Browse Research

This report provides a global overview on the progress countries have made in passing laws and regulations that limit the manufacture, import, sale, use, and disposal of selected single-use plastics and microplastics. It is based on a review of national legally-binding instruments that include bans and restrictions, taxes and levies, and waste management measures to enhance disposal, encourage reuse and recycling, and promote alternatives to plastic products.

This report provides a comprehensive assessment of Europe’s environment, based on the work of the European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet), in order to support governance and inform the public. It presents the global context that shapes Europe’s development (Part 1), European environmental and sectoral trends and outlooks (Part 2), the factors constraining or enabling transformative change (Part 3), and reflections on how Europe can shift its trajectory and achieve a sustainable future (Part 4).

This report provides an international survey of trends related to the development of Photovoltaic (PV) module recycling technology from the perspective of both the private and public sectors.

This International Guidelines for Industrial Parks address the industrial park’s planning and design, construction, operations, marketing & investment promotion, waste management, and energy management.

The Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) carried out a study on the impact of the circular economy on the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Industry for the European Economic and Social Committee. The focus of this study is mobile phones – a key product in the consumer electronics sector with a varied price range and lifetime duration.

The study finds that there is a large untapped potential for recovering materials from both the annual flow of new mobile phones sold in Europe once they reach the end of their life and the accumulated stock of unused, so-called hibernating devices in EU households. Achieving high recycling rates for these devices can offer opportunities to reduce EU dependence on imported materials and make secondary raw materials available on the EU market. As such, policy action would be required to close the collection gap for mobile phone devices. Implementing circular approaches in the mobile phone value chain can furthermore lead to employment opportunities in the refurbishment sector. Extending the lifetime of mobile phones can also provide CO2 mitigation benefits, particularly from displacing the production of new devices.