Young People Making Change Through the Circular Economy

2026-11-03

The Circular Economy is an economic model that promotes circular production and consumption cycles which reduce the amount of waste we produce. It is also a system that asks us to reflect on how we live and adopt less impactful consumption habits. Young people are in the unique position of making these changes to how they produce and consume in forming good lifelong habits while influencing how the rest of us behave. With funding to be sourced under the Rural Development Programme 2023 – 2027, and delivered through the Social Inclusion Community Activation Programme (SICAP), Kilkenny LEADER Partnership is seeking proposals from experts in the field of the circular economy to work with 10 - 12 groups of young people in their schools, youth groups, and communities to create projects that change thinking, habits and ‘actual ways of doing things’ in these settings with a lasting effect. Project social context: • Individual choices • Our homes • Wider social settings; school/community/work Potential Areas of work • Avoiding single use objects • Making clothes last longer - repair/re-wear/buy old/vintage/pre loved • Food waste • ‘Do we need the lights on all the time?’ Power usage • Transport/movement/exercise • Looking after our devices and making them last longer • Delivering events/initiatives/information sessions The task is to work with groups of young people from the Social Inclusion Community Activation Programme target groups drawn from school, youth group and community settings to deliver projects underpinned by circular economy thinking which are shaped by what the young people see are the challenges and opportunities attached to climate change. These include; people living in disadvantaged communities; people impacted by educational disadvantage; people living in jobless households or households where the primary income source is low-paid and/or precarious; people who are long-term unemployed; people with a criminal history; refugees; International Protection Applicants; Disabled People/People with Disabilities; Heads of One-parent Families; Travellers; Roma. Minimum of 500 individual engagements across ages (5 – 18), per year over 10 – 12 settings: KLP will identify the settings and have a level of early engagement with the participants. The Approach: The overall approach should be practical with tangible elements and opportunities to practice/build new ways of doing things. Participants will be encouraged to understand the circular economy system: we use less raw material, we design products for long-life and recyclability, we share products, we use them for longer and we reuse and repair things before they become waste. The aim of the project is to reframe how we think, in a loop instead of a straight line. The circular economy (the loop), Make → Use → Reuse → Repair → Recycle → Repeat: as little waste as possible. The things we use stay in the loop for as long as they can. The process should also look at how all of this looks against the linear economy Take → Make → Use → Throw away. Example make a plastic bottle → drink the water → throw the bottle in the bin. The process should involve high quality engagement with young people and planning for ongoing work implementation of outcomes. The circular economy should also be placed in the context of the ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals to reflect wider global ambitions Area; Co. Kilkenny Outcomes • 500 + young peoople engaged across 10 - 12 settings. • Increased understanding of circular economy principles • A level of evidence of behavioural change going forward. • An achievable plan in place in each setting to maintain projects/new patterns of behaviour. Youth-led circular economy projects embedded in schools/youth/community settings • Measurable behaviour change (e.g. reduced single-use items, increased repair/reuse) • Improved environmental awareness and agency among young people

Ireland

2026-02-19