UPCOMING EVENTS
UNESDA to attend the Go Circular business summit on 19 & 20 April 2023 in Rotterdam
The 4th Go Circular business summit will take place in Rotterdam on 19th & 20th of April 2023, bringing together plastic recycling solution providers, waste management companies, packaging producers, along with key industry non-governmental players and governmental institutions.
UNESDA will be joining the discussions at this summit. Among the confirmed attendees are also representatives from Lego, Unilever, P&G, Amcor, Volvo, Mars, Neste, Port of Rotterdam, Braskem, TNO, Sabic, and Tomra, Pyrowave.
Discussions will revolve around the major challenges faced by the industry in the transition to a plastic circular economy, including how waste should be addressed and prevented.
The first day of the conference will focus on:
- how the circular economy for plastics contributes to sustainability
- the role of bio-based materials in the transition to the circular economy
- challenges and solutions in redesigning packaging, materials and business models
- case studies on value chain collaboration
The second day of the conference will cover the following topics:
- plastic waste feedstock for chemical and mechanical recycling
- technology comparison overview and market readiness of chemical recycling technologies
- digital tools and certification in the circular economy
More information about the program, participants and registration can be found on the conference website: https://globuc.com/go-circular/
The organiser of the conference is Globuc, specialised in high-level business events in energy transition, petrochemicals and digital transformation sectors.
PAST EVENTS
UNESDA to join the Packaging Waste & Sustainability Forum in Brussels
UNESDA’s EU Policy Manager Delphine Close will be joining the panel discussion Reducing packaging waste: Moving towards reusable and recyclable packaging on 29 March at this year’s Packaging Waste & Sustainability Forum.
Delphine will present our sector’s position on reuse and our suggestions for improvements to be made to the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation to ensure a realistic integration of more reusable solutions.
The event will take place from 28 to 30 March in Brussels. It will gather industry experts and policymakers to discuss topics such as the latest regulatory developments, the effectiveness of Deposit Refund Systems and the role of waste management systems, and industry actions to achieve circularity.
View the agenda here.
CLEAN-UP ACTION IN BRUSSELS
We organised a clean-up action in Brussels during the EU Green Week 2022. The aim was to raise awareness of the importance of disposing of waste correctly so more waste can be collected, recycled, and reused to enable the transition to a circular economy. It was also a good opportunity to encourage responsible behaviour to promote cleaner surroundings.
ONLINE DEBATE ON REUSE

Beverage packaging has an important role to play in helping create a circular economy in Europe because it is a resource that can (and should) be collected, recycled, and reused multiple times in a closed-loop system.
One way of reducing packaging waste is to use more reusable solutions. The European soft drinks sector, represented by UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe, is already using several reusable systems, from returnable refillable containers to in-home dispensers.
As part of its Circular Packaging Vision 2030, Europe’s soft drinks sector aims to increase reuse by 2030 as a complementary way to its continued efforts on recyclability, collection, and recycling of its packaging. This commitment is in line with the European Commission’s aim to promote the use of more reusable packaging solutions in the revision of its Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive.
Against this background, UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe hosted an online debate that brought together industry representatives, NGOs, and EU decision makers to discuss how to make the shift to more reusable beverage solutions a success and what conditions and enablers are necessary to make this transition realistic.