The Festival of Circular Economy 2025 is shaping up to be the most exciting and impactful yet—and if you’re a CIWM member or a resource and waste management professional, this is your essential guide to what not to miss.

From heavy-hitting government voices to cutting-edge innovators and seasoned sector leaders, this year’s line-up is tailor-made for anyone serious about driving change in the world of waste, resource management, and circularity. 

Here’s your curated breakdown of the must-see sessions, talks and speakers that will spark ideas, provoke debate, and leave you energised.

This three-day hybrid event—virtual on 20–21 May and live in London on 22 May—is all about transforming systems, rethinking materials, and designing waste out from the very beginning. 

Day 1: 20 May – Unleashing the Power of Design for Circularity (Virtual)

16:50 – 17:35: Waste Not: Building End-of-Life into Business Models

Start strong with a practical exploration of how we embed circular thinking into the very foundations of product and service design. Expect big ideas, sharp insights, and real strategies from sector leaders like:

• Dr. Adam Read, Chief External Affairs & Sustainability Officer, SUEZ UK
• Melody Carraro, Senior Policy Manager, Veolia
• Yaseed Chaumoo, Managing Director, Greyparrot
• Tabitha Skeats, FCC Environment
• Doug Simpson, Principal Consultant – Waste and Resource Management Group, GHD

You’ll leave with a refreshed perspective on collaboration, design, and supply chain communication—essential for every modern waste professional.

17:45 – 18:05: Turning Off the Tap on Materials

CIWM President Tim Walker lays out a bold call to action: tackle overproduction at the source.

This session reflects on his presidential report and what it means for the future of the profession. This is your chance to hear directly from the top about the systemic shift needed to truly go circular.

18:35 – 19:05: You Say “Degrowth”, We Say “Resource Efficiency”

How do we reduce consumption without crashing the economy? This provocative panel includes:

• Mark Shayler, Circular Economy Expert
• Prof. Mark Miodownik, Materials Scientist, UCL
• Senior Representative, ReLondon

It’s a session that blends academic sharpness with real-world urgency—perfect for anyone interested in shaping tomorrow’s consumption models.

Day 2: 21 May – Revolutionising Materials & Supply Chains (Virtual)

09:20 – 09:50: Breaking Down the Materials Conversation

For waste managers who love detail, this session is a must. We’ll unpack the complex realities of material design and product composition with:

• Dr. David Greenfield, Vice President, Circular Economy Institute (CIWM Fellow and Junior Vice President)
• Sophie Thomas, CTO / Director of CE, Founder of etsaW Ventures

Topics like POPs, eco-design and lifecycle planning will be front and centre in terms of the make up of materials.

12:45 – 13:30: Valuing Materials: Unlocking Potential in a Circular Economy

Join John Twitchen (Stuff4Life and CIWM Fellow) and Mark Shayler as they tackle the difference between materials and products—and how to design and educate for maximum impact. Also featuring:

• Youma Wally Ndong, Founder, GamPlus Clothing
• Lucy Hughes, Founder, MarinaTex

This session is all about extracting more value while minimising environmental harm—core goals for any waste professional.

15:00 – 15:30: There Aren’t “Bad Materials”, Just “Bad Systems”

One of the most hotly anticipated sessions of the festival. Expect frank discussions from:

• Dr. Adam Read, SUEZ UK (CIWM Fellow and past President)
• Mark Shayler, Circular Economy Expert
• David Dyce, Vegware

This session confronts the realities of legacy infrastructure, biodegradable materials, and supply chain redesign. Unmissable for operational leaders and innovators alike.

15:30 – 16:00: EPR Packaging Laws: Designing for New Legislation

 Extended Producer Responsibility is here—and this session will help you make sense of the changes. Do you think it’s the innovations or the infrastructure that needs to adapt? Learn what packaging designers (and waste managers!) need to know to stay compliant and proactive under the new rules.

16:25 – 17:10: What’s Local vs What’s Global: Debating Production and Supply Chains

In a world of fragile global supply chains and growing calls for localisation, this session helps unpack the trade-offs. With speakers including:

• Dr. Andy Rees OBE, Head of Waste Strategy, Welsh Government
• Amy Peace, Innovate UK
• Omar AlSaleh, Royal Scientific Society
• Sophie Thomas FCIWM, CTO/ Director of CE/ Founder, etsaW Ventures/ Useful Projects/ Thomas.Matthews
• Margaret Bates (Fellow of CIWM and past President), DEFRA, University of East London
• Dr. Mervyn Jones, circular economy and circular procurement specialist at the Rijkswaterstaat in the Netherlands

Expect a global-to-local view on sustainability, resilience and production standards.

