The Irish Government has approved the Buying Greener: Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2027, which will play a key role in driving the implementation of green and circular procurement practices across the public sector. In addition to recycled content goals, the plan introduces measures to support reuse and repair activity in Ireland using GPP including the option of setting a target for the inclusion of used or repaired goods in procurement by 2027. Read the plan in full here.

On 11 April, Minister Eamon Ryan launched all 31 Local Authority Climate Action Plans in Ennis. Collectively there are almost 4,000 actions set out across all the local plans, including measures for resource management and circular economy, to be completed in each local authority area over the next five years. Learn more here.

Charity Retail Ireland has released their impact report for 2023, highlighting financial, social, and environmental impact. The report shows impressive growth on 2022 in second-hand trade. Key metrics include 9.5 million second-hand garments sold and 11,300 tonnes of textiles reused, avoiding over 100,000 tonnes carbon and employing 1,100 staff supported by over 8,400 volunteers and 650 trainees. Read their report in full here.

The 10th anniversary of Fashion Revolution Week was held between 15th and 24th April, where citizens and communities from across the globe held events to promote sustainable and ethical fashion. To mark this important campaign, the Rediscovery Centre’s event on 20th April explored fashion revolution through the art of upcycling and repair. Learn more about the day here.

The third National Youth Assembly On Climate convened on Thursday 11th April. In last year’s 2023 assembly, the Assembly recommended key actions related to circularity; imposing tariffs on fast fashion, financial incentives, legislation and the introduction of sustainability labelling. This year focused on engagement, to provide youth input into the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications’ Year of Engagement campaign and the Climate Action Plan 2025. Read more here.

Irish sustainable event production company Native Events has launched the 'Guide to Plastic-Free Festivals & Events', pooling sectoral expertise to create a roadmap for hosting events that minimise plastic usage, promote recycling, and prioritise environmental stewardship. Read more and download the guide for free here.

Minister Humphreys opened Ireland’s newest library in Kilkenny City, while announcing a €25 million investment in the Public Library Service, one of the most successful circular initiatives in the country. The new library is based in the Old Ballroom in the Abbey Quarter of the city, repurposed into a state-of-the-art library and community facility. It’s predicted that the library will achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold standard for measures taken around water efficiency, renewable energy, thermal performance and sustainability. Read more here.

Repak, the Irish Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme for packaging, has appointed Zoё Kavanagh as its new CEO.  Zoё joins Repak after 13 years as CEO at the National Dairy Council. Learn more here.

VOICE celebrated Reusable Nappy Week by organising a Cloth Nappy Drive in collaboration with Zero Waste Lviv. Donations of cloth nappies were distributed to families and children in war-torn Ukraine, providing them with essential resources while promoting sustainability. Read more here.  

Franka Gaffey from Cloth Nappy Library Ireland also joined the Rediscovery Centre’s Steve O’Reilly and Claire Downey on the Green Room to discuss their work in promoting affordable reusables to families actress Ireland. Listen back here and read more about the work of Cloth Nappy Library here.

Jiminy Eco Toys and the Rediscovery Centre have joined forces to launch the Big Toy Swap, the largest sustainable toy festival ever seen in Ireland. With just two months until the event, primary schools, scouts, and community groups are gearing up to rehome 10,000 pre-loved toys this June - and there’s still time to get involved! Learn more about the project and how to get involved here.

Cytech, the internationally recognised training and accreditation scheme for bicycle technicians, has announced a partnership with the Rediscovery Centre. Through this partnership the Rediscovery Centre will provide Cytech’s world-class training and accreditation scheme to current and aspiring bicycle technicians within the Irish Market. Learn more here.

After years of campaigning by right to repair advocates, EU lawmakers have agreed upon new repair rules, covering reasonable pricing for original parts and the use of compatible and reused spare parts as well as the ban of software practices which prevent independent repair. Learn more here, and read the Right to Repair’s analysis of the Directive here.

The European Parliament has also provisionally adopted new measures that aim to make packaging more sustainable and reduce packaging waste in the EU. The new rules include targets to reduce packaging by 5% by 2030, 10% by 2035 and 15% by 2040. Read more here.

