European cities become ‘part of the solution’ in waste prevention
Zero Waste Europe report highlights growing adoption of zero waste strategies, with over 86 municipalities focusing on prevention, reuse and repair initiatives over recycling.
Across ZWE projects and the Zero Waste Cities Certification, operated by Mission Zero Academy, participation in zero waste solutions continues to grow, including two new Zero Waste Candidate City commitments in Ukraine, a commitment from the first European capital, Tallinn, and a number of Zero Waste Certified Cities in Croatia, Belgium, and Portugal.
The certification is a third-party, independent certification standard, with more than 400 municipalities currently involved in the programme. After expressing interest, municipalities have two years to implement changes in order to acquire Zero Waste Candidate City status.
Commenting on the results of the report, Jack McQuibban, Head of Local Implementation at ZWE, said: “This report aims to be a dossier of hope. In these tough times, we are still able to showcase the fact that there are a growing number of municipalities, from Accra to Amsterdam, implementing bold and ambitious local zero waste solutions, proving that progressive environmental action can and must remain top of the agenda.”
Tackling textile waste
A significant focus of the report is the challenge posed by textile waste, following the introduction of mandatory separate collection by the European Union (EU) in 2025.
Whilst the absence of functional recycling infrastructure and the delayed implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has created a policy vacuum, the report also highlights specific measures implemented across Europe that have worked to reduce textile waste.
The London Textiles Action Plan, released at the start of April, has created an ongoing collaboration between London Councils, Greater London Authority, ReLondon and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to ensure that materials stay in use for as long as possible.
Through the STICT (Strengthening the Implementation of Circular Textiles) project, ZWE is also working with local authorities in Belgium, Slovenia and Estonia to trial reuse and prevention strategies.
Plastic prevention and food waste
Plastic prevention continues to top the agenda, with initiatives like the ERIC project (Elevating Reuse in Cities) now supporting over 30 European cities to implement systemic reuse systems.
The companion RSVP project (ReuSe Vanguard Project) explores scalable reuse systems in food and drink packaging, with participating cities including Barcelona, Berlin, and Rotterdam.
The report also notes that only 26 per cent of food waste was collected separately in the EU in 2024, a small rise from 18 per cent in 2020. Supported by the LIFE BIOBEST programme, 12 municipalities are now implementing bio-waste systems to reduce food waste, and have collectively diverted 300 tonnes of bio-waste from disposal in 2024.
Maite Liekens, Reuse Project Officer at Fair Resource Foundation, added: “In a global political context where it's easy to feel hopeless, it's such an inspiration to see cities and municipalities time and time again take the lead towards a more liveable future for their citizens. They refuse to wait and be part of the problem, instead deciding to become part of the solution.”
Creating a zero waste global network
The European zero waste landscape sits within a broader global movement, coordinated through the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA). In Africa, material recovery facilities in cities like Accra, Dar es Salaam, and Cape Agulhas are providing replicable models of low-cost circular systems that include wastepickers as key actors.
In the Asia-Pacific region, countries like the Philippines and India are advancing through the Zero Waste Cities Network, while Hong Kong and Thailand have introduced bans on single-use plastic imports and sales. The newly launched Asia Reuse Consortium is amplifying region-specific innovation, advocating for upstream reuse policies to counteract the dominance of incineration and landfill.
North America, though defined less by formal certification and more by grassroots pressure, has seen progress. In 2024, California’s last two incinerators were shuttered, and Minneapolis began preparing a city-wide zero waste plan.
