Browsing: circular

Global electronic waste exceeded 60 million metric tons annually in recent years, yet only a limited share is formally recycled, leaving substantial volumes of recoverable nickel, cobalt, and other battery metals unused.

UK consortium has secured funding through the Battery Innovation Programme to develop a localized recycling pathway aimed at retaining critical battery materials within the national economy.

Innovation in battery circularity technologies is accelerating at a significantly faster rate than battery manufacturing itself, highlighting a structural divergence between technological development and industrial deployment.

India recycles an estimated 60 percent of its plastic waste, far exceeding the global average of 14 percent, yet only around 13 percent is converted into high-value recycled outputs, revealing a structural inefficiency in the country’s recycling value chain.

Europe’s circular economy workforce expanded by 10 percent between 2014 and 2023, reaching approximately 4.4 million jobs across the EU-27, yet structural barriers continue to limit the transition from niche applications to system-wide industrial adoption, according to assessments published by the European Environment Agency. The findings highlight a widening gap between policy ambition and market readiness as the bloc prepares its forthcoming Circular Economy Act.

Japan is committing approximately ¥1 trillion, equivalent to about $6.3 billion, by 2030 to scale domestic recycling systems for critical materials, reflecting a strategic shift from linear resource consumption toward circular supply chains.

Japan is preparing an investment package of approximately 1 trillion yen, equivalent to about 6.3 billion dollars, to scale a domestic circular economy for metals and plastics by 2030, according to a government action plan.

Vietnam’s industrial sector is increasingly positioned at the center of a structural shift toward circular production models, as policymakers and businesses respond to mounting global pressures from resource depletion, climate volatility, and tightening sustainability requirements across supply chains.

Henkel has introduced updated mid-term sustainability targets extending to 2030, building on its existing net-zero ambition for 2045 and reflecting a shift toward more structured value chain intervention rather than incremental operational efficiency gains alone.

A new agreement between thyssenkrupp Uhde and KÖKSAN to develop a low-emission PET plant in Yumurtalık reflects a broader shift toward integrating decarbonization into core production processes rather than treating it as an add-on.