“Cities can, and should, become the incubators and vectors for scaling up reuse in Europe. They certainly have a leading role to play in the fight against plastic waste. However, we still lack a better understanding of the conditions that enable reuse to flourish in these communities. Our ERIC project will provide concrete answers to this question, helping to inspire and guide the replication of reuse models in cities around the world.”

– Manon Jourdan, Implementation Officer and ERIC Project Coordinator 

Goal of the project
ERIC is a two-year project (launched in April 2022), funded by the Plastics Solutions Fund (PSF) that aims to support 18 to 30 EU municipalities embed waste prevention locally, through the creation of Plastic Prevention Plans (PPPs) that target and implement reuse actions within their direct sphere of public control – which includes public events, buildings (e.g. municipal facilities, gyms), spaces (e.g. streets, squares, parks) and through procurement tenders.

Project partners
ERIC will involve local implementation of activities by 10 member organisations of Zero Waste Europe: Zero Waste France, Zero Waste Belgium, Zero Waste Italy, Za Zemiata (Bulgaria), Hnuti Duha (Czech Republic), Ekologi brez meja (Slovenia), Rezero (Spain), Zelena Akcija  (Croatia), Friends of the Earth Slovakia and Friends of the Earth Cyprus.

Main strategies and outcomes

•  We will actively train and help support our local groups involved in this project to become reuse specialists, building on their existing zero waste expertise – which will help them to design and implement successful plastic prevention plans together with the targeted cities, as well as effectively monitor the impact of the policies introduced on the reduction of the plastic waste generated locally. 
• At least 18 to 30 single-use plastic prevention plans (PPPs) are created in a targeted group of European municipalities, with measures focusing primarily on what falls directly within their immediate sphere of control – public procurement, events, buildings and spaces.
• Mobilise the municipalities within our network ahead of key political moments (Global Plastic Treaty, EU’s Packaging Waste Directive) to lobby for ambitious reuse legislation, using examples implemented locally as part of this project as best practices, that set the ambition and direction for reuse to scale up in the years to come.

If you are interested in learning more about ERIC or explore ways to collaborate with the project, don’t hesitate to reach out to the project coordinators – Manon Jourdan and Jack McQuibban.