It’s been a busy week! Let’s get stuck in.

Industry News

Collaborations and Partnerships 🤝:

Sky Medical and Royal Mint partner to turn old PCBs into jewellery. The Royal Mint will recover precious metals like gold, silver, and copper from PCBs supplied by Sky Medical. Using ambient-temperature chemistry by Excir, the reclaimed gold will be repurposed into The Royal Mint’s “886” sustainable jewellery line. Read more.

ONLY partners with RE&UP and Deniz on circular fashion. Bestseller’s ONLY will produce T-shirts made from worn-out garments and factory waste, replacing virgin polyester with recycled fibres from RE&UP. The collaboration with Deniz marks a step toward large-scale circular fashion. Read more.

Recommerce and Xiaomi roll out Europe-wide trade-in. Recommerce has partnered with Xiaomi to launch trade-in programmes in 12 markets, including the UK, Germany, France and Italy. Returned devices will be refurbished, resold or recycled. The initiative expands Xiaomi’s circular footprint and keeps electronics in use longer. Read more.

Gloyd and EcoBatt launch battery-in-device (BIDS) facility. Melbourne’s EcoBatt, using tech developed by Gloyd Recycling Solutions, has opened a facility designed to strip embedded batteries from phones, vapes, tools and other small items. It processes ~2,000 lbs/hour and recovers 90%+ of valuable materials. Read more.

Roka London launches resale marketplace with Continue. Recycled-bag brand Roka London has rolled out a resale platform with Continue, letting customers buy, authenticate, or resell pre-loved Roka bags directly from its website. It underlines Roka’s circularity promise to keep their recycled bags in circulation. Read more.

bolttech & LOOP expand device protection access in Kenya. bolttech is partnering with LOOP to launch LOOP Flex, combining phone financing with repair and protection services. Damaged or faulty devices will be fixed at certified repair centres using genuine parts, keeping products in use longer. Read more.

GORE-TEX Kidswear launches circular subscription service with Supercycle. Families can now subscribe to durable, weather-proof kidswear that grows with children’s needs. Items can be swapped, returned, or recycled, reducing waste and extending product life. Read more.

Peter C. Evans, Vincenzo Nici, and Ashley Olsson release “Scaling the Circular Economy for Oil & Gas” white paper. The report shows oil & gas firms recover only 9-11% of asset value, leaving up to 90% untapped. It introduces the CIRAM model to help embed circularity in procurement, operations and finance. Read more.

Company Updates 🔎:

CEVA Logistics sets up reverse logistics hubs for EV batteries in Europe. CEVA has launched a service for end-of-life EV batteries, aiming to cover ~80% of European volume by 2030. Solutions include collection, transport, diagnostics, dismantling and reconditioning, and will launch in the UK, Spain, and France this year. Read more.

Vinted debuts RE/Style second-hand fashion show. Vinted is launching a six-part competition on Prime Video hosted by Emma Willis. Designers from across Europe will create runway looks using only second-hand items. The winner’s line will show at London Fashion Week and sell on Vinted, with profits to Oxfam. Read more.

Tommy Hilfiger commits to complete circularity by 2030. Tommy Hilfiger is scaling its “Tommy for Life” programme globally, with resale, trade-in, rework, repair and rental making up the core. By 2030, the brand wants all its products to be designed using circular economy principles. Read more.

Rumpke opens AI-powered recycling plant in Ohio. Rumpke has launched a $100m Columbus facility using AI and optical scanners to sort up to 250,000 tons of recyclables annually. Around 80% of recovered material is reused locally, positioning it as one of the most advanced recycling plants in the US. Read more.

Waste Management (WM) opens AI-powered recycling plant in Oregon. The new $47m facility in North Portland is handling up to 38 tons of waste an hour using AI-driven tech. WM says this plant is part of a broader effort to modernise recycling and boost sustainability across Oregon. Read more.

ReturnQueen releases new features and expands into full marketplace. ReturnQueen has relaunched its app as an end-to-end platform merging shopping, resale, social sharing, VR try-on, and seamless returns. Brands can now list products directly on ReturnQueen’s marketplace and use AI to verify and determine price. Read more.

Mura to build plastic recycling plant in Singapore. Mura Technology is developing a 50 kilotonnes per annum (kta) Hydro-PRT facility on Jurong Island, with potential expansion to 100kta. It’ll convert mixed and contaminated plastic waste into circular hydrocarbons for recycling into virgin-grade plastics. Read more.

KIBO enhances reverse logistics offering. The commerce platform has added full reverse logistics functionality to its suite. Brands can now access intelligent return routing, disposition mapping and custom return rules. The updates strengthen KIBO’s post-purchase and sustainability capabilities. Read more.

Tera Mira develops seaweed-based elastane alternative. Startup Tera Mira is creating a bio-based stretch fibre from seaweed to replace elastane, avoiding fossil fuels, microplastic shedding and recycling issues. Their process is low temperature, solvent-free, and designed to work with existing textile machinery. Read more.

Regional Updates 🌎️:

Europe adopts food waste targets and textile EPR. New EU rules mandate a 10% cut in food waste from processing and manufacturing and 30% from retail and households by 2030. Textile producers must fund collection and recycling under new EPR schemes, but critics warn the law lacks binding reuse or recycling targets. Read more.

The Pope inaugurates Vatican circular economy hub. Pope Leo XIV has inaugurated Borgo Laudato Si’, a 55-acre zero waste farm in Italy. Built on circular principles, it uses solar power, smart irrigation, composting, regeneration, and plastic bans. The site links organic farming with education to model an inclusive circular economy. Read more.

Investment News

Venture and Growth Capital 📈:

$300m fund launched to scale climate tech. The All Aboard Coalition, which manages $60bn in assets, has launched a $300m fund for climate-tech scale-ups. It targets companies moving from pilot to commercial stage with $100-200m growth rounds. Backers include Breakthrough Energy, Khosla Ventures and DCVC. Read more.

South American data-centre giant secures $1bn sustainability-linked loan. ODATA has secured a $1bn loan from a syndicate including BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB, Deutsche Bank, MUFG and others. The loan is tied to strict sustainability criteria, new data centres must meet embodied carbon and operational emissions targets. Read more.

Ireland opens €650k grant scheme for circular innovation. Ireland’s government has launched the 2025 Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme with €650,000 available in total. Individual grants will range between €40,000–€50,000 and are aimed at SMEs, community groups and social enterprises. Read more.

SaXcell raises funds to build textile recycling plant. Dutch innovator SaXcell has secured €4m to construct a textile recycling plant and pulp centre in Enschede, NL. The facility will convert post-consumer waste into virgin-quality fibre through chemical recycling. Read more.

Altered Capital invests in Echo Technology to tackle NZ e-waste. Echo Tech has secured funding from Altered Capital to expand its e-waste processing network beyond Auckland and Wellington. The company offers reuse, secure data destruction and certified recycling to its customers. Read more.

Nitricity raises $50m for low-carbon fertilizer. Nitricity has secured $50m in Series B funding led by World Fund and Khosla Ventures. Its renewable process makes nitrogen fertilizer from almond shells, air, and water with 90% lower emissions. The capital will be used to scale Nitricity’s technology across the US and into Europe. Read more.

Tamarix Equity invests in Royal Oak Recycling. New York-based private equity firm Tamarix Equity Partners has taken a stake in Royal Oak Recycling, a Detroit-area recycler handling paper, plastic, metal & document destruction. The investment supports Royal Oak’s growth and its goal to expand footprint across the US. Read more.

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Have a great one and we’ll meet again on Monday!

Cheers to circularity,

#TeamCircularConnect #ConnectingTheCircularEconomy