Yoko Dams

When a domestic appliance breaks down, it usually ends up at the local waste depot. Yet, this ‘disposal economy’ has a large environmental impact. That’s why more people are keen to mend or get their appliances repaired, yet all kinds of obstacles still stand in their way. A digital infrastructure can help them succeed. The step towards such an infrastructure has been investigated in the Sharepair project, which concluded recently. VITO, together with the partners, developed the online tools in this system to encourage and facilitate repairs.

Europe visibly springs into action. The Raw Material Act clearly states that we in Europe should vigorously pursue circular economy. In March 2020, the European Commission announced a European Circular Economy Action Plan. This action plan included several initiatives aimed at sustainable products and zoomed in on resource-intensive product flows such as textiles, construction, electronics and plastics. That plan will now be further concretised in a number of legislative and regulatory proposals to be approved by Parliament and the European Council.

Spurred on in part by the European Green Deal, Flanders is facing a radical renovation operation for its (often outdated) building stock in the coming years. This means that materials being transported away from built-up areas – which are already responsible for the largest waste streams – will need to be collected, sorted, recycled and reused on a large scale. In order for this to take place in as circular a manner as possible, however, the local material stocks need to be known.