Day 3: 22 May – FOCE 2025: LIVE (London)

After two days of online insight and inspiration, FOCE LIVE! brings the circular economy conversation into the real world—in-person, in London, and in full force.

This exclusive, one-day event is where theory meets practice and big ideas turn into tangible action. Expect high-impact talks, thought-provoking panels, interactive workshops, and unrivalled opportunities to connect with fellow changemakers.

This year’s FOCE LIVE! takes place at Second Home (pictured above), an award-winning co-working and events space in Spitalfields, London, renowned for its commitment to sustainability, creativity, and community.

With its biophilic architecture, rainforest-like interiors, and circular-first ethos, Second Home is the perfect backdrop for a festival focused on regenerative thinking. It’s not just a venue—it’s a living example of circular principles in action.

Whether you’re taking part in a workshop, grabbing coffee in the green-filled café, or networking over a glass of wine in the evening, you’ll be surrounded by a space that embodies innovation and low-impact living.

Unmissable FOCE LIVE Sessions

It Ends with Waste, or Does It? Designing for Second Life

Led by Mark Sumner, Textiles Programme Lead at WRAP, this live-use case session will showcase second-life product strategies in action. A valuable case study for anyone seeking to rethink “waste” as the beginning of something new.

Ministers Address: Mary Creagh CBE MP

A headline moment for the Festival—Mary Creagh, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at DEFRA and Labour MP for Coventry East, sets out the UK Government’s goals for the Circular Economy. A vital session for all CIWM members keen to understand where national policy is heading.

CE Taskforce: The Ask, The Plan, The Opportunity for Innovation

Directly following the Minister’s address, this session features:

• Dr. David Greenfield, CEI
• Emma Bourne OBE, DEFRA
• Andrew Morlet, Chair, DEFRA’s CE Taskforce

Together, they’ll break down routemaps, sector focus areas, and the wider vision for circular innovation across government and industry.

After Hours Networking Party

Cap it all off with the FOCE After Hours Party—a relaxed, vibrant way to continue conversations, share contacts, and maybe spark your next big collaboration.

The Festival of Circular Economy 2025 is packed with content that matters to CIWM members. Whether you’re shaping policy, running a facility, managing contracts or driving innovation, this is your moment to connect with the ideas and people transforming our industry.

We’ll see you there!

The post A Waste Manager’s guide to The Festival of Circular Economy 2025 appeared first on Circular Online.

Julien Tremblin, General Manager for TerraCycle Europe, explains how we need to transform our recycling efforts to move to a world beyond waste and reach net zero.

There’s no two ways about it. To achieve our net zero ambitions, we must rethink our relationship with waste.

Significant increases in recycling have been achieved in the past 30 years and it’s right to acknowledge the positive contributions this has made to environmental awareness.

Recycling reduces the need for raw material extraction, saves energy and lowers greenhouse gas emissions compared to landfilling or incineration.

According to a study by the Bureau of International Recycling, recycling can significantly cut carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 700 million tonnes annually.

Studies have shown that recycling can significantly decrease the carbon footprint of various materials, from paper and plastics to metals and glass. For example, recycling aluminium cans saves a whopping 95% of the energy required to make new cans from raw materials.

However, the recycling rates in the UK paint a sobering picture. While we can congratulate ourselves for what has been accomplished so far, the truth is that progress has stagnated.

Whilst Scotland and particularly Wales are ahead, according to Defra, the household recycling rate in England only reached 44.1% in 2022.

The 2023 numbers even show a reduction in how much waste is getting recycled. Adding to this are challenges posed by the vast amounts of waste (single-use or otherwise) generated by factories, companies and construction industries.

If businesses and the government are serious about achieving net zero by 2050, we need a radical acceleration of our efforts.

There are four major things we need to focus on to get there.

How can we achieve this goal?

Firstly, we must tackle the roughly 50% of waste currently not recycled from homes across the country.

For traditionally recyclable waste – think cans, plastic bottles, paper and cardboard – we simply need to improve capture rates. ‘Simpler Recycling’ and the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for bottles will help.

