VERC - Virtual European Recycling Centre

Objectives

The main objective of VERC is the provision of services to all recycling actors or customers through out Europe mainly using the most recent advances in Information and Communication Technologies. These services would deal to higher competitiveness of European Recycling Industry, more transparency in secondary materials exchanges, and increasing recycling ratios to reach the targets of actual and emerging legislation. Main involved actors, thus, are: recycling industries, Original Equipment Manufacturers, research community, policy makers (environment, industry, R&D, …), students, industrial association, engineering services, NGOs, others.

It would also contribute to further implementation of European Research Area “ERA” and help to avoid duplication of research efforts, through the identification of research priorities, information on who is who in recycling in Europe, reducing R&D expenditures and facilitating the easy transfer of research results into industrial applications.

VERC will also provide among its services a Virtual Discussion Platform for achievement of Consensus in Recycling in Europe, as a way of continuation of the work started during 1999 and 2000 at the European Recycling Forum. Commission Representatives, Industrial Associations, NGOs, Member States and Individual Experts will be invited to join such platform.

Hence, the main objectives of the project are:

• To articulate a network of “Competence in Recycling”, connecting the main agents (industry, research, commercial, consultants, …) working in recycling in Europe,
• To create an information centre on aspects related to recycling (map of competencies, technologies, practices, markets, standards, legislation, etc.),
• To use the resulting synergies of both elements “network and information centre”,
• To identify and connect main actors in research in recycling in Europe, articulating the required working groups and virtual discussion platforms for achievement of Consensus in Recycling and designing of models for future coordination of research in recycling in Europe (ERA),
• To use the potentials of most recent developments on ICT,
• To articulate permanent input from customer groups, so that the VERC offer will be continuously reviewed and up dated to changes in market needs,
• To define and articulate after setting up phase the required distribution channels for dissemination and provision of VERC services to all potential customer groups.

Output

The VERC Services will be defined including tailored information dispatch, technological advice, organisation of workshops and conferences, development of training programmes, assistance to R&D initiative/proposals under preparation, and many others. Together with commercial services, VERC will create a Virtual Platform for Discussion of main strategic topics in Recycling in Europe, as a way of providing plural, and Consensuated Information on those topics to EC, Member State Representatives and other interested parties, giving continuity to the work already started at the European Recycling Forum during 1999.

Project Partners

Gaiker (ES), IPTS-JRC (ES), UCB (DE), IXAS (FR), ULAQ (IT), VITO (BE), TNO (NL), SAT (AT), ACR (BE), IRSA (ES), CEN (SE), SRI (SE), DTI (DK), ARC (BE), JMC (UK), KRETSLOPPSCENTRUM (SE), SALYP-ELV (BE).