Profit from waste
Europe is changing its attitudes towards waste. More and more, waste is seen as a recoverable resource and a potentially profitable business opportunity. The EU-funded COOLSWEEP (Coordinating and leveraging regional knowledge for initiating a sustainable and optimised EU waste to energy programme) project was a coordination action. The venture brought together representatives of industry, government and academia to foster European regional partnerships. The project also supported innovative research, intended to create a sustainable Europe-wide waste-to-energy conversion business based on new technologies. Work began with mapping of stakeholders and the entire waste sector context for each of six European regions. The results formed the basis of a trans-cluster strategy, six regional cluster action plans and a joint action plan. The joint action plan provided opportunities for the involvement of many stakeholders, including after the project's conclusion. The project exploited synergies with existing strategies and initiatives, plus local and regional authorities. COOLSWEEP also resulted in considerable sharing of knowledge via various meetings, workshops, seminars and conferences. The work produced 39 articles or web pages. The project also yielded 30 new regional and 13 new cross-regional partnerships. For the latter, the group gained funding in excess of EUR 23 million for new projects. Such projects involved 22 researchers. A new cluster was successfully formed in Latvia, as a waste-to-energy department within an existing cluster. A total of 11 new companies signed a formal agreement. Nineteen regional businesses were involved in the project's international meetings and activities, and 122 companies took part in international training workshops organised in the six regions. New stakeholders totalling 153 became members of cluster organisations. The new partnerships COOLSWEEP achieved mean new research and shared knowledge in the waste-to-energy sector. The work also yielded technological innovations, meaning profitable waste treatment.
Keywords
Waste conversion, COOLSWEEP, waste to energy
