From Waste to Profit

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The EU’s economy is highly dependent on natural resources. If current economic patterns are maintained, the degradation and depletion of natural resources will continue, as will waste generation. At present, approximately 16 tonnes of virgin materials are used per capita each year in the EU, of which 10 tonnes go into material stock (infrastructure, housing, durable goods) and 6 tonnes leave the economy as waste. The main objective of the “Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe” (COM(2011) 0571) is to unlock the EU’s economic potential so that it can be more productive while using fewer resources and moving towards a circular economy. Moreover, the recent Circular Economy package stimulates the EU’s transition towards a circular economy through greater recycling and reuse, in addition to boosting global competitiveness, fostering sustainable economic growth and generating new jobs.   SMEs are experiencing more difficulties in adopting these circular strategies and practices, due to their more limited organisational, technological, and financial capacity, and less access to (pre) financing for circular solutions. In the proposed W2P project, the project partners aim to reinforce waste management (e.g.: reuse, recycling) within SMEs as a first step in becoming more sustainable and circular. The prioritisation of waste management ensures enterprises to benefit from the advantages of the circular economy in an early stage, including cost reductions, new/increased revenue streams and improved environmental performance.   In the W2P project, project partners will target 4 bottlenecks that prohibit SMEs to actively handle their waste streams as new resources: -    SMEs have limited technological insights about how to either transform a waste stream into a marketable resource or how to reduce / avoid the waste stream. -    SMEs have less financial capacity to invest in or even develop innovative technology,management capability and innovative circular business models. -    SMEs need matchmaking to find willing buyers for their waste streams in the Euregio. -    Waste management companies need to transform in order to become “resource brokers”, ensuring that materials retain the highest value as possible and remain in the value chain as long as possible. To accelerate the implementation of circular economy principles in SMEs by reinforcing waste management, the “From waste to profit” project will focus on 4 instruments: 1. Audit of the waste streams (vouchers)Identify exactly how much and what kind of waste an SME producesIdentify opportunities forreducing wasteincreasing reused materials in the production processincreasing the reusability of the final product improve recycling practicesdigital technologies to smarten up waste managementFinancial support vouchers that offer a financial contribution of 50 % (with a maximum of € 2.500) to the total audit cost of their waste streamsTarget: 50 SMEs. 2. Grants for waste product optimisation investments. Stimulate SMEs to effectively innovate by offering business and project development support and lowering the financial risks by offering financial support in the form of a grantBoth technological solutions as management systemsGrant that offers a financial contribution of up 50 % (with a maximum of € 40.000) to the total project costTarget: 40 SMEs. 3. Cross-border matchmaking between different stakeholders to a) create awareness about circular economy via best practices of frontrunners in waste management and b) matchmaking between suppliers and demanders of by-products and recycled resources. 3 community journeys in each partner region where we will visit frontrunners40 SMEs that register for the Euregional matchmaking platform “Wanderful.Stream” (ongoing Interreg EMR-project) and other relevant future initiatives20 connections of SMEs that lack the knowledge of creating circular byproducts with specialized firmsAccompany SMEs that do not fit the criteria of the W2P project to alternative regional/national voucher schemes. 4. Targeted communication strategy.

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