Industry News

Collaborations and Partnerships:

Deloitte and Lenovo find leasing refurbished laptops can deliver 92% circularity. Their analysis provides compelling evidence for circular IT procurement, while Lenovo’s lifecycle data shows refurbished devices are around half as carbon intensive as buying new. Read more.

Siemens and Sparepartsnow partner to expand access to refurbished automation equipment. Industrial customers across Europe can now purchase refurbished Siemens drives, controllers and HMI panels through Sparepartsnow, with plans to expand both product range and regional availability. Read more.

Business Developments:

Cyclic Materials opens the Americas’ first commercial-scale automated rare earth magnet recovery facility. The $30m+ Arizona facility can process up to 25,000 tonnes of magnet-bearing end-of-life products annually, with more than 7,000 tonnes of feedstock already delivered. Read more.

Samsung brings its latest Galaxy S26 series into Certified Re-Newed programme. The Galaxy S26, S26+ and S26 Ultra are now available refurbished directly by Samsung in the UK, with genuine parts used where required and the same two-year warranty as new devices. Read more.

Reconomy calls for nationwide network of construction material reuse hubs. The company is urging UK Government support for infrastructure to collect and redistribute surplus building materials, citing growing demand from contractors to prioritise reuse over recycling, downcycling or disposal. Read more.

Virgin Media O2 commits £3m to expand technology reuse networks across the UK. Its new Tech Rehome Network Fund will support local systems to recover, refurbish and redistribute unwanted devices, as research estimates 267 million unused UK devices remain suitable for reuse or repair. Read more.

ReturnPro appoints Jelle Schoenmaker to lead international expansion. The newly created CEO International role will lead growth outside North America, overseeing global corporate strategy and go-to-market execution while supporting the company’s M&A activities. Read more.

TXO appoints new Group CEO and CFO as it continues global expansion. Oliver Lemanski and Meave O’Marah join as Group CEO and Group CFO, having previously worked together leading OnProcess Technology through its 2023 acquisition by Accenture. Read more.

Tech Rescue launches £1.5m programme to give 8,500 refurbished devices to digitally excluded households. Launched by the University of Liverpool, Good Things Foundation and Material Focus, the three-year initiative will build a network of 12 community tech reuse hubs across the UK. Read more.

Market and Regional Developments:

EU launches consultation on aligning VAT rules with the circular economy. The European Commission is examining changes to VAT treatment of second-hand goods and the destruction of viable products, as it looks to remove tax barriers to circular business models. Read more.

Global e-waste contained $91bn worth of metals in 2022, but just $28bn was recovered. New analysis highlights the significant untapped value in discarded electronics, as governments increasingly view e-waste recovery as a route to greater resource security and more resilient material supply chains. Read more.

Nine in ten retailers struggle to recover full value from returned products. New research from ReBound Returns and Advanced Supply Chain finds just 9% of retailers resell more than half of returns at full price, despite 86% having established circularity practices. Read more.

Investment News

M&A:

Flex IT and T1A combine to create €150m European circular IT platform. The combination brings together corporate IT collection, data erasure and refurbishment with Flex IT’s network of approximately 13,000 resellers, creating an integrated route from ITAD through to second-life distribution. Read more.

Venture and Growth Capital:

LEGO family investment arm plans major push into circular plastics. KIRKBI Climate plans to invest an additional DKK 10bn ($1.6bn) over five years across climate solutions, with plastic sorting, recycling and reuse technologies among its core investment priorities. Read more.

RentoMojo’s $133m IPO fully subscribed on first day of bidding. The furniture and appliance rental platform is seeking a valuation of up to $444m as it looks to become India’s first listed furniture rental company, following 45.5% annual revenue growth. Read more.

Stoke Space raises $1bn to advance fully reusable rockets. The US rocket company is developing launch vehicles designed to return and reuse both the first and second stages, with its Nova Pathfinder targeting its first orbital flight in early 2027. Read more.

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