Circular Ports

Circular Ports – Deploying Circular Economy in Port Environments

Every day, thousands of tonnes of materials move through Baltic Sea ports. Some are transported onward. Some are reused. But some are lost as waste. Circular Ports asks: What if more of those materials could stay in circulation – and what opportunities could ports unlock?

Circular Ports advances the transition from linear to circular economic systems in port environments by piloting practical circular solutions and creating frameworks for their replication across the Baltic Sea Region. Ports are complex hubs where logistics, industry, waste management, energy systems and often urban activities intersect. This makes them highly relevant for advancing circular economy approaches that reduce waste, increase resource efficiency and support climate neutrality.

The project fosters collaboration between port authorities, enterprises, waste management actors and local public authorities to identify synergies, develop circular business practices and encourage systemic change in port communities. By strengthening cooperation between stakeholders operating in close proximity, Circular Ports helps unlock the potential of industrial symbiosis and closed material loops in port environments.

Circular Ports contributes to the European Green Deal and the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, and supports the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, particularly Policy Area Ship but also Policy Areas Transport and Safe.

Objectives

The project works towards:

• Identifying synergies between industries and actors in port areas and fostering industrial symbiosis.
• Exploring and testing circular business cases that support viable circular economy strategies.
• Improving waste management practices with waste disposal companies, including better separation, recycling and utilisation of waste streams.
• Encouraging systemic change in port communities towards more sustainable production and consumption patterns.
• Assessing regulatory frameworks and identifying ways to better enable circular economy initiatives in port environments.
• Engaging port stakeholders through communication and cooperation activities to support the uptake of circular practices.

Regulatory Sandboxes

A hallmark of the project is the development of regulatory sandboxes for circular initiatives in port environments. A regulatory sandbox is a structured framework that enables experimentation with new technologies, services, products or approaches in real-life settings, within existing regulatory structures.

These sandboxes allow partners to test circular economy solutions in the complex operational context of ports, where maritime, logistics, industrial and urban activities meet. They support learning about regulatory barriers and opportunities and help identify ways to create more enabling conditions for circularity in ports.

Pilot Activities

The transition towards circularity is put into practice through six pilots, each addressing locally relevant circular economy challenges and opportunities:

• Aalborg: Construction and building materials
• Hamburg: Ship and boat recycling
• Lappeenranta: Identification of material flows and creation of industrial symbioses
• Tallinn: Increasing the recycling rate of ship waste
• Norrköping: New waste streams for recycling
• Gdynia: Circular management of bulk cargo spillages

Each pilot operates within a locally developed regulatory sandbox and demonstrates how circular solutions can be embedded in real port operations.

Procurement Strategies

Circular Ports also develops guidance on procurement as a lever for circular transformation, distinguishing between three approaches:

• Classical procurement: Focus on lowest price and short-term cost efficiency.
• Green procurement: Focus on reducing environmental impacts such as energy use, emissions and material consumption.
• Circular procurement: Focus on minimising waste, extending product lifetimes and preserving the value of materials through lifecycle thinking.

The guidance offers elements organisations can adapt to their own context and level of ambition, rather than a fixed checklist.

A Toolbox to deploy CE strategies

Circular Ports will produce a Circular Economy Toolbox to support ports and their stakeholders in advancing circular economy practices and transferring successful approaches across the Baltic Sea Region.

Expected Impact

Through practical pilots, regulatory experimentation and stakeholder collaboration, Circular Ports will:

• Strengthen circular economy implementation in port environments.
• Reduce waste and emissions linked to port-related activities.
• Support new circular business opportunities and cooperation models.
• Enable replication of successful approaches in other ports across the Baltic Sea Region.

From individual material flows and local pilots to solutions that can be transferred across the Baltic Sea Region, Circular Ports aims to show how more materials can stay in circulation – and how ports can help make that happen.