The above only works for waste that’s considered valuable. For anything else – think complex packaging or products – where it costs more to recycle the waste than the value of the material is worth, we will need alternative methods of collection and recycling.

At TerraCycle, we’ve been tackling these hard-to-recycle waste streams for years. We work with businesses and consumers alike, to collect and recycle all difficult packaging from beauty products to crisp packets, blister packs and more.

Through our various Free Recycling Programmes, we divert these materials from landfills and incineration, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and conserving resources.

Secondly, the newly-launched EPR scheme in the UK has a big role to play. It will already incentivise brands and manufacturers away from the most complex packaging thanks to the eco-modulation.

It also allows manufacturers to offset waste that they collect and recycle via alternative systems from their EPR obligations. This is a great way to encourage brands and producers to take responsibility for the waste that their products generate.

TerraCycle’s partners that operate sizable recycling programmes whether at home, at retail or through a network of public drop-offs are already benefitting from reduced EPR fees.

Beyond that, it must ringfence funding to develop recycling capacity locally or directly subsidise the recycling of hard-to-recycle materials.

Thirdly, companies that have set clear targets for net zero must go beyond their current initiatives.

After focusing on clean energy generation or swapping fleets of vehicles, one of their clearest paths to lowering greenhouse gas emissions is to focus on reducing or eliminating waste.

Our commercial waste recycling division helps thousands of companies around the globe recycle waste streams as diverse as PPE, production scrap, or returned or unsold products that were previously destined to landfill or incineration.

Why is recycling these waste streams so important for net zero?

The impact of diverting waste from landfills and incineration is enormous. When evaluating post-Consumer Rigid Plastic Products and Packaging Recycling, the findings from a third party-verified, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) showed that across the eight key impact categories considered, including global warming potential, human carcinogenic toxicity, and fossil resource scarcity, all of the TerraCycle collection and recycling models outperformed the traditional municipal waste management options by a collective average of 73% compared to local municipal landfilling and by an average of 67% compared to incineration for waste to energy models.

On average, TerraCycle’s rigid plastics recycling programmes generate 70% less carbon emissions than waste-to-energy incineration and 53% less than municipal landfill models.

To truly move from a linear ‘take-make-dispose’ model to a circular one, we must avoid waste altogether and prioritise reuse. This is where innovative solutions like Loop come in.

Loop, launched by TerraCycle in 2018, is a reuse platform that partners with major brands to deliver their products in durable, reusable packaging.

Consumers pay a deposit for the packaging, which is fully refunded when the packaging is returned. This eliminates the need for single-use packaging altogether, dramatically reducing waste and conserving resources.

In France, where Loop is operational, we are seeing a tangible shift in consumer behaviour and a growing relevance of reuse systems.

A study by Zero Waste Europe found that reuse systems at scale can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% compared to single-use packaging.

Loop has partnered with major retailers in France including Carrefour and Monoprix and now offers a wide range of products sold in reusable containers, from food and beverages to household cleaning supplies and personal care products.

The positive change is evident in the increasing number of consumers choosing Loop, and in the growing recognition by brands that reuse is a viable and sustainable alternative to single-use packaging.

Indeed, a Loop product can reduce on average 45% of greenhouse gas emissions compared to the traditional in-store counterpart.

Summary

The above can appear ambitious but we now know that we cannot achieve this ambitious 2050 net zero target as a nation if we don’t tackle our waste problem.

At TerraCycle, we are committed to driving this shift, from a linear to a circular economy. We will continue to innovate and find new ways to recycle and reuse challenging waste streams, to partner with brands and retailers to try and eliminate the idea of waste®, and to educate and empower consumers to make more sustainable choices.

By recycling hard-to-recycle waste streams, integrating recycled content in products and packaging and bringing reuse at scale, we have a shot at achieving our goals.

The transition to a ‘World Beyond Waste’ is not an easy one, but it is essential for achieving net zero and creating a truly sustainable future for our planet. We all just have to play our part.

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Mika Järvinen, Associate Professor at Aalto University, explains how Circular Fuels is working to close the loop in sustainable aviation.

As the climate crisis reaches higher altitudes and the pressure to decarbonise soars, the aviation industry faces a choice: innovate or risk a turbulent future.

Responsible for 14.4% of the EU’s transport-related emissions, air travel remains one of the most carbon-intensive sectors and one of the hardest to decarbonise.

