First partner meeting

MOVECO's first project meeting took place on January 30 and 31, 2017. All partners of the MOVECO consortium have been present at the meeting.

The first day of the meeting was dedicated to project management and project communication. Furthermore, all partners presented themselves in order to get to know each other better. Besides, the horizontal principals have been defined, aiming at sustainable development, equal opportunities and non-discrimination as well as the equality between men and women.

The second day of the meeting was included a training on extended producer responsibility and innovation challenges in the circular economy and the activities. In this context, each consortium country and its extended producer responsibility schemes and their efficiency have been presented.

Kick-off conference

MOVECO's kick-off conference took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on February 22, 2017 with over 70 participants. The conference was organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, under the framework of the MOVECO project, which is co-funded by Danube Transnational Programme. The attendees came from different economic sectors, research organisations, state authorities and nongovernmental organisations.

The Conference thematically emphasized the Circular Economy Package of the European Commission and suggested adaptations of several waste directives, currently under discussion at EU level.

The participants discussed various aspects, such as the legislative framework in the circular economy package, in relation to digitalisation and innovation and current extended producer responsibility experience. Legislative changes have the power to influence these aspects by determining:

• Minimal requirements for extended producer responsibility schemes;
• Eco-design: Supporting a transition towards the circular economy, through setting environmental design objectives enabling product re-use, technical longevity, preparation for re-use i.e. recycling and strict substitution of hazardous components with less harmful ones,
• Support for the bio-economy, based on renewable resources,
• Phase out (»penalising«) of products, which are difficult to recycle, and which are therefore hindering the circulation of materials in nature and in the economy,
• Improving the recapture of critical materials, which are lost to waste streams.

All of these requirements should be linked to already existing solutions. Due to the increased implementation of digitalisation, a great leap forward is anticipated.

The aim of the conference was the networking of the different stakeholders affected by extended producer responsibility: from producers, importers, distributers, to extended responsibility schemes, public services and others performing waste management activities, local and state authorities.

At the event, 45 participants seized the opportunity to fill out questionnaires, giving feedback on the event and evaluate, which aspect of eco-design supports the transition to a circular economy. Here is the result:

The Chamber of Commerce and of Industry of Slovenia and its MOVECO project partners will engage these stakeholders in an open discussion and communication regarding the formation and adaptation of the proposed new waste. This should promote the identification of solutions for problems and failures, which are associated with the current systems. This, in turn, aims at supporting innovation and identifying competence and knowledge, which is needed for the transition towards a circular economy within the Danube region. 

Project co-funded by European Union funds (ERDF, IPA).

For more information on the MOVECO-project, please click here.

For more information on the Conference (in Slovenian), please click here.

For more information on the Circular Economy Package of the European Commission, please click here.