Brussels to present circular economy strategies in bid to reduce waste

On Wednesday, the European Commission will present its plans for the EU’s shift to a more circular economy. This is in an effort to reduce waste and promote long-term sustainability.

Brussels claims it is an important part of its 2050 climate neutrality target. It also aims to stop biodiversity loss.

La Tournevie is one of the leading organizations in Belgium. It has already created a tool bank.

The circular economy project gives citizens tools as a way of reducing the need to buy new items and encouraging reusing and repair.

Olivier Beys, La Tournevie says the idea is to provide high-quality tools to people so that they don’t have to buy cheap or poor quality stuff that may never be used again.

“So basically, our big idea, which exists for a long time, is to just share the tools and share the cost with a large number of people in this case, four or five hundred people,”Beys shared his thoughts with Euronews. “And that allowed us cater to everyone’s need while also stimulating an economy of repair, stimulating companies which make high quality tools instead of stimulating those who create inferior quality.

“So that was sort of the idea and to make it accessible for everyone and not just a small group of people with a lot of money.”

The project started in 2015 and today has more than 400 subscribers that pay €40 per year to take the tools home as many times as they want.

This tool library includes tools that can be used to weld, work with metal or wood.

Jean-Pierre Schweitzer of the European Environmental Bureau points out that although helping the environment is one benefit, it’s not the only one.

He claims that Europe is now in an age where uncertainty and risk are increasing, and that a more circular economy could help to prevent any disruptions.

“Having the possibility to repair and make the products — the goods we already own — last longer is an important question for resilience, of course, because if you can access spare parts locally rather than having to import them from the other side of the globe, this means that at a local scale where you have more control of your supply chain, you can be more resilient,” Schweitzer told Euronews. “So, this is definitely another benefit from the circular economy”.

The European Commission also works on circular economies in the construction and textile industries.