While electric vehicles are becoming increasingly mainstream for road transport, the dream of battery-powered long-haul flights remains distant.

The aviation sector remains dependant almost entirely on fossil fuels, contributing greatly to our current climate crisis. We must cut these carbon emissions in order to reduce our impact on the planet.

In Europe, there has been some movement towards a fossil free future in recent years. In 2021, the EU presented the Fit for 55 plan aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions by a 55% reduction by 2030 in comparison to 1990 levels.

To help reach this target, they also introduced initiatives aiming to boost the use of cleaner aviation fuels and reduce the environmental impact.

After discussions throughout 2022 and 2023, EU leaders and the European Parliament finally reached an agreement, and the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation was officially adopted in October 2023.

The solution is clear. To advance aviation and reach these ambitious targets set by the EU, we must take a more radical approach rooted in the circular economy principles.

Closing the loop in sustainable aviation

Launched in 2023, with the backing of the EU’s Green New Deal and CORDIS initiatives, the Circular Fuels project is redefining how sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) can be developed, scaled, and integrated into our global energy system.

Not only does this project present technological upgrades, it also offers a systems-level rethinking, bringing circularity to the skies by integrating renewable energy, waste-based inputs, and zero-emission processes into a closed-loop model.

At its core, Circular Fuels is built on the foundation of circularity. Rather than relying on extractive, linear production chains that take, make, and waste, this project takes a regenerative approach.

Waste materials, including agricultural residues and forestry byproducts, are transformed into valuable bio-oils, which are then refined into high-quality, drop-in aviation fuels.

But the innovation doesn’t stop at feedstock. The process is powered entirely by solar energy, both through photovoltaic (PV) electricity and concentrated solar thermal systems.

Parabolic mirrors harness solar heat to generate temperatures over 3000°C, which are then funnelled into pyrolysis reactors that convert biomass into bio-oil. This heat production involves no combustion, meaning no carbon emissions. It’s a major leap forward in sustainable energy practices.

Meanwhile, solar PV powers PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolysers are used to produce green hydrogen from water. This hydrogen is essential for the hydrotreatment of bio-oil, removing oxygen and refining the product to meet the strict quality requirements of aviation fuels.

Every step in the process is deliberately designed with circularity in mind to eliminate waste, close energy loops, and minimise environmental impact.

The implications of this model extend far beyond fuel production. From agriculture to energy, this initiative is setting a precedent for how entire sectors can integrate circularity into their operations.

For farmers and biomass producers, this means new revenue streams from agricultural waste that would otherwise be discarded or burned, as well as offering municipalities an opportunity to reduce local biomass waste whilst contributing to EU-wide climate targets.

In sectors, such as solar and hydrogen, the project creates synergy, turning intermittent renewable energy into stable, high-value products. For aviation companies and passengers, it paves the way towards low-emission air travel without sacrificing performance.

Alongside this list of benefits, the project provides policy recommendations and economic models to ensure that these technologies are not only environmentally sound, but commercially viable.

It’s a powerful reminder that circular solutions must be scalable and sustainable across social, economic, and environmental dimensions.

Circular Fuels is tightly aligned with the EU’s Fit for 55 package and RefuelEU Aviation regulation, aiming to ensure 2% SAF usage in EU airports by 2025, scaling up to 70% by 2050.

Crucially, the project focuses on advanced biofuels made from waste, as opposed to crop based biofuels which often compete with food production and degrade land quality.

Not all renewables are created equal

This is important to distinguish as not all renewables are created equal.

Crop-based biofuels can reproduce some of the extractive dynamics of fossil fuels. In contrast, Circular Fuels taps into truly regenerative resources, turning what was once waste into a product that displaces fossil kerosene, one of the aviation sector’s most polluting fuels.

It’s a blueprint for how circular economy principles can drive deep decarbonisation in even the most emissions-heavy industries.

By integrating clean energy, waste valorisation, cross-sector partnerships, and policy alignment, this initiative demonstrates how circularity can become a powerful engine for innovation and sustainability.

In a world that urgently needs scalable climate solutions, we need more than hope – we need action. With solar-powered, waste-based jet fuel on the horizon, the skies may soon be a lot cleaner thanks to the on-going hard work taking place here on the ground.

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A new report released by Zero Waste Europe argues that the EU’s current policies are ‘insufficient’ to reduce the absolute levels of resource use.

