Last week, a conference on repair and reuse took place in Slovenia as part of the "Communities Go Circular" project. The conference was organized by the association “Ekologi brez meja”. In addition to the conference, project partners held a meeting and planned future activities. The theme of the conference was the empowerment of local communities on the way to a society with less waste, special emphasis was placed on the topic of repairs and reuse. The conference was held in the Slovenian zero waste municipality Slovenske Konjice, where representatives of municipalities, utility companies, business, media and civil society met.
In the first part, various good practices, pitfalls and obstacles to greater repairability and more frequent repairs in general were presented. Nataša Šip from the Presidency of the European Commission in Slovenia presented the recent legal package for the right to repair. The representative of Zero Waste Europe, Aline Maigret, emphasized the need for better product design, as this determines the starting point for the entire life cycle of the product, including its repairability. Ines Güsser-Fachbach from the Graz University advocated the introduction of financial incentives for consumers based on the success of Austria's repair bonuses. In addition to better availability of data for consumers, Boštjan Okorn from the Slovenian Consumers' Association emphasized the lack of more standardized parts in the composition of the product, especially the more durable ones that will be useful for a longer time. Matija Šuklje from LUGOS presented the Upcycling Android project and the use of open source solutions in the fight against software obsolescence. Ugo Vallauri from the Restart project concluded the presentation with a presentation of a rich collection of open data on repairs, deficiencies in this area and their usefulness for legislative processes.
In the afternoon, thematic round tables were held on the topic of challenges in managing local projects such as reuse centers, repairs, as well as the need to strengthen capacity in repairs, the importance of acquiring repair skills in today's time. The importance of communication and information, as well as the role of the media, who should be even more aware of their responsibility for spreading ecological content, were highlighted.
The Communities Go Circular project partenrs are Ekologi brez meja, KNOF, Zero Waste Italy and Zelena akcija / FoE Croatia and Zelena Istra, the project lead. The project takes place as part of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values program - CERV Croatia.
#CERV #communitiesgocircular #reuse #repair #zerowaste #re-geppetto
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible for them.
