Zero Waste Europe

24/06/2026

Who gets to shape our digital future? 🌐

Weaving Liberation works with people across Europe to build a fairer, more just digital world - one rooted in racial, social, environmental and economic justice.

In this conversation with Esra Tat, Laurence Meyer shares how Weaving Liberation was built through 3+ years of collective process - prioritising trust, unlearning and joy over outcomes. A rare and refreshing model for anyone working in movements, funding or digital rights.

Worth watching these topics or if you've ever wondered how to truly embed decolonial thinking into your work.

🔗 Watch the full conversation: https://zurl.co/nkH5m

💬 Discover more stories from the Blueprint for Movement Building: https://zurl.co/QO3ek

🗺️ Part of the Blueprint for Movement Building project, supported by the UMI Fund.

22/06/2026

⏰ Last week to apply for our Network Development Officer vacancy - don't hesitate! 👇

Have you already applied for our Network Development Officer position?

If not, there's still time! ⏰

⚙️ What you'll do:

- Coordinate internal member communications, onboarding, and the annual members' meeting to grow and strengthen our 41-member network.
- Gather data and stories to monitor and amplify the collective impact of the ZWE network.
- Support movement building across national alliances.

🙋 Whom we're looking for:

- Experienced in member engagement, community organising, or coalition/movement building.
- A skilled organiser who can juggle multiple projects and facilitate participatory spaces across different cultures and time zones.
- Passionate about zero waste, environmental justice, and working in an international team environment.

Read the full description and apply by 26 June 2026 on the Zero Waste Europe website: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/join-us/work-with-us/

18/06/2026

Today, we’re releasing our new guide for EU member states drafting their national legislation for the textiles EPR. In less than two years, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textile products will become mandatory across the Union, giving member states a short window to design and develop their schemes.

The report, written by ENT on behalf of ZWE, contains practical and useful recommendations on how European countries can set up the best system based on their national needs, including how to:
👢 Define product scope and stakeholder responsibilities
🪡 Ensure the system is aligned with the circular economy by prioritising reuse and repair
🤝 Protect and include social economy actors
💸 Ensure that all costs related to textile waste management are covered by the scheme
🛡️ Set up the right systems for data monitoring and reporting, including sanctions for non-compliance

See our recommendations: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/library/design-epr-textiles-in-the-eu/

16/06/2026

🎪 Planning an event? Participants want reuse!

A new survey of 1,019 people in Slovenia tells a clear story: the public is on board with reusable cups and waste reduction at events.

The barriers aren't about attitudes, they're about queues, hygiene, and return systems, and that's actually good news, because logistics can be fixed.

📊 What the data shows:
🔸Reusable cup systems scored 4.04 /5
🔸69% of people returned their cup at their last event
🔸Support for waste-reducing events sits at 4.2 /5

🌍 And what better day to share this than World Refill Day?

👉 Read the full factsheet for insights and recommendations: https://zurl.co/gV8fc

This survey was conducted in the frame of the Elevating Reuse In Cities (ERIC) project in collaboration with Ekologi brez meja.

15/06/2026

Have you already applied for our Network Development Officer position?

If not, there's still time! ⏰

⚙️ What you'll do:

- Coordinate internal member communications, onboarding, and the annual members' meeting to grow and strengthen our 41-member network.
- Gather data and stories to monitor and amplify the collective impact of the ZWE network.
- Support movement building across national alliances.

🙋 Whom we're looking for:

- Experienced in member engagement, community organising, or coalition/movement building.
- A skilled organiser who can juggle multiple projects and facilitate participatory spaces across different cultures and time zones.
- Passionate about zero waste, environmental justice, and working in an international team environment.

Read the full description and apply by 26 June 2026 on the Zero Waste Europe website: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/join-us/work-with-us/

10/06/2026

How much zero waste impact fits into two decades?

Today is an emotional day for Zero Waste Europe as our Founder, Joan Marc Simon, caps off 20 years of work with us and gets ready for his next professional adventure.

Joan Marc's contribution to ZWE and the broader zero waste movement is hard to fully put into words. All his passion, dedication, commitment, strategic foresight, and willingness to shake the status quo for the sake of a better world were properly captured at the end of our Network-Wide Gathering in Slovenia, where he could hear and feel the outpour of love and gratitude from each and every one of our members and colleagues.