The European Parliament has additionally approved the proposed EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) to require large companies to prevent and remedy human rights and environmental abuses in their global supply chains. An EU Council vote is still required. Learn more about the vote here.

RREUSE has launched its new public procurement research report, Advancing Climate, Environmental and Social Goals Through Public Procurement.  The publication covers socially responsible and green public procurement best practices across Europe focusing on social enterprises active in reuse-oriented activities, and features the Rediscovery Centre and Fingal County Council as a case study for their reuse of paint. Read the report in full here.

The World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) 2024 took place in Brussels from 15-19 April, with 9,983 registered participants and 158 countries represented online and on-site. The event included a panel discussion from the Rediscovery Centre’s Director of Policy & Research, Claire Downey, discussing Critical Raw Materials available here. Explore the Rediscovery Centre’s take backs from the WCEF 2024 here.

The Circular Cities Declaration (CCD) Report 2024 was launched at the World Circular Economy Forum 2024 in Brussels. The report is the widest ever assessment of circular economy activity across Europe’s cities, containing key circular economic activities, strategies and actions of 54 signatories. Read more here.

Also at the World Circular Economy Forum, The Rediscovery Centre, along the Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production, launched three brand new episodes of the Circular Behaviour Podcast. This micro-podcast series co-presented by Claire Downey, Rediscovery Centre and Mariana Nicolau, Centre for Sustainable Production and Consumption, explores the question of how we might instil circular behaviour change, taking examples from best practice around Europe. Listen in to interviews with Esra Tat of Zero Waste Europe,Odile le Bolloch from the EPA’s Stop Food Waste Initiative, and Veerle Labeeuw of Circular Flanders, and look out for new podcast episodes coming soon, recorded with special guests at the World Circular Economy Forum 2024.

Following on from the WCEF event, Rediscovery Centre along with the Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production will co-host an online webinar on May 8th discussing Circular Behaviour Change. This event is part of the Circular Economy Talks series hosted by the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform. Sign up for the event, and find out more information here.

RREUSE has published a joint position paper on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles which can be read in full here.

Global leaders gathered in Canada's capital last week to discuss progress in drafting the long-awaited first-ever global treaty to manage plastic pollution by the end of the year. The treaty could be the most significant deal relating to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental protection since the 2015 Paris Agreement. Learn more about the gathering here and stay tuned to hear of the key outcomes. 

Climate action NGO WRAP has opened a new office in Washington DC to promote sustainable living, with a focus on food waste, plastic pollution, and textiles. In line with WRAP’s wider strategy, WRAP in the Americas will collaborate with partners to coordinate a range of citizen-facing campaigns and programmes for businesses. Read more here.

The Ministry of Justice in the UK has published its circular economy strategy, setting out 10 circular economy objectives and strategic priorities: waste governance, smart waste management and building an internal circular economy. Read more here.

In an effort to boost product longevity, Apple has announced an expansion of its iPhone repairs process. Apple claim this will make it easier for customers to repair their devices themselves with genuine used parts. Learn more here.

Second-hand clothing sales are on track to make up 10% of the global fashion market next year, as the cost of living crisis and concerns over sustainability drives consumers towards “pre-loved” garments, according to a report by GlobalData for resale specialist ThredUp. Read more in the Guardian here. 

On April 8th eBay UK announced that individual sellers can sell pre-loved clothing for free in a move designed to encourage second hand markets in fashion. Read more here.

London Marathon Events (LME) has partnered with the Salvation Army Trading Company, the commercial arm of The Salvation Army, to tackle the issue of discarded clothing at various major events, starting with this year's marathon season. Learn more here. 

A year-long investigation by EarthSight tracked 800,000 tonnes of Better Cotton Certified cotton, linking popular items of H&M and Zara clothes and homeware to large-scale illegal deforestation, land grabbing, violence and corruption. Learn more here.

Plastic Overshoot Day is projected to occur on 5 September as a new EA Earth Action report finds 220 million tonnes of plastic waste will be generated in 2024. Read more about Plastic Overshoot Day here.