Agenda

13:00    Welcome and introduction – NCE    

13:10    Opening presentation – Oscar Planells, RREUSE (EU)

13:30    Insights from Ireland, Qualifying and Quantifying the Reuse Sector in Ireland

• Dr. Colum Gibson, Centre Manager, Clean Technology Centre (Ireland)

• Claire Downey, Director of Policy & Research, Rediscovery Centre (Ireland)

13:50    Presentation on NCE’s latest project on Digital monitoring of reuse and waste prevention

• Bjørn Bauer, Director, PlanMiljø (Denmark)

14:15    Break

14:20    Presentations / commentaries from Nordic authorities on their work with monitoring reuse and waste prevention

15:10    Panel discussion – joint discussion among the Nordic representatives around further development
and potential co-operation between the Nordic countries in this field

15:40    Final remarks – NCE

Photo:
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Purpose of the webinar 

The Nordic countries are all facing similar challenges in taking on the circular transition our societies must take on and embrace. Due to the EU’s WFD (Waste Framework Directive, ongoing revisions), EEA member countries are required to monitor the fraction of municipal waste prepared for re-use. The aim of this webinar is to share information on current developments, practices and approaches across the Nordics regarding monitoring of reuse and waste prevention. This must be seen in connection with the EU and the overarching ‘circular agenda’. 

General outcome 

The webinar provided information on the challenges, approaches and solutions for monitoring reuse and waste prevention in Europe from the point of view of authorities, organizations and researchers. External insights and inspiration for Nordic actors based on qualifying and quantifying the reuse sector in Ireland, as well as insights from the EU organization RREUSE. Regarding the Nordics, specific insights were gotten from representatives from Iceland, Finland, and Norway with discussion between them. 

Key outcomes  

• The Nordic countries are facing similar challenges to monitor reuse and waste prevention. We are at an early stage – there is little experience and data are not readily available.  

• As for now, the Nordic countries cannot be seen as frontrunners on monitoring reuse and waste prevention. Therefore, experiences from Flanders in Belgium and Ireland that presented in this webinar were very valuable. 

• Different methods can be used to gather data, and different approaches were presented and discussed. Each method has its own challenges and opportunities when it comes to i.a. coverage, data quality, barriers regarding data sharing, resource demand and continuity. 

• To truly tackle the topic at hand requires a mindset change. As one speaker noted, many within the reuse sector see themselves as local charity. There is not an established understanding of the need for data/tracking nor the linkage between reuse and waste prevention. Communication and getting this message across are key.   

• More guidance from the European Commission is needed. 

• There is a need for knowledge sharing and collaboration as provided by this webinar.

• The NCE’s initiative is highly appreciated, and some participants would welcome more continuous collaboration, for example in the form of a working group.