City joins new partnership to tackle waste in the circular economy
Brighton & Hove has joined nine other partners from England and France to reduce the creation of waste and move to a circular economy.
BLUEPRINT to a Circular Economy, funded by the Interreg France (Channel) England programme, is the first of its kind. It will provide practical solutions for designing out waste and pollution by reusing, repairing and recycling existing resources.
Circular economy principles are based on moving away from the ‘throw-away society’ to one that minimises waste and pollution. It keeps products and materials in use for as long as possible and supports the protection of natural resources.
Putting the circular economy into practice
The new project involves partner organisations across local government, higher education and the private sector. Together they will produce a set of strategies, policies and approaches – the BLUEPRINT model – which will give councils tools to put the circular economy into practice and increase recycling, reduce waste, create new jobs and encourage lasting behaviour change.
The project includes training for those who need help finding employment or changing their job and will support residents and schools in changing their behaviour to reduce waste and increase recycling.
It will also build on the work Brighton & Hove is doing to create a Circular Economy Routemap for the city.
BLUEPRINT to a Circular Economy has a total budget of 5.6m euros, of which 3.8m euros were awarded by the European Regional Development Fund via the Interreg France (Channel) England programme.
Max Woodford, assistant director, city development & regeneration, said: “This is a great opportunity for Brighton & Hove to develop our economy in a new way as the city recovers from the pandemic.
“We’ll be able to share expertise, experiences and good practice from different areas and organisations as we move to more sustainable growth, enabling us to better manage resources and provide new skills and jobs.”
How you can help
10 things you can do to support the project and help tackle the climate crisis.
- Reduce your waste
- Recycle as much as possible
- Have a springtime declutter and see how much you can donate, sell or re-use
- See if it can be repaired before buying a new one; learn how to fix things
- Pull the plug on plastic and buy plastic-free
- Buy second-hand in pre-loved and vintage stores
- Give clothes a new life
- Reduce food waste and use up leftovers
- Take part in community composting
- Find out more about the Zero Waste Family programme which will be developed by project BLUEPRINT.
Brighton & Hove declared a climate and biodiversity emergency in 2018 and has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
About the circular economy?
A circular economy aims to generate less harm to the environment and redefine growth, focusing on positive society-wide benefits.
It reduces reliance on raw materials by keeping products in use and minimising waste through design.
Watch this film about explaining the circular economy.
About Interreg France (Channel) England
The Interreg France (Channel) England Programme is an EU programme set up to foster economic development in the south of the UK and north of France by funding innovative projects which have a sustainable cross-border benefit in the Programme’s eligible regions.
The programme operates within a clearly defined eligible area, covering the South and East Coasts of England from Cornwall to Norfolk and the North Coast of France from Finistère to Pas-de-Calais.
More information about Interreg
About BLUEPRINT
The project lead is Essex County Council (UK) and partner organisations are Anglia Ruskin University (UK), EcoWise Ekodenge Limited (UK), ESITC Caen (France), Institut Polytechnique UniLaSalle (France), Kent County Council (UK), Brighton & Hove City Council (UK), NEOMAS BS (France), Peterborough Environment City Trust (UK), Université de Picardie Jules Verne (France).
Find out more about the BLUEPRINT to a circular economy project.
