From 7 May, applications may be submitted for the Regione Lombardia “RI.CIRCO.LO” call for proposals, which aims to support and develop circular economy initiatives. Specifically, the objective is to reduce and improve waste management within the plastics and textile supply chains.

SMEs that are duly established and active in the Business Register, with an operational headquarters in Lombardy, may participate in the initiative by submitting individual or joint projects.

The total budget is €5,000,000.00, and each SME will be granted a non-repayable contribution of €30,000 in compliance with the “de minimis” regulation (EU Reg. No. 2831/2023).
The funding percentage may be increased to 60% for particularly successful projects that demonstrate, through one year of ex-post measurement, that they have exceeded expected results by at least 30% in terms of waste reduction, lower raw material consumption, the use of by-products or “end-of-waste” materials, or an increase in waste recycling.

The grant is awarded to projects submitted individually or jointly, with total eligible expenses, excluding VAT, of at least €50,000.00 for the entire project.

Interventions associated with all stages of the plastic and textile supply chain life cycles are considered eligible, such as:

• the recovery of production residues as raw materials;
• initiatives for the reuse of end-of-life packaging, or for the reuse of products or the extension of their life cycle;
• modifications to production lines;
• innovative projects, with potential for transferability and scalability, relating to waste collection dedicated to preparation for reuse or recycling processes, or to the preparation for reuse or recycling of plastic waste, compostable bioplastic waste, and textile waste.

Applications may be submitted from 7 May until 16:00 on 18 June 2024 and will be selected through a competitive evaluation procedure.

For further information regarding the initiative, please visit the official website or email een1@confindustria.lombardia.it.