Grant agreement ID: 821033(opens in new window)Project website
DOI
Project closed
EC signature date3 May 2019
Start date1 October 2019
End date30 September 2023
🎯 Context & Strategic Objectives
CityLoops aimed to prove that city administrations are the primary agents of change in the circular transition. By focusing on CDW and Bio-waste, the project targeted materials that represent the highest volumes of urban waste and the greatest potential for CO2 reduction.
- Sector Focus:
- CDW & Soil: Moving from “downcycling” (using waste for low-grade road base) to high-value reuse in new buildings.
- Bio-waste: Transitioning from simple disposal to nutrient recovery, energy production (biogas), and food waste prevention.
- The “Lever” Strategy: Utilizing municipal powers—such as public procurement, zoning, and waste collection contracts—to create immediate market demand for circular products.
📊 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) & Results
The project successfully moved beyond theory into a massive “demonstration phase” with quantifiable outputs.
| KPI Category | Achievement |
| Demonstration Actions | 31 successful pilots (17 CDW, 14 Bio-waste) |
| Tools & Instruments | 34 new tools developed (procedures, scanners, marketplaces) |
| Circularity Assessments | 7 Urban Circularity Assessments (UCA) completed |
| Replication Power | 7 Replication Zones established with finalized transition plans |
| Scientific Output | Comprehensive sets of handbooks, toolkits, and policy recommendations |
🛠️ Main Deliverables & Innovations
1. Urban Circularity Assessment (UCA) & SCA
CityLoops pioneered the UCA methodology, a material flow and stock accounting method.
- UCA: Provides a high-level “metabolism” view of the entire city.
- SCA (Sector-wide): Deep-dives into specific biomass and construction flows.
- Sankey Diagrams: Visualizing these flows helped cities identify “hotspots” where the most material was being lost.
2. CDW Solutions: From “Waste” to “Resource”
- Pre-demolition Audits: Digital scans and procedures to identify reusable components before a building is torn down.
- Material Passports: Creating digital identities for materials to track their quality and location for future reuse.
- 3D Visualisation Tools: Used in Bodø (Norway) to model soil and mass flows for better urban planning.
3. Bio-waste Solutions: Valorisation & Prevention
- Food Waste Prevention: Tools for the tourism and social sectors to track and reduce surplus.
- Green Space Certification: Systems to ensure biomass from parks is composted or upcycled locally.
- Smart Collection: Implementing sensor-based bins and optimized routes to improve the purity of organic waste streams.
🌍 Socio-Economic & Societal Impact
CityLoops proved that a circular city is not just more sustainable, but more resilient and community-focused.
- Economic Impact: Development of “Material Depots” and local marketplaces created new business opportunities and green jobs in the pilot cities.
- Procurement Power: The project’s Circular Procurement Toolkit showed cities how to use their buying power to force the market toward sustainable innovation.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Over 1,400 stakeholders were involved via “Agoras” and learning networks, ensuring that circular policies have local “buy-in.”
- Environmental Impact: Documented significant reductions in carbon emissions and a measurable shift from landfilling to high-quality recycling