#MeetTheTeam – Joan Marc Simon

Meet the Team Zero Waste Europe - general

It’s time to discover and learn more about the people behind Zero Waste Europe’s work and magic! In addition to the ZWE Changemakers series, where you can learn more about our member organisations, we invite you to get a closer look at our staff, what they do, and what inspires them to work for a zero waste future.

This time, we sat down with Joan Marc Simon, who started Zero Waste Europe in 2010 and has been with the organisation ever since.

What motivated you to launch ZWE and begin the work towards a zero waste Europe?

It started from the same motivation we all share: to make the world a better place. Waste is something we all understand, and we all want less of it. Yet waste continues to increase, which is living proof that our current system isn’t working. So I decided to start Zero Waste Europe as my personal contribution to fixing this broken system.

As the organisation has changed, you’ve played many different roles. Can you take us on a trip down memory lane?

That would be a long trip! I’ve performed virtually every role possible in an organisation. I registered the legal entity, fundraised, designed the first ZWE website and logo, wrote and sent out our first press release, and even paid and booked the first invoice.

ZWE’s first logo and website

Beyond that, I’ve written books, articles, studies, business plans, and waste management plans, while giving countless speeches about zero waste. I’ve visited waste dumps, incinerators, recycling plants, composting facilities, and washing lanes. I’ve worked with waste pickers, activists, entrepreneurs, and elected officials.

It’s been incredibly challenging work, but I’ve also had the privilege of meeting amazing, inspiring people and working with deeply committed human beings. All in all, it’s been a journey that’s far from over—there’s still so much work to be done!

First meeting of NGOs to define a zero waste strategy for Europe (2011)

Launch of Renewable Energy House in Brussels (2012)

ZWE Congress in Donostia-San Sebastian (2012)

A trip down memory lane with early ZWE photos from 2011 and 2012

What is the most interesting part of your current role?

I’m still driven by the same motivation to do my bit to fix a broken system. I enjoy imagining how the world could be, and my current role allows me to look for opportunities and develop new projects and ideas that can help us get closer to a zero waste Europe.

For instance, I really enjoy pushing the boundaries of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes, as well as working on the Global Deposit and Return Systems Platform (through which we hope to reduce 90% of beverage packaging litter worldwide).

What would you say is your greatest professional achievement?

I would say creating a way forward where there was none. Zero waste is a mainstream concept today and almost seems like a given, but it wasn’t always like this. I still remember the faces of the “waste experts” and EU bureaucrats, somewhere between disdain and mockery, when I started talking about a zero waste future in Brussels in the early 2000s.

Twenty years ago, waste was a grey world populated by (mostly male) engineers doing everything possible to hide this shame from society. Today, it’s a much more colourful place. From waste being a technical problem that has to be managed, we have moved on to waste being a sociological issue that needs to be fixed. I think society as a whole has taken the step of acknowledging that we have a problem we cannot solve with machines alone, and ZWE has played a role in this transformation.

Waste is a sociological and almost philosophical issue that requires a change in our mindset. Twenty years ago, the solution to waste was recycling. Today, it’s clear we need to change consumption patterns and design better ways to use resources.

This is not something I achieved on my own, but I see my biggest professional achievement as having contributed to building this path.

What has been the biggest challenge that you’ve faced in your work?

My mind goes faster than my legs. I always have more ideas than my colleagues and I can implement, which is a nice challenge to have. As a consequence, I always have more to do than I have time for—but I honestly prefer this to the opposite!

What is an aspect of your work that you find fun?

It’s a bit unusual, but I have fun observing people’s reactions when I come up with new ideas. I guess it has to do with taking people out of their comfort zone. I also enjoy finding ways to unravel complicated situations and coming up with out-of-the-box solutions.

In your view, which actions are needed to make Europe truly zero waste?

We will not achieve zero waste through technological solutions alone. Machines can help, but the only way forward is to learn to live differently—accepting that the boundaries of our system are not a curse but a blessing, and that we have not inherited the planet from our ancestors but rather borrowed it from future generations. The day we prioritise being before having, we will have fixed the waste problem.

To do this, we need to create an economic system that not only internalises costs but also rewards doing the right thing. This might sound rather philosophical, but we cannot find the way forward as long as there is no will to change.

For the moment, it seems our society doesn’t have this will, and it might take another event on the scale of a world war to make us reconsider the situation. In the meantime, we’ll be patching things here and there 🙂

Looking ahead, which developments or priorities will you be focusing on in your work?

A big focus in my work is developing practical ways to create economic incentives for people, authorities, and companies to do the right thing. For instance, I’m pushing for producers to cover not only the costs of collecting, recycling, and disposing of their waste, but also the costs of transitioning to a reuse and repair economy with a viable business model for circular products.

As long as it’s cheaper for producers to sell short-lived, unrepairable, wasteful products than to invest in durable, non-toxic, circular products, we will not be able to advance toward a circular economy.

Are there any other resources or topics that you want to highlight?

The latest study that I wrote on redesigning Extended Producer Responsibility to improve EU’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy is a good resource for those wanting to learn more about what I just mentioned.

I would also recommend the blueprint on reuse systems that we published in May, as well as the Global DRS Platform website for people interested in fighting littering.