Reading time ca. 3 min.
The fourteenth edition of the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) will take place from the 19th to the 27th of November, 2022. This awareness-raising campaign, born in 2009, is supported in Italy by a promoting committee composed of, among others, the Metropolitan City of Turin, UNESCO, the Ministry for Ecological Transition, Legambiente, CONAI (National Packaging Consortium) and the supply chain consortia. The SERR aims at spread more knowledge about the importance of waste reduction. Moreover, another SEER’ objective is that of deepening the understanding of waste management among a wide audience: companies, organizations and especially citizens working as stakeholders taking the initiative.
Debora Paolini, communication manager of the event in Italy, held a speech in which clarifies what are the campaign's peculiarities:
- its duration, a week in which thousands of initiatives are concentrated all over Europe, inspired by the principle of the 3Rs, reduce-reuse-recycle, with a special focus on the first of the three;
- the focus on the call to action, which aims at transform the members from simply participants to active participants.
The theme chosen for this edition is called “Circular and Sustainable Textiles”. The thematic focus on textile waste puts the spotlight on an industry with a major negative impact on the environment in each creation stage: production, distribution, use and end of life. In fact, as illustrated in Debora Paolini's presentation in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, the life cycle of these products contributes globally to 10% of total emissions. In addition, it should not be forgotten that the textile sector presents important and documented issues from a social point of view. To add on this, manufacturing companies relocate the production chain in countries with less stringent regulations and controls, where workers are underpaid and exploited. Therefore, buying cheap clothes with increasing frequency has 'hidden' consequences that are nevertheless becoming more and more visible and cogent. All things considered, the so-called “fast fashion” consumption model has an enormous impact on the social and environmental sphere.
In particular, the decision to focus on textile waste for SERR 2022 is aimed at informing the EU citizens on the new Directive approved by the European Council which makes compulsory to separate different collection of textile waste starting from the first of January, 2025. The Directive is mandatory for the EU Member States, which will have to transpose it and, if necessary, modify their national legislation in order to be aligned with the decision of the European institutions. Italy is a virtuous example from this point of view: the separation of textile waste was made mandatory at the beginning of this year, three years before the natural deadline imposed by the Directive. The novelty introduced by legislative decree 116/2020, represents a good opportunity for Italy, in view of the aforementioned deadline, to identify the most efficient collection methods so to guaranteeing a high quality of the waste, which is the first fundamental step to enable its proper management and recycling.
Who can participate in the EWWR? The campaign's action plan is aimed at the including citizens, groups, schools, businesses, associations, and public administrations. All these actors and entities can actively contribute with different ideas and actions, enriching the project with new solutions, ideas and activities. As it happens every year, some prizes will be awarded to the most relevant and creative actions organized during the week. There will also be two award ceremonies, one national and one European.
Please note that the application form will be available from September 2022 on the official EWWR website.
In addition, please note the publication of the 2022 campaign communication materials on the EWWR website, which can be freely downloaded under Communication Materials. These materials are intended to support organizers and local coordinators to promote and implement their EWWR’s activities.
Articles on the past edition 2021:
The initiative in Metropolitan City of Turin on the occasion of the European Week for Waste Reduction. (beataladifferenziata)
Circular communities: jump on board for a less waste world! (beataladifferenziata)
Link for further information:
Textile waste: from January 1, 2022, the obligation to separate waste is activated. Without guidelines (altreconomia.it-only in Italian)
