It is increasingly accepted that overconsumption and overproduction of resources is simply not compatible with a safe and healthy planet. Our current system results in vast amounts of waste being produced from materials that are specifically designed for single use (most notably plastic), which is having disastrous effects on our environment.

Unfortunately, the availability of solutions and knowledge of how to implement them remain far below the level needed to begin tackling this challenge. This is particularly true in regions that face embedded difficulties due to the economy or cultural traditions, such as coastal areas that receive high levels of tourism.

This in-person event in Brussels on the morning of 17 May will explore some of Europe’s best practices on waste prevention, implemented by coastal municipalities and regions.

It will bring together local actors behind these best practices and representatives from Brussels, in order to better understand how local actions can inform key forthcoming legislative decisions on plastic production, use and waste.

The conference is hosted by Zero Waste Europe and Break Free From Plastic on behalf of the Interreg Europe-funded CAPonLITTER project, which aims to convene coastal stakeholders in seven regions (in Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Portugal and Spain) to improve policies intended to prevent marine litter.

During the conference, project partners will present their action plans that have informed regional policies on better prevention of key fractions of waste, such as plastic food and drink containers originating from beach facilities and recreational events.

These discussions will then feed into a policy-based panel looking at how to turn these best practices into ambitious legislative goals for the rest of Europe to follow. Some of Europe’s leading figures on this topic will gather to examine what legislation we need and how the legislation can be implemented on the ground, to accelerate the transition away from single-use to reuse.

Lead contacts

Jack McQuibban, Head of Local Zero Waste Implementation, jack@zerowasteeurope.eu

Manon Jourdan, Implementation Officer, manon@zerowasteeurope.eu