The carbon footprint of waste - How local waste strategies can cut emissions

The report "The carbon footprint of waste" presents key findings from the “More Circularity, Less Carbon” campaign led by ACR+ in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland. Spanning 2019 to 2025, the initiative engaged seven ACR+ members (Belfast, Odense, Ireland, Navarra, Pays de la Loire, Genoa, and the Brussels-Capital Region) to assess how local waste strategies can significantly reduce carbon emissions, aiming for a 25% reduction.

The report reveals that preventing and reusing waste—especially textiles, plastics, and food—offers far greater climate benefits than traditional recycling or energy recovery. It highlights how local and regional authorities can act decisively to cut emissions by rethinking waste not just as a disposal issue, but as a key climate lever within a circular economy approach.

While the full report "The carbon footprint of waste" is available only for ACR+ members, download the executive summary to read ACR+ insight on how to reduce emissions through more circular waste strategies.

ACR+ members are kindly invited to log in to their account to be able to download the report.