Using waste as a resource
Boosting economic growth towards the Europe 2020 strategy goals
 
Find out about unexpected uses for everyday objects! See blue jeans recycled and transformed into effective home insulation material! 

 
This year has been designated the European Year of Resource Efficiency. At a time when natural resources are limited, cutting the amount of waste generated and making better use of waste as a valuable resource is at the heart of the EU’s flagship initiative for a resource-efficient Europe under the Europe 2020 strategy.

We are pleased to offer exclusive Video News Release footage illustrating the EU's approach and best practices in the fields of waste and recycling, at a time where the scarcity of natural resources makes their innovative management more important than ever before.

The initiative “A resource-efficient Europe” is one of seven flagship initiatives that make up the Europe 2020 strategy, aiming to deliver smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The initiative supports the shift towards a resource-efficient, low-carbon economy to achieve sustainable growth and also stresses that prosperous economic activities do not have to entail environmental damage.

As the EU Environment Commissioner, Janez Potočnik, states in an interview that can be viewed in full on the Video News Release: “It’s important that we understand that waste is actually not a burden but a new resource that we have to use. For example, the mobile phones we have in our pockets: if we recycle 40 mobile phones, we would get one gram of gold”.

Through best practices from different types of industry in Europe, the Video News Release illustrates that using waste as a resource and safeguarding the environment is both possible and necessary:

•    An example from Sheffield, UK, illustrates how everyday products can be reused in unexpected and fruitful ways. Recovery Insulation Ltd recycles blue jeans to make safe and efficient thermal and acoustic insulation for houses, with impressive results.

•    The motor industry is also represented in the Video News Release with footage from the Dacia plant based in Bucharest, Romania. Up to 95 % of a modern vehicle is already being recycled and used in the production of a new car or other products across the EU. We therefore feature Dacia’s eco-designed cars that are made using recycled components.