INDIANAPOLIS CIRCULAR ECONOMY INITIATIVE
Indianapolis is the most wasteful city in the United States, not only throwing away valuable recyclable materials but also economic opportunities, including jobs.
Overview
Initiated in early 2019, the Indianapolis Circular Economy Initiative (ICEI) is a multi-stakeholder, multiyear collaborative effort, in partnership with the City of Indianapolis and many other stakeholders, to address Indianapolis’ recycling challenges, achieve the Thrive Indianapolis Plan goals, generate good and promising jobs, foster innovation, ideas, and investments, and capture the economic, social, and environmental benefits of a thriving circular economy in Indiana.
Our priority to address Indianapolis’ recycling challenges is motivated by the greatest opportunity to influence individual behavior and the urgent need to address policy needs in Indiana’s most populous city. Addressing recycling issues in Indianapolis as an urgent first priority is intended as a springboard for pursuing broader aspects of the circular economy statewide. Led by Circular Indiana, this locally-focused initiative leverages the organization’s statewide mission to achieve statewide education and advocacy goals in order to achieve the broader vision described above.
The Indianapolis Circular Economy Initiative launched during the September 15, 2020 meeting of the Indianapolis City-Council Commission on Environmental Sustainability.
Stakeholders
ICEI currently gathers over two dozen stakeholders representing local and statewide perspectives from human services agencies, governmental and non-governmental agencies, arts and culture organizations, neighborhood organizations, businesses, and waste and recycling organizations. We are not done seeking collaborators; ICEI is continuously and intentionally expanding its list of engaged partners based on a stakeholder mapping process in early 2020 that identified over 100 potential partner organizations in Indianapolis. If your organization is interested in participating, please contact info@circularin.org
