« A Network Symbol of Sustainable Development »

Some 40,000 men and women in the EU member states share common environmental and social objectives. For many years, they have actively pursued waste reduction by collecting used clothes, equipment, furniture..., and then reselling or, where this is not feasible, recycling them. These social economy projects are often combined with local development objectives, such as the reintegration of groups at risk.

Today waste treatment has become a huge economic activity with the entry of large multinational private operators. Social economy actors therefore also want to strengthen themselves through building their own networks at regional, national, and, more recently, at European level.

Our International Network

We Are a specialised European network of national and regional social economy federations and enterprises with activities in re-use and recycling.

Our Members are the existing national and regional social economy networks active in certain waste streams, and individual organisations, particularly where specialised networks are not operational yet. Our goal is not to have many members, but to cover all EU member states at the highest possible level for the main waste streams. Similar to our member-organisations, the European network combines both social and environmental objectives and gives them equal emphasis.