Industry News

Circular Connect Member News:

Refurbr launches 30-day free trial for technology refurbishers. The platform connects refurbishment operations with 150+ sales channels, with all integrations included as standard. Read more.

Collaborations and Partnerships:

ERI and Ecoreco partner to launch ERI India. The new Mumbai operation will combine ERI’s ITAD technology and processing capabilities with Ecoreco’s local infrastructure, market access and regional expertise, with operations expected to begin later this year. Read more.

Royal Mint and Bank of England partner to recover value from decommissioned technology. Thousands of retired desk phones will be assessed for reuse before remaining circuit boards are processed at the Royal Mint’s South Wales facility to recover precious metals including gold. Read more.

Tuurny and Sluicebox.ai demonstrate traceable AI-powered critical material recovery. The companies successfully recovered copper and neodymium magnets from end-of-life electronics and data-centre hardware, combining automated extraction with a digital chain of custody tracking material origin and processing. Read more.

Eveready and Zepto launch doorstep battery take-back through quick commerce. Customers in Delhi and Bengaluru can now return used household batteries to Zepto delivery partners during regular orders, with collected batteries routed through authorised processing channels. Read more.

Business Developments:

Stellantis expands remanufactured parts programme across electric and hybrid vehicles. SUSTAINera is extending its global offer across high-voltage batteries, electrified transmissions and compressors, while launching what it describes as an industry-first remanufactured NOx sensor. Read more.

Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations recovers $17m+ from major data centre decommissioning. More than 10,000 devices were processed during the large-scale project, generating over $17m through asset resale and an estimated 3,400+ tCO₂e in avoided emissions. Read more.

RCS invests €75m in major German plastics facility. The new site will process around 100,000 tonnes of plastics annually, including HDPE, PS and PET, with a particular focus on producing high-quality secondary materials for food packaging. Read more.

Ericsson recycles 1,160+ tonnes of telecom equipment in Saudi Arabia in two years. The programme has now collected and recycled nearly 5,000 tonnes of end-of-life network equipment since 2008, returning recovered materials to manufacturing industries as secondary raw materials. Read more.

ScottishPower achieves 99.9% reuse and recycling rate in wind farm decommissioning. Materials from 26 decommissioned turbines at Hagshaw Hill achieved a 79.5% recycling and 20.4% reuse rate, with turbine blades transformed into polymer for construction applications. Read more.

BUCKSTOP launches Valuation Studio for renewable energy assets. The new platform uses current market intelligence to assess replacement, market and salvage values across solar and battery storage assets, with the first valuation report available free. Read more.

Market and Regional Developments:

Two-thirds of global fashion brands still lag on second-hand offerings. Kearney’s 2026 Circular Fashion Index finds 66% of 241 brands have limited second-hand capabilities, despite the industry’s overall circularity score rising from 3.4 to 3.7 out of 10. Read more.

South Korea launches ₩1.4tn fund to strengthen critical resource security. The new Resource Security Fund forms part of a major expansion in supply-chain investment, supporting critical mineral recovery and domestic infrastructure as Korea looks to reduce its dependence on imported resources. Read more.

Investment News

M&A:

eComID acquires Nilum to expand into AI-powered recommerce. The acquisition brings Nilum’s second-hand shopping technology into eComID’s Shopping Passport platform, with founder Jonas Fagerlund joining as Head of Recommerce following eComID’s recent $17m funding round. Read more.

Ecobat completes exit from lithium recycling with final US divestment. The sale of its Arizona lithium-ion operations follows earlier disposals in the UK and Germany, completing a strategic repositioning that will see Ecobat focus entirely on its North American lead recycling business. Read more.

Reworld acquires three US environmental services businesses. Clean & Green Recycling Corporation, ClearFlo Technologies and EnviroTec will form a new Long Island material processing facility, expanding Reworld’s capabilities across processing, transportation and resource recovery. Read more.

Taggy and Reloved merge to strengthen UAE fashion resale market. The combined business will operate under the Taggy brand, bringing together Taggy’s 8,100+ registered users with Reloved’s community of approximately 3,000 customers and sellers. Read more.

Venture and Growth Capital:

Fairphone targets €50m Series C following record first-half growth. The circular smartphone manufacturer is seeking at least €50m to support further expansion after smartphone shipments increased 74% year-on-year in H1 2026, marking its strongest first half to date. Read more.

US Department of Energy selects Protein Evolution for $3m textile-to-textile project. The proposed funding will support scaling an enzymatic process designed to break down PET textile waste into high-quality raw materials for new polyester production. Read more.

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