Ahead of the introduction of the Circular Economy Act, the report states that current policy measures are a blind spot that threatens the EU’s strategic autonomy.

The report presents three alternatives, which include expanding the scope of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to cover downstream products and organic chemicals.

In the long term, it also recommends pricing a wider set of pollutants and introducing border tax adjustments to reflect their true environmental impacts abroad.

Finally, it also calls for a transition toward a tax-based scheme targeting resource use and pollution as a long-term strategy to shift the burden away from labour-based taxation.

These changes are essential to guide Europe towards greater resource resilience and environmental integrity.

The report suggests investing the additional revenues these measures would generate into projects that reduce the carbon intensity of production and the consumption of primary resources via an extended EU Innovation Fund.

To support this transition, the report urges the EU to revise the ‘Circular Material Use Rate’ (CMUR) as an indicator of circularity.

Commenting on the report, Theresa Mörsen, Waste & Resources Policy Officer, said: “These changes are essential to guide Europe towards greater resource resilience and environmental integrity.

“Ultimately, we need to remember that a strategic use of materials is directly linked to the EU’s long-term competitiveness and intergenerational fairness, ensuring future generations can live well within planetary boundaries. Our  recommendations provide the bedrock for this to happen.”

Beyond economic instruments, the report argues for targeted policy support to boost the uptake of high-quality recycling and increase the availability of secondary materials.

It also suggests that the EU explore strategic cooperation with third countries to strengthen waste management systems abroad to secure access to critical raw materials.

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The Renew Community Fund has made up to £220,000 available for projects that support residents in Greater Manchester to repair items and reduce household waste.

Grants of up to £20,000 are on offer for projects across Greater Manchester from the Renew Community Fund, which was previously known as the Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund.

In the last four years, the Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund has supported 89 projects with £880,000 in funding.

Two different award categories for the fund are available. These are small grants between £2,000 and £10,000, with a total of £180,000 available, and large grants between £10,000 and £20,000, with a total of £40,000 available.

Cllr Tom Ross, Greater Manchester lead for Waste and Recycling, said: “The Renew Community Fund aims to increase the number of projects providing repair and sharing services to make it easier to get your items repaired or to buy something second hand.”

The Renew Community Fund aims to increase the number of projects providing repair and sharing services…

Projects that have been awarded funding in previous years include the Manchester Library of Things in Levenshulme, where residents can borrow power tools and household equipment rather than buy their own.

Other projects set up include bike repair, laptop repair, repair cafés, and school uniform redistribution services, which enable families to share school uniforms with families in need.

The fund is available to groups in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford. It is not available to groups from Wigan as they operate a separate waste disposal arrangement.

All community, voluntary and faith groups, schools, colleges, universities, charities and other non-profit organisations are eligible to apply.

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Craig Anderson, CEO of Reuse Network, explains how he believes the Environment Agency’s current regulations around reusable items are blocking environmental progress.

As the UK Government looks to advance its circular economy ambitions, a new roadmap by Reuse Network is urging policymakers to recognise a vital but under-recognised sector: the nation’s reuse charities.

In a recent speech, Environment Secretary Steve Reed highlighted how we throw away £2.5 billion in usable furniture every year. For Reuse Network and its charity members, this figure highlights an urgent opportunity.

We must take action to divert this furniture to low-income households that desperately need a bed to sleep on, a table to eat at, and a sofa to sit on.

Removing barriers to reuse

Reuse Network’s charity members exist to alleviate poverty across the UK by donating or selling essential household goods to people in need at a very low cost.

They also offer meaningful employment opportunities and support services to marginalised groups.

Additionally, they tackle climate change by reusing items that would otherwise end up in waste. These items include household furniture, electrical appliances, paint, baby equipment, and much more.

Reuse Network is attempting to clear the many barriers currently prohibiting the reuse charity sector from operating at full potential and supporting the government’s circular economy goals.

Without policy reform and investment, the sector will struggle to continue delivering its crucial environmental and social benefits. Burdensome and flawed hazardous waste requirements stifle and prevent reuse.

Current waste regulations wrongly categorise valuable, reusable items, and this approach from the Environment Agency is blocking environmental progress and stopping producer and retailer circular economy solutions and ambitions in their tracks.

A key concern is the disparity in the application of permits required to handle different products and permits for sites collecting or producing different waste streams.

