Good practice:

Support to innovation in recycling of waste from the regional manufacturing sectors

Tuscany manufacturing sector developed, over the years, relevant expertise in the field of waste recycling, for instance with specific regard to waste from the leather and tanning industries, textile waste, paper and cardboard waste, and so on.
Nonetheless, the regional manufacturing sector is struggling to find innovative solutions to increase the amount of waste to be recycled and to reduce the amount of waste that, today, end up in landfills.
On this basis, Tuscany ERDF OP in the current programming period provided specific call for project to support the regional manufacturing sector in developing innovative technologies and approaches to waste recycling
The stakeholders involved are manufacturing companies, Universities and research centres, who are also the beneficiaries of ERDF funding. Indirect beneficiaries include manufacturing industries which utilizes materials from innovative waste recycling operations technologies and approaches

16.7 million euro of public funding (to total approved projects)
Tuscany Region has been in charge of granting ERDF funding, trough Regional ERDF Managing Authority and relevant regional offices

Calls for projects funded 29 projects, addressing waste streams from 6 among Tuscany main manufacturing industries and 9 additional waste streams of environmental concern, with a total eligible expenditure (all projects) of 41.4 million euro and a total public funding of 16.7 million euro

In order to successfully transfer this Action in their Regions, partner need to set out a reliable knowledge base regarding waste production and management and currently related challenges for partner Regions relevant manufacturing sectors and related European recycling targets

According to Eurostat waste from sources other than households and waste similar to waste from households are the vast majority of waste produced in Europe and in single Member States
Taking this into account, it is relevant both form an environmental and economic point of view to support recycling of waste produced from the manufacturing industry, in the broader context of the recently approved European New Circular Economy Plan
We recommend our partners to consider implementing this Action in order to support the achievement of European recycling targets, reduction of disposal of waste to landfills, development of regional recycling sector, providing manufacturing industries with secondary raw materials from waste recycling