Waste prevention is one of the main strategic objectives of the European waste management policy and it is also at the basis of circular economy concept. This paper explores the connection between waste prevention and circular economy in the context of Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy). Since 2015, Emilia-Romagna regional government has approved a circular economy Regional Law, including a series of actions supporting both European waste hierarchy and circular economy. All these actions promote a transition towards circular economy at systemic level and an analysis of Emilia-Romagna circular economy good practices has been carried out in this paper. Good practices are defined as relevant initiatives and innovative processes which start an innovation according to circular economy. This paper classifies more than 30 economic realities in Emilia-Romagna Region according to circularity criteria defined in the framework of European and Italian good practice collections. This analysis highlights several practices, concerning not so much waste management but rather innovative production processes of reuse, repair, and refurbishment. As a result, a strong connection between circular economy and waste prevention is confirmed. © 2020 Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi, Romania. All rights reserved.

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