Innovative circular solutions for end-of-life footwear through collection, sorting and recycling
EU Funding & Tenders Portal HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-CIRCBIO-05 · Horizon Europe (HORIZON)
| Funder | European Commission |
|---|---|
| Status | forthcoming |
| Opens | 20 Apr 2027 |
| Deadline | 22 Sep 2027 — 327 days |
| Action | HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions |
| Official page | https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunit… |
| Last checked | 2026-10-30 06:02:40+00:00 |
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| Instrument | HORIZON-RIA |
|---|---|
| Stages | single-stage |
| EU contribution | €4.0m to €5.0m per project |
| Projects expected | 2, sharing €9.0m |
From the Commission's own budget table for this call. Confirm against the topic page before you plan around it: these move when a work programme is amended.
Scope
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: all relevant stakeholders, including consumers, economic and social economy operators and waste managers, have an improved understanding of the technical, environmental, economic and social challenges and benefits to circularity in the footwear industry; economic operators and waste managers are provided with evidence-based, innovative, cost-effective, and scalable solutions that improve the management of end-of-life footwear products, valorise post-consumer footwear waste materials and increase the circularity of the value chain; consumers have access to user-friendly solutions to correctly dispose of end-of-life footwear, thus reducing landfill, improving sustainability practices, supporting them in making more conscious choices, and contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation by reducing waste and promoting circular economy practices. Scope: The transition to a circular economy requires innovative solutions to manage end-of-life products, including footwear, which can have significant environmental and climate impacts if landfilled and not properly collected, sorted, and recycled. In line with the EU's ambitious circular economy targets and policies, such as the Waste Framework Directive and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, this topic aims at improving the circularity of the footwear value chain and reducing the environmental footprint of end-of-life post-consumer footwear, whilst promoting a more regenerative and restorative approach to the footwear value chain. Proposals should: assess the technical, environmental, economic and social challenges and benefits linked to the transition of the footwear industry towards circularity, particularly in the collection, sorting and recycling of post-consumer footwear waste; develop and test new methods and technologies that facilitate the collection, sorting, preparation for reuse and recycling of post-consumer footwear products, integrating digital tools (including AI) and the use of the Digital Product Passport to enable reuse and recycling, and minimise the release of hazardous chemicals and microplastics during the recycling process; explore and develop innovative business models that enable the transition towards a circular and sustainable footwear value chain, promote the uptake of design for preparing for reuse and recycling, enable the development of take-back solutions and stimulate informed consumer choices and sustainable consumption patterns; develop and test innova…
What consortia for this call have looked like
2 projects
have been funded under this line
(HORIZON-CL6-CIRCBIO-05) in Horizon Europe and H2020. This is what they
were made of — not a recommendation, just what the Commission signed.
range 14–21
12 seen across all of them
across those projects
The mix of organisations
Who coordinated them
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