Full waste management permits are currently required to handle whole intact items of upholstered furniture and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) containing ‘potential’ Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

These obligations apply even when goods are temporarily stored or assessed for reuse. Meanwhile, other waste streams, such as packaging or large WEEE, often bypass the need for such permits.

This inconsistency illustrates a failure to reflect the actual environmental risk or potential value of the many second-hand goods in question and prevents reuse charities from collecting, storing, and redistributing these items efficiently and safely.

Reuse is not historically a waste-inspired issue. There is a higher economic and social value to reuse, and second-hand is most often a second thought in waste policy. We need a different approach to waste and recycling versus product (and waste) for reuse.

The Reuse Roadmap

Reuse is rooted in social impact and circular economy values that are poorly reflected in current waste policy frameworks.

To help the government align its forthcoming Circular Economy Strategy with the needs of the reuse sector, Reuse Network has launched The Reuse Roadmap.

The roadmap seeks to gain more support for the sector through engagement on three key principles:

• Build capacity: Secure investment in facilities and resources, re-establish reuse credits, develop certification for professional reusers, and establish regional reuse hubs.
• Drive awareness: Raise the profile of reuse through coordinated awareness efforts and engagement with the wider sector tackling poverty, inequality, and climate change.
• Respond to crisis: Respond to the cost-of-living crisis by developing cross-sector partnerships that can help meet rising demand for affordable household items, particularly among vulnerable groups, while reducing climate change.

Securing the future of reuse

Reuse Network’s members diverted more than 2 million items from landfill last year, but this figure has dropped by 1.5 million since pre-pandemic levels.

The reasons are clear: Economic uncertainty has slowed donations, operational costs have surged, and inadequate support has forced some charities to scale back or close their doors for good.

As these reuse organisations disappear, so too do the pathways for people to access affordable goods, donate unwanted items, and participate in the circular economy at a local level.

Beyond environmental impact, reuse contributes to public value through job creation, providing mental health support services, addressing barriers to employment, and supporting people out of homelessness.

These outcomes, while widely felt, remain undervalued in traditional policy and funding models.

Despite the sector’s clear alignment with government goals around economic growth, the circular economy and social justice, the lack of visibility of these broader impacts hinders the sector’s ability to secure consistent government support and funding.

In addition to the current poverty alleviation and environmental impacts reported, the social value of reuse needs to be monetised and the savings to the public purse calculated.

We must reduce unnecessary burdens on reuse activities, support the expansion of the reuse sector’s operations, and recognise and champion the vast extent of social and economic value gained through reuse.

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Twenty community groups across north London are set to receive grants of up to £15,000 each to support waste prevention activities.

The funding is provided through the North London Waste Authority’s (NLWA) flagship initiative, the North London Community Fund.

The selected recipients, representing the seven north London boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest, have been granted awards of up to £15,000 each.

The projects cover a variety of strategies to reduce different waste streams, including food, plastics, textile, electrical and household waste.

They include New Tribe CIC which delivers workshops on natural dyeing and weaving with plant-based waste, Play it Again Toys CIC which runs pop-up toy repair sessions, and Footprint for Good which provides furniture upcycling workshops for young people.

NLWA established the fund to meet its waste prevention objectives and support the efforts of local groups addressing grassroots waste challenges.

Councillor Clyde Loakes MBE, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate and Air Quality and Chair of NLWA, commented: “By investing in these initiatives, we are not only cutting waste but also fostering a culture of sustainability and resilience in our communities as well as aiming to reach new audiences to ensure the groups reflect our diverse communities.

“The flagship fund is a testament to our unwavering support for initiatives on the ground that make a real difference to residents and protect our environment.”

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An AI-based recycling pilot has launched in Cardiff city centre which allows people to recycle their used paper cups in return for a 5p reward.

The three-month pilot will allow people to recycle their used paper cups at participating Caffè Nero, Costa Coffee, Greggs, McDonald’s and Pret a Manger stores.

The pilot launched this week as part of a partnership between Keep Wales Tidy, the National Cup Recycling Scheme and waste sorting app Bower.

Customers purchasing drinks in paper cups from these retailers can download the Bower app, scan their cup with the AI photo scanner, and return it to a participating store for proper recycling. Each returned cup earns a 5p reward via the app.

