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For now, it’s back to news - it’s been an incredibly busy week in the circular economy, with a significant number of strategic partnerships being announced. This newsletter could have been twice the size!

Let’s get stuck in!

Industry News

LG partners with Cartlow in the UAE to enhance washing machine, refrigerator and display reverse logistics. This project will see LG leverage Cartlow’s recycling capabilities to ensure robust e-waste processing, optimising material recovery. Any recovered material retaining value will be donated to charitable causes. Read more.

Cellcycle and Kerry Logistics collaborate to strengthen battery logistics and recycling across the UK. Cellcycle’s biotechnological recycling processes will integrate with Kerry Logistics’ distribution network, overcoming logistics challenges and ensuring regulatory compliance for the storage and recycling of lithium batteries. Read more.

Back Market CEO sees Trump’s tariffs as a catalyst for changing consumer habits. Higher prices on new products will drive consumers towards the secondary market and change perspectives on buying new. Back Market already witnessed this first hand, with sales of their products tripling in the wake of tariff announcements. Read more.

SK TES responds to customer demand with new facility in Ireland. The IT asset disposition (ITAD) specialist is responding to the rapidly growing needs of its Irish enterprise customers, including hyperscale data centres. The facility, set to open later in 2025, will offer data erasure, recycling, destruction, and reuse services. Read more.

Virgin Media O2 cuts scope 1 and 2 emissions by 56% since 2020. The UK telecoms behemoth is prioritising circularity to achieve net zero by 2040, 10 years ahead of the governments national target. Initiatives include recycled packaging, take-back schemes, recycling, reuse, and consumer education. Read more.

EG America partners with ecoATM to introduce trade-in kiosks. This partnership will allow EG America’s customers to easily recycle their used consumer electronics in exchange for instant cash or store credit. With millions of smartphones sat unused in homes, partnerships that prioritise consumer convenience are essential. Read more.

GXO extends and expands partnership with Revelyst. The contract logistics and circular economy solutions provider will continue managing Revelyst’s B2B and B2C logistics services from a dedicated 28,000 square metre warehouse in Eindhoven, supporting returns management and reverse logistics. Read more.

Clean energy adoption is driving demand for critical minerals. Demand is expected to triple by 2040, reaching 35,000,000 tonnes annually. With secondary supply currently accounting for less than 5% of the market, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has emphasised the need for advancements in recycling and reuse. Read more.

Attero and NISE partner to energise solar panel recycling. Cleantech firm Attero, India’s largest lithium-ion battery recycler, has partnered with the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) to promote solar panel recycling. India has seen remarkable solar energy adoption, resulting in challenges with end-of-life processing. Read more.

PHNX Materials turns toxic coal ash into circular cement. The California based cleantech startup recently received $2,500,000 in seed funding from an impressive portfolio of investors. Its proprietary technology converts coal ash, a by-product of coal combustion, into a high-performance cement alternative. Read more.

US Returns generate 15,000,000+ metrics tons of Co₂ annually. This staggering figure provided by Optoro is driven up by e-commerce sales, carbon intensive reverse logistics processes, and is equivalent to 3,000,000 cars on the road for an entire year. Think twice before buying, and thrice before returning! Read more.

Investment News

Cyclic Materials invests over $20,000,000 in its first US facility. The rare earth elements (REE) recycling specialist secured a $57,000,000 series B last year. Its new state-of-the-art facility in Arizona will be the first commercial REE recycling operation. Recruitment will commence in Q2 2025, with 30+ jobs required. Read more.

Manchester’s Renew Community Fund relaunched with £220,000 in circular grants. The Renew Fund is back with fresh support for community-led projects focusing on reuse, repair, and waste reduction in Manchester. Grants of up to £20,000 are available per project. Read more.

John Paul Dejoria and Gary Stephens’ DSE acquires Back-Track and Upstrem to power next-gen reverse logistics. The companies will be merged and rebranded as Vendidit Upstream, delivering end-to-end and fully automated reverse and circular services to 3PLs, e-commerce returns channels, and warehouse operators. Read more.

Occidental acquires Holocene to boost carbon removal. Holocene, a direct air capture (DAC) start-up, caught attention when it secured a deal with Google to deliver 100,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits at $100 per ton. The acquisition will accelerate DAC deployment with Holocene’s low temperature and liquid based process. Read more.

The US welcomes a new era for sustainable investing. The SEC has approved the Green Impact Exchange (GIX), a stock exchange designed to connect environmentally conscious businesses with investors who care about the future of the planet. Trading will commence in early 2026. Read more.

Circular Showcase

At a Circular Economy Club networking event in London last week, we met 5 very cool circular start ups driving innovation into the circular economy:

Ganddee (UK)
Ganddee drives activity towards the secondary markets by connecting users with local second-hand shops, car boot sales, charity shops, vintage pop ups and more.

SAGES (UK)
SAGES uses bio-chemical processes on food waste to create a wide range of colourful dyes. Reducing reliance on synthetic dyes that account for 20% of global wastewater.

Remy (UK)
Remy is an AI kitchen assistant that reduces food waste and collects data on kitchen habits and household food waste, supporting scope 3 emissions reporting.

Used Creative (UK)
Used Creative is a circular marketplace that supports circular activity in the traditionally wasteful events sets and props industry.

Avallen Spirits (UK)
Avallen is a sustainable drinks company that creates its beverage using only water and apples. Its tackling climate change, biodiversity, water consumption and pesticide issues.

That’s us wrapping up for the weekend. Have a great one; we look forward to connecting again next week!

Cheers to circularity,

#TeamCircularConnect