WASTE & CIRCULAR ECONOMY

According to the latest Circularity Gap report, the Norwegian economy is fuelled by virgin materials, with a Circularity Metric of just 2%—unchanged since 2020. Both society and the waste management system must evolve to meet sustainability goals.

Selected takeaways from the final report:

• No one-size-fits-all: Solutions must be tailored to local conditions and combine new and existing technologies.
• Better indicators and data: Circularity metrics should capture environmental, energy, and economic impacts. Improved data collection is essential for optimizing technologies.
• Start before production: Waste prevention begins with reducing primary material use and designing processes that generate less waste.
• Valorise residues: Rejects from recycling, ash from WtE and other residues from waste treatment should be (re)integrated into the circular economy as much as possible.

The CircWtE project developed three “what-if” scenarios—Current Road, Circular Road, and Frugal Road—to explore future pathways for waste management using data analysis as well as socio-economic and environmental (LCA) modelling.

This work helps stakeholders anticipate the consequences of various trends and guide decisions on sorting, recycling, and waste-to-energy capacity planning.

The transition to circularity will require smarter data, targeted investments, technological innovation, and collaboration across all levels—from consumers to policymakers.

As project leader Michaël Becidan notes:

“Waste management is much more than getting waste out of people’s way – it touches upon environment, energy, climate, resource-efficiency, business opportunities and jobs.”

While focused on Norway, the findings are relevant for Europe as a whole, supporting progress toward EU circularity targets. The destination is clear: a transparent, efficient, and truly circular waste management system.

Read more: Access the  report for results, conclusions and recommendations → Municipal Solid Waste Management in a Circular Economy : Key results, insights and recommendations from the CircWtE project – Nasjonalt vitenarkiv