Waste management is a global problem. Every year, approximately 2 billion tonnes of waste are dumped all over the planet and end up in landfill sites or scattered across the ocean. What can cities do with the tonnes of waste produced every day in order to protect the environment and secure a better quality of life for everyone?

Cities in Europe have been struggling to find ways to increase waste collection and improve waste management – a core competence of many city governments – while also promoting the circular economy through, among other things, the ‘right to repair‘. That means forcing companies to design more easily repairable electronic equipment, make parts available, and put an end to so-called planned obsolescence, thereby reducing waste.