Commenting on the launch, Owen Derbyshire, CEO of Keep Wales Tidy, said: “This scheme is a fantastic opportunity for Cardiff to lead the way in paper cup recycling, showing how small actions – like returning a used cup – can add up to a big impact.

This scheme is a fantastic opportunity for Cardiff to lead the way in paper cup recycling…

“By working together across industries and engaging the public, we can reduce litter, keep valuable materials in circulation, and move towards a more sustainable future for Wales.”

Most paper cups can be recycled multiple times into new products, including paper packaging.

As part of the recycling process, Keep Wales Tidy says the plastic lining is separated and repurposed into items, such as garden furniture and cable ties, in Wales, while the fibres are processed at a specialist paper mill in the Lake District.

Berfin Mert, Co-founder at Bower, commented: “We’re excited to support Cardiff’s groundbreaking initiative, which features the world’s first paper cup recycling scheme powered by AI.

“Thanks to the AI object detection technology, developed in collaboration with Google, consumers can instantly identify and recycle their paper cups and get rewarded for their good acts.”

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A new commercial waste company formed from acquiring several different regional recycling operators is formally launching this week.

Headed by former SUEZ CEO David Palmer-Jones OBE, CIRQLR says it serves over 15,000 customers, handles 600,000 tonnes of recycling materials annually, and has an annualised turnover of £150m.

Commenting on the launch, Palmer-Jones, CEO of CIRQLR, said: “We have rapidly built CIRQLR GROUP into a significant player in the commercial recycling market and our growth journey has only just begun.

“A generational step change in how we manage business waste is underway, supported by the implementation of positive regulatory changes over the next five years.”

Chambers Waste Management, which covers Surrey, became the latest regional recycling firm to join the new company CIRQLR.

CIRQLR says this latest acquisition means it now has coverage in the Humber, across the East of England and East Anglia via Ellgia, and north and central London via KP Waste and Eco Waste.

CIRQLR has 19 recycling facilities and says it is preparing to invest in more infrastructure to double its current number of 600 staff.

After the introduction of Simpler Recycling, and ahead of the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility and a nationwide Deposit Return Scheme, CIRQLR says there will be a “marked increase” in the volume and quality of materials captured back into the supply chain.

CIRQLR says it aims to leverage these changes in what it calls a “generational step change” in how business waste is managed.

Palmer-Jones continued: “In anticipation of these changes, CIRQLR has rapidly formed one of the country’s leading business recycling groups.

“CIRQLR is now ready to fulfil its mission of ‘giving waste a second life’ and deliver a more circular economy for UK businesses.

“With a government now willing to put into action the clarity and stability of regulation needed to stimulate investment and growth in recycling, there is scope to further develop CIRQLR as a significant shaper of the commercial and industrial markets.”

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Altilium has commenced construction on what it calls the “UK’s first at-scale” electric vehicle battery recycling and refining plant.

Construction work at the four-acre site in Plymouth, Devon has begun, with engineering design work being completed by global engineering consultancy Hatch.

Altilium says the facility will have the capacity to recover critical battery minerals, including lithium, nickel and graphite, from 24,000 electric vehicles per year.

Using Altilium’s proprietary EcoCathode process, the company says battery scrap will be recycled into Nickel-Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) and Lithium Sulphate, which are critical intermediate materials for domestic production of battery cathodes.

Our ACT 3 site marks the next phase in Altilium’s mission to close the loop on battery materials here in Britain.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr Christian Marston, Altilium COO, said: “Our ACT 3 site marks the next phase in Altilium’s mission to close the loop on battery materials here in Britain.

“We are proud to be building this scale-up facility here in Plymouth, which will be a cornerstone of the UK’s electric vehicle battery supply chain.

“This is about taking a strategic and incremental approach to scaling a vital new industry, one that ensures value stays in the country and creates long-term skilled green jobs.”

Altilium says the plant is part of a pathway for the construction of Altilium’s planned ACT 4 mega-scale refinery later this decade.

The plant adds to Altilium’s existing and planned facilities, which include

• ACT 1: Altilium’s Technology Centre in Devon where its proprietary EcoCathode process was developed.
• ACT 2: A pilot line that processes one electric vehicle battery per day.
• ACT 3: Scale-up plant in Plymouth, which is now under construction, producing intermediate battery materials.
• ACT 4: A planned mega-scale refinery delivering battery metal salts, P-CAM and CAM (cathode active material) to UK gigafactories.

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