DEALING WITH THE TRANSITION FROM IN LINE ECONOMY TO CIRCULAR ECONOMY - PUBLIC AWARENESS INVESTIGATION IN BUCHAREST

Abstract

The Circular Economy (CE) concept is an emerging topic. In 2015 European Commission has adopted a circular economy package on waste management. The targets include achieving a recycling rate of 50% by 31 December 2020. The aim of this study is to create a better understanding of public awareness in the promotion of a circular economy in Bucharest, Romania. Under the frame of ERASMUS+ program, in the project entitled “Waste Education Initiative”, we developed with EU partners a Circular Economy Guide, for Residents and Students. To assess if the Bucharest citizens support and adopt a “Circular Economy behavior”, workshops were carried out amongst Bucharest population, yielding more than 300 voluntarily participants (67% of the total responses were provided by students).