Press release
Minister Smyth announces funding for Circular Economy innovation
From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
Published on
Last updated on
Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications with responsibility for the Circular Economy and Communications, Ossian Smyth, this week announced funding of €1.5 million for Circuléire in 2023, to foster and enhance circular economy knowledge, capacity building and implementation by Irish Industry.
Circuléire is a circular manufacturing platform dedicated to the development of innovation and demonstration projects, which are designed to support the transition from a linear to a circular economy. Established in 2020, with an initial three-year programme, Circuléire has made significant progress in creating circular momentum across industry during this time. This extension of funding support into 2023 will build on the momentum created to date and maintain industry engagement.
Minister Smyth made the announcement during his keynote address to the 2022 Circuléire Virtual Conference: Demonstrating Irish Circular Economy Innovation, which took place this week.
Minister Smyth acknowledged the important role played by Circuléire and their industry partners in the circular economy transition, saying:
"Since its inception in 2020 Circuléire and its members have been leading the way in circular innovation, supporting manufacturers and their supply chains to embrace circular economy principles. The transition to a circular economy, supported by Circuléire, will contribute to Ireland achieving its targets in greenhouse gas reductions by 2030."
Stakeholders and industry have recognised the value of the role played by Circuléire, which is in line with the objectives of both the Circular Economy Strategy and the Climate Action Plan. The 2022 Circuléire virtual conference showcased the impacts, insights and learning from cross-sectoral innovation pilots funded by Circuléire in the construction, furniture, and medical devices, plastics and textiles sectors.
ENDS
The circular economy means moving away from the world's current ‘linear’ model of 'take, make, throw away', in which resources are extracted, turned into products, used, and thrown away, and instead preventing waste from being produced in the first place. This keeps materials, components, and products in use in the economy for as long as possible. It is based on three principles: eliminating waste and pollution; circulating products and materials (at their highest value); and regenerating nature, by designing products to be more durable, reusable, repairable, and recyclable.
Delivering a circular economy will have positive environmental, economic and social impacts. A well designed circular policy framework can identify co-benefits, so that environmental improvements also provide economic and social opportunities, and vice versa. Across Europe, countries are moving towards and adopting circular economy practices. The EU is pursuing its ‘European Green Deal’ strategy, which has the circular economy at its heart. In March 2020, the EU launched its Second Circular Economy Action Plan. At the national level, Ireland published its first Whole-of-Government Circular Economy Strategy in December 2021 to ensure policy coherence across the public sector and to outline the government’s overall approach to the circular economy for stakeholders and the public.
The Circular Economy Act 2022 goes further, by translating this policy approach into a statutory requirement. It will also provide the necessary statutory underpinning to a range of actions that will strengthen waste enforcement in relation to illegal dumping and littering, for example, through allowing for the GDPR-compliant use of CCTV and other technologies in enforcement actions. The Circular Economy Strategy provides a national policy framework for Ireland’s transition to a circular economy. This Act places that strategy, and the commitment to a circular economy, on a clear statutory footing. The National Circular Economy Programme (operated by the EPA) will be placed on the same statutory basis.
More broadly, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has launched a campaign to explain ‘circular living’ and to raise awareness about the different ways the government is building a ‘circular economy’.
Circuléire is a public-private partnership co-created by Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) and three strategic partners: the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EIT Climate-KIC. Together with industry partners, Circuléire aims to assist manufacturers and their supply chains to switch from linear to circular business models.