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

Industry News

Collaborations and Partnerships 🤝:

eBay becomes official pre-loved partner to Condé Nast. The global media group and resale marketplace have launched a multi-year collaboration across the US, UK and Germany, enabling titles like Vogue, GQ and Vanity Fair to spotlight vintage fashion and authenticated resale on a new scale. Read more.

Goldstrom teams up with SMX for full-chain traceability in precious metals. Goldstrom Advisory FZCO has entered an advisory agreement with SMX (Security Matters) to deploy molecular-marking and blockchain-backed digital passports across the gold and silver supply chain, from refining and vaulting to recycling. Read more.

Critical Materials Recycling and Paladin EnviroTech launch “REcapture” for rare-earth magnet recovery. The new joint venture will extract neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium from end-of-life electronics, combining CMR’s processing technology with Paladin’s collection network. Read more.

Luxury retailer Mytheresa deepens circular offering with Vestiaire Collective. Mytheresa is expanding its collaboration with Vestiaire Collective to include menswear, launching a dedicated resale hub where customers can trade authenticated items for instant store credit. Read more.

Microsoft signs 10-year deal with Arca to turn CO₂ into rock. Arca will permanently store nearly 300,000 tonnes of CO₂ by accelerating natural mineralisation, transforming captured carbon into solid rock within mine waste. The long-term agreement helps scale a nature-based, geology-driven solution for durable carbon removal. Read more.

H&M signs multi-year deal with Recover to scale recycled cotton. The fashion retailer has entered into a long-term agreement with materials-science firm Recover to integrate its RCotton recycled cotton fibre into H&M’s collections, supporting the brand’s target of using only recycled or sustainably-sourced materials by 2030. Read more.

West Ham Football Club partners with BoyleSports and Birl on shirt-swap initiative. The club is teaming up with its sponsor BoyleSports and recycling specialist Birl to run an in-stadium shirt-swap, allowing fans to trade old kits for discounted or free new ones. Returned shirts will be recycled and repurposed. Read more.

Ambercycle signs offtake deal with REI Co‑op to scale regenerated polyester. Under the agreement, REI will integrate Ambercycle’s Cycora® material, made from end-of-life textiles via molecular regeneration, into its performance apparel and outdoor gear lines, reducing reliance on virgin polyester. Read more.

Nissan Canada partners with Lithion to recycle EV batteries and recover critical minerals. The multi-year deal will see Nissan supply end-of-life EV batteries to Lithion, which will recover up to 98% of critical minerals using its hydrometallurgical process. The partnership supports domestic battery-materials circularity. Read more.

Company Updates 🔎:

Iron Mountain to host Sustainable IT Asset Management event in the UK on November 11. Following its integration of Wisetek, Iron Mountain is showcasing its expanded asset lifecycle management capabilities in Milton Keynes, covering secure deployment, reuse, recycling and data destruction. The event will feature leadership insights, facility tours, live shred demos and networking. RSVP here.

Endolys invests £120 million in UK film recycling facility. The chemical recycler is building a large-scale plant to process 60,000 tonnes of plastic film waste annually using advanced pyrolysis technology. The project will create around 120 skilled jobs and boost the UK’s plastics recycling infrastructure. Read more.

Meta Materials Circular Markets launches ELV-linked carbon credits. The company has introduced India’s first circularity-linked carbon credits derived from end-of-life vehicles, projecting more than 2 million tonnes of CO₂ savings by 2035 through a network of registered scrapping facilities. Read more.

MediaMarkt rolls out refurbishment programme across the Benelux. The electronics retailer has launched its “MediaMarkt Refurbished” initiative in Dutch and Belgian operations, enabling customers to trade in used devices that are then renewed and sold with warranty. Read more.

Regional Updates 🌎️:

New data highlights Europe’s escalating e-waste crisis. Fresh analysis from the European Environmental Bureau shows electronics sales across the EU have risen nearly 90% since 2012, while e-waste collection rates remain below 50%. NGOs are urging tougher WEEE rules, including binding reuse targets and stronger EPR enforcement to accelerate circularity. Read more.

US e-waste exports to Asia may exceed $1 billion, report finds. Analysis from Basel Action Network estimates more than 10,000 shipping containers of US e-waste were sent to Asia between 2023 and 2025, with Malaysia a major destination. The findings spotlight persistent waste leakage and the need for tighter e-waste export controls. Read more.

US and Thailand sign MoU to strengthen critical-minerals supply chains. The two governments have formalised a cooperation framework to diversify global critical-minerals supply, covering exploration, processing, recycling, and value-added manufacturing, boosting investment, technology transfer, and supply-chain resilience. Read more.

EU launches “REsourceEU” to break reliance on Chinese rare earths. The initiative is in response to China’s export restrictions, aiming to boost domestic recycling of critical raw materials and forge new global supply partnerships. More than 90% of Europe’s rare-earth magnet imports currently come from China, prompting urgent action. Read more.

New British Fashion Council report highlights the commercial upside of repair and resale. The BFC, working with consultancy Clarasys, states that fashion brands embedding repair and resale into business strategy can unlock new revenue streams, deepen customer loyalty and build resilience amid supply-chain disruption. Read more.

Illinois researchers convert food waste into jet fuel. A team at University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign has developed a process that uses hydrothermal liquefaction of food‐waste biomass, followed by catalytic hydrotreating, to produce jet fuel that meets industry standards. Read more.

North Carolina commits $25 million to rebuild recycling infrastructure. The state has launched a grant programme offering up to $5 million per project to restore and strengthen recycling and waste-management systems in areas impacted by Hurricane Helene. Read more.

Breakthrough microbe could revolutionise battery waste recycling. Researchers at Boston College have identified the bacterium Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, which can leach valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries using the battery materials themselves as fuel. Read more.

Investment News

M&A 💰️:

Reconomy completes sixth US acquisition. The UK-based circular services group has acquired National Waste Associates, expanding its footprint across 2,900 customer sites in retail, healthcare and hospitality. The deal strengthens Reconomy’s presence as it builds towards a top-five position in the US waste management market. Read more.

Venture and Growth Capital 📈:

aevoloop raises €8.25 million to scale circular plastics tech. The Germany-based startup secured €3.25 million in seed funding plus €5 million in grants to commercialise its chemically recyclable and biodegradable plastics platform. The technology is designed to prevent microplastic pollution and enable circularity. Read more.

AltMat secures strategic investment from H&M Group and others. The Indian materials science innovator has closed a funding round supported by H&M Group, Rainmatter, Turbostart and Fashion for Good. The capital boost is earmarked for scaling its upcycling of agri-waste into next-generation textile materials. Read more.

PATRIZIA secures €70 million to grow bio-LNG in Italy. Through its portfolio company Renergia, the investment firm has secured senior debt from UniCredit to convert biogas plants to biomethane and bio-LNG production. The project targets ~130 GWh of output annually from 230,000 tonnes of bio-waste. Read more.

ThePhoneLab raises €2.5 million to turbocharge circular electronics growth. The Amsterdam-based repair and refurbishment specialist has secured funding to accelerate expansion across the Netherlands and into international markets. The capital will fuel new service locations, faster device turnaround, and greater reuse of tech. Read more.

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

Cheers to circularity,

#TeamCircularConnect #ConnectingTheCircularEconomy