On 2 December 2016, the European Commission presented a new Circular Economy Package to foster sustainable economic growth and support the development of re-use and recycling strategies within the EU.

To support the shift towards a Circular Economy in Europe, the Commission offers to dedicate a budget of €650 million in the Horizon 2020 programme and 5.5€ billion under the structural funds to waste reduction. Additionally, the newly designed Circular Economy Package will incorporate a revised regulation on fertilisers that should facilitate the commercialisation and recognition of bio-based fertilisers. The development of new quality standards for secondary raw materials will also help increasing the confidence of European consumers in bio-based products. Furthermore, the European Commission intends to set a binding EU target to reduce landfill to maximum 10% of municipal waste by 2030 and incentivise companies to look for innovative solutions for products recycling and recovery.

The BIOrescue project will contribute to the achievement of these objectives by creating a novel biorefinery concept to avoid mushroom compost disposal and landfilling. In addition to the development of re-use and recycling strategies in the mushroom industry, the novel process will enable the transformation of mushroom compost into innovative bio-based products such as biodegradable fertilisers and biopesticides.

To find out more on the new Circular Economy Package, you can click here to read the Commission’s press release or download the European Parliament’s report.