Expansion of the CIRcular Economy concept in the Central Europe local productive districts
Transition towards circular economy,core priority of EU 2020 Strategy, is particularly relevant for CE industrial areas due to outstanding use of primary natural resources in various production stages (processing,packaging,transportation).However, recycling rates in CIRCE2020 Countries (AT30%; IT21%; PL18%; HU18%) are still far from Directive targets (reduction to 35% by 2016) and 1 of the reason is that reuse of by-products is often left to companies’ individual initiatives: i.e the 5 CIRCE2020 industrial pilot areas(central Veneto-IT; Mid Tyrol-AT; Budaörs-HU; Poznan-PL; Split-HR) are characterized by numerous business organizational models (clusters&districts) but the same cross-value relationships are not fully exploited for waste valorisation&reduction of primary natural resources. CIRCE2020 main objective-in line with CE Priority 

3.1& new EU Action Plan for CircEcon-is to facilitate a larger uptake of integrated environmental management approach in 5 specific CE industrial areas by changing patterns from single&sporadic company recycling interventions to integrated redesign of industrial interactions based on the circular economy. Final goal is introduce innovative cross-value chain waste governance models&trasnational analytic tools to improve capacities of concerned waste public-private sector to reduce dependencies from primary natural resources within industrial processing. 4 multiutilites,3 sectorial agencies &1 R&D centre concerned in CIRCE2020 implement 5 pilot actions (across 10 material flows & 50 companies), using common analytic tools (Material Flow Analysis, LCA,LCC & clean-up technology E-CLOUD ) to close some loops actually open in the pilot areas & to provide robust evidences about environmental & economic benefits from shifting to enhanced industrial symbiosis. 5 Regional ActionPlans to expand secondary raw materials markets in pilot regions&1 trasnational strategy for new CE practitioners delivered to address sustainability & large replication