops

This project focuses on the separate collection of construction and demolition waste. By advocating for policies that support more sustainable practices and addressing operational challenges in the sector, FEAD seeks to establish a strong policy coalition. The goal is to reduce the environmental footprint of construction activities and encourage the reuse and recycling of materials.

2. Forgotten Plastics

Targeting commercial and industrial plastic packaging, this project aims to create a European-wide value chain for collecting and recycling flexible plastics, which are often overlooked. This partnership is in line with FEAD’s broader mission to promote circularity across diverse waste streams, particularly in the packaging sector, where plastics are notoriously difficult to recycle.

3. Hazards Out

Lithium-ion batteries pose a significant threat to waste management facilities due to their potential to cause fires and other hazards. This partnership focuses on creating systems for the separate collection of hazardous waste, particularly batteries, and developing strategies to monitor and prevent fire incidents. FEAD is committed to supporting its members in identifying patterns and implementing fire prevention strategies in this growing area of concern.

4. Vehicles for Circularity

With this project, FEAD aims to integrate secondary raw materials into vehicle manufacturing. By engaging with vehicle and tire manufacturers, this partnership will promote sustainable material sourcing in the transportation and mobility sectors. Beyond just vehicles, FEAD is also exploring ways to adopt a more holistic view of circularity within the entire mobility ecosystem.

5. Sleep Circular

The ‘Sleep circular’ project focuses on promoting the circular economy for mattresses, starting from the collection, recycling, eco-design, uptake of recycled content and use of secondary raw materials and the development of EPR schemes.