WEEE Ireland, The Irish Compliance Scheme for Electrical and Battery Recycling

Summary

The European Union has acknowledged how the transition from a linear to a circular economic model is essential for developing a low-carbon economy across the continent, in line with the European Green Deal’s targets. For the European economy to become truly circular, all stakeholders need to get involved. This is why the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform was developed. The Platform targets public authorities, businesses, trade unions, consumers, and civil society in general to get involved in the space. 

The Platform has been described as a “network of networks”, as it goes beyond sectoral activities and highlights cross-sector opportunities to progress in circularity at a European level. It also provides a meeting place for relevant stakeholders to share and scale up effective solutions and address challenges. The Knowledge Hub webpage contains sections on Good Practices, Strategies, Knowledge, Commitment, and Pledges. This allows you to search the database and submit recommendations through an online form. It also includes a toolbox for education and financing circularity in practice and the EU.  

The platform’s key focuses include: 

• Driving the circular economy in Member States, in regional and local governments, and among civil society organisations and businesses 
• Strengthening cooperation among stakeholder networks to facilitate the exchange of expertise, good practices, knowledge, and lessons learnt in the circular economy 
• Identifying barriers (such as social, economic, and cultural) to the transition towards a circular economy to inform policy at all levels of governance 

The European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform can be accessed at circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform by all Members and Producers who are interested. It is encouraged that this becomes a space for knowledge transfer, including best practices and policy initiatives. The website also keeps stakeholders in the loop with news and upcoming events on the circular economy throughout Europe while simultaneously providing a database of contacts and a discussion forum for direct interaction with other stakeholders. A common barrier is the circularity is scaling up and bridging the gap between local, regional, and national levels across the Union. The platform aims to reduce these barriers and to support circularity implementation at all levels. 

Their annual conference, the Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference, jointly organised by the EESC and the European Commission in Brussels, is an opportunity for stakeholders to meet, nurture their networks, share ideas, and deepen their expertise. The conference has continued to grow in numbers since its first event in 2017. Their latest conference, as of 2024, focused on turning ‘Visions to Actions’ for the circular economy.  

The Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform compiles interdisciplinary circularity networks across Europe through its search engine. This includes Irish examples, such as Ireland’s Circular Economy Academy at the Rediscovery Centre, which is focused on raising awareness and helping startups across Ireland. The Circular Economy Academy aims to facilitate Ireland’s transition to the circular economy through demonstration, education, and collaboration. The facility is enhanced by its excellent staff and tailored services.  

Moreover, the Platform will help you discover partnerships such as CIRCULÉIRE. WEEE Ireland is a proud founding member of CIRCULÉIRE – Ireland’s National Platform for Circular Manufacturing. CIRCULÉIRE is an industry-led, public-private partnership dedicated to driving large-scale systemic innovation that shows economic and societal benefits of embracing circularity in Ireland. They have developed various circular strategy tools and are supporting businesses through the Innovation Fund. 

Want to find out more? To discover more initiatives like this, check out the Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform at https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/en/dialogue/existing-eu-platforms.