Joan Marc's legacy is something that will forever be a part of ZWE, and we know ZWE will forever be a part of him. That's why, before leaving for his next chapter, Joan Marc took the time to share his reflections on the past 20 years of zero waste, as well as his own wishes for the future, in one last publication.

We invite you to join us in celebrating Joan Marc's contribution to a better, fairer, more just world for everyone by reading his ''Daring to imagine a zero waste Europe'': https://zerowasteeurope.eu/library/dare-to-imagine-a-zero-waste-europe/

From all of us at Zero Waste Europe, and always at least one more time: here's to you, Joan Marc! 💚

09/06/2026

🥤 What if eliminating single-use plastic from public events was easier than you think?

In 2023 the Métropole de Lyon added a clear rule to their catering contracts: 🚫 no disposable plates, cups, or packaging, reusable items only. This applied across 58 municipalities serving 1.4 million people.

Four years on, with support from Zero Waste France, the suppliers who work with them have permanently changed how they operate. The approach is now being rolled out across all of Lyon's procurement, and an even stricter contract is planned for 2026.

The key lesson? 🍽️ Catering is the perfect place to start. Solutions already exist in the market, the visibility of events amplifies the message, and the contract structure is ready to replicate.

📄 If you work in procurement, local government, or sustainability, this case study is worth a read: https://zurl.co/LRqNB

08/06/2026

📢 Calling all the network weavers: we're looking for a Network Development Officer to join the ZWE Team! 🫂

That's right: we're creating an exciting, brand-new position to sit at the heart of our Network and Movement Building team. Among other things, this role will amplify the stories that matter through information gathering and data collection, and support capacity development opportunities that strengthen the network’s ability to deliver impact and be recognised as experts in the field.

⚙️ What you'll do:
- Coordinate internal member communications, onboarding, and the annual members' meeting to grow and strengthen our 41-member network.
- Gather data and stories to monitor and amplify the collective impact of the ZWE network.
- Support movement building across national alliances.

🙋 Whom we're looking for:
- Experienced in member engagement, community organising, or coalition/movement building.
- A skilled organiser who can juggle multiple projects and facilitate participatory spaces across different cultures and time zones.
- Passionate about zero waste, environmental justice, and working in an international team environment.

Read the full description and apply by 26 June 2026 on the Zero Waste Europe website: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/join-us/work-with-us/

04/06/2026

Neuigkeiten aus Deutschland! 🇩🇪

In late 2024, the Höxter district of Germany took the pioneering step of committing to become a Zero Waste Certified City with the Mission Zero Academy. This includes central goals of:

🔸Reducing the amount of municipal solid waste per capita by 10% by 2030 and 15% by 2035
🔸Reducing the amount of residual waste by 20% by 2030 and 30% by 2035

♻️In the latest edition of VKU’s “VKS News,” the Höxter district shares its experiences and journey of becoming ready for its certification. This includes the expansion of its repair cafe initiatives and the creation of a Zero Waste Advisory Board, which met for the first time in March this year. Next up is a residual waste analysis, before a hopeful certification audit later in 2026.

💬As Hubertus Abraham, Head of the Waste Management and Soil Protection Department of the Kreis Höxter, puts it:
“For us, zero waste is a central component of our waste management services and therefore a mandatory task. With the certification as a Zero Waste Region, we want to make this commitment visible to the outside world.”

📖 Read about Höxter's journey on pages 10-11, plus many other great articles in the latest edition of VKS News here: https://zurl.co/wglsq

Copyright: VKS-News 305 Zero Waste (05/2026) by VKU e.V.

29/05/2026

In Bordeaux Métropole, an estimated 174,000 tonnes of food waste are sent for incineration every year – that’s one third of all waste in the residual stream 😱

In an effort to avoid this massive loss of resources, the Metropole has been working to divert food waste away from disposal in recent years. In 2025, they established 100 community composting sites in the outer ring, and plan to build a further 300 by the end of 2026!

However, anyone working in a municipality will know that the money side of things has to work as well. And so, the Metropole, with the help of Lumec, decided to test the economics of the status quo of burning food waste against the alternative with 400 decentralised composting sites.

The results? 🤑
Over a 5-year period, the diversion alternative results in a net economic benefit of 193,595 €, yielding significant savings compared to 2.4M € in costs under the status quo. And even in a scenario with a lower participation rate, the costs under the diversion alternative are still lower than under the current disposal model.

Read the full cost-benefit analysis here: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/library/cost-benefit-analysis-community-composting-bordeaux/

Zero Waste France Zero Waste Bordeaux