Circular Economy and Quality of Life · Governance and Information
LIFE MERCURY-FREE
Complex Awareness Raising and Behaviour Change for the Mercury-Free City Environment
About the project
The project tackled mercury pollution from household consumer goods, which people often mishandle for lack of clear information and convenient disposal options. It aimed to reduce this pollution through information support, awareness and education campaigns, behaviour change activities based on behavioural insights, a multi-stakeholder dialogue and Mercury-Free City Communities in the participating cities. Activities were piloted in four comparable cities, two in Ukraine and two in Poland, while three cities in Greece, Portugal and Italy served as control cities and first replicators. Outputs included the LIFE e-HUB with a Moodle-based learning platform, a methodological recommendation on managing mercury-containing waste, an international e-conference, a multi-stakeholder roadmap for a Mercury-Free City, international Mercury-Free City marathons, an academy and summer schools for municipalities, NGOs and educational institutions, and a mutual learning exercise.
pilot cities: Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lodz and Kraków
control cities in Greece, Portugal and Italy
Ukrainian participation
Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk were two of the project's four pilot cities. The Ukrainian beneficiaries were Lviv Polytechnic National University and the Ivano-Frankivsk Academy of St. John Chrysostom.
| Organisation | Role | EU contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Lviv Polytechnic National University | Beneficiary | EU contribution: €55,533 |
| Ivano-Frankivsk Academy of St. John Chrysostom | Beneficiary | EU contribution: €52,965 |
Consortium
Coordinator
Politechnika Łódzka (Lodz University of Technology)
Poland
Ukraine
- Lviv Polytechnic National University
- Ivano-Frankivsk Academy of St. John Chrysostom
- See “Ukrainian participation”
Greece
- Innovation Hive – Kypseli Kainotomias
Italy
- Università degli Studi di Camerino
Netherlands
- Virtual Angle BV (participation terminated)
Poland
- Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza im. Stanisława Staszica w Krakowie (AGH University of Krakow)
Portugal
- Universidade de Évora
Links
- Official project page (CINEA)webgate.ec.europa.eu(opens in a new tab)
- Project websitelife-mercury-free.eu(opens in a new tab)
- Project consortiumlife-mercury-free.eu(opens in a new tab)
- Project page of the Ivano-Frankivsk Academyifaiz.edu.ua(opens in a new tab)
- Extended project page on the LIFE public databasewebgate.ec.europa.eu(opens in a new tab)
Sources and verification
Data verified on 19 Oct 2026 against official sources: