#Recycling / Circular Economy

2025-08-07

The Foundation signs a joint letter on the EU Circular Economy Act

Today, the European Commission has launched a crucial Public Consultation for its upcoming Circular Economy Act (CEA). The Foundation has joined a coalition of seven leading European civil society organisations to issue a joint statement calling for an ambitious and transformative piece of legislation.

The highly anticipated Circular Economy Act, expected to be proposed in Q4 2026, is a cornerstone of the EU's broader Clean Industrial Deal package, which aims to position the EU as the world leader in the circular economy by 2030. This new act will build upon the foundation laid by the 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan, which has already spurred significant legislative initiatives in areas like product design and waste management.

The joint statement is a collaborative effort by seven prominent European civil society organisations: Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Environment Coalition on Standards (ECOS), European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), Reuse and Recycling European Union Social Enterprises (RREUSE), Zero Waste Europe. The statement aims to ensure that the Act fully embeds circular economy principles in Europe’s entire economic system.

The statement reinforces the role of the circular economy as key for the EU to reach its three main priorities: competitiveness, strategic resilience, and decarbonisation. It urges the European Commission to ensure that the upcoming EU Circular Economy Act delivers an ambitious, systemic shift in how Europe manages its material use, specifically with three asks:

+ Set science-based targets on resource use.

+ Harness the potential of keeping products and components in use, not just materials.

+ Accelerate safe material circulation by integrating chemical and circular economy legislation.

The publication of this joint letter marks a significant moment in the journey towards a more circular and sustainable Europe. It underscores the urgent need for robust legislation that can accelerate the transition and secure the EU's leadership in the global circular economy.

The letter:

https://content.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/m/4859b348f9745f3d/original/Circular-Economy-Act-Letter-Aug-1-2025.pdf?_gl=1*ximztn*_ga*NzkzNDE0MTQwLjE3NTQ1OTcxMjI.*_ga_V32N675KJX*czE3NTQ1OTcxMTkkbzEkZzEkdDE3NTQ1OTc1OTQkajUyJGwwJGgw*_gcl_au*MTIxMjY1MTg1LjE3NTQ1OTc1ODc.

Building Prosperity: Unlocking the potential of a nature-positive, circular economy for Europe Business and nature to reap rewards from circular urban spaces

The report, ‘Building Prosperity: Unlocking the potential of a nature-positive, circular economy for Europe’, calls for the adoption of six circular strategies to transform Europe’s built environment. This will boost economic activity, increase climate resilience, and make cities more vibrant places to live and work.

ALADIN paves the way for circular and demand-driven textile production in Europe

Textile production can be organized sustainably by utilizing short supply chains and preventing overproduction. This can already be achieved today by intelligently connecting and efficiently utilizing existing infrastructure. At the same time, production becomes circular when innovative technologies and materials are used that enable high-quality recycling. The ALADIN research project, launched in May 2026 and co-funded with five million euros under the EU Horizon Europe program, is creating the conditions for this.

Ence and ShareTex begin initial testing of the ATENEA innovation project to promote textile recycling in Spain

Ence and ShareTex are making progress on the Atenea R&D project, which aims to develop a complete value chain for textile recycling in Spain. Specifically, the goal of the ATENEA project—which is funded by the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI)—is to connect all the necessary stages for the recovery of textile waste, from collection and management, through recycling and transformation into new raw materials, to their incorporation into new textile products.

DePoly Inaugurates its Showcase Plant in Monthey Switzerland

What if used plastic bottles, PET packaging material and polyester textiles could become raw materials just as high performing as virgin resources? That is the ambition of DePoly, a circular materials company based in Sion, Switzerland which inaugurated its Showcase Plant in Monthey on July 6th & 7th. The first depolymerization facility of its kind and scale in Switzerland, this industrial Showcase Plant represents a major milestone in the company's growth and its journey toward commercialization.

Commission clarifies rules on plastic bottles recycling

The European Commission today adopted new rules on recycling of single-use plastic beverage bottles made primarily of polyethylene terephthalate (PET bottles). These rules establish, for the first time, a methodology to calculate, verify and report chemically recycled content. This is part of the Commission’s December 2025 plastics package.

Dedicated car seat model of SHIMA SEIKI’s P-CAM® R Cutting Machine unveiled

Leading Japanese textile solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, showed a special version of its P-CAM® R multi-ply computerized cutting machine dedicated to the production of car seats for the first time, at a private exhibition held over two days on Thursday, July 2nd and Friday, July 3rd at the Kariya City Industrial Promotion Center in Aichi Prefecture.

Katharina Obergruber appointed to the Management Board of Sandler AG

The Supervisory Board of Sandler AG has appointed Katharina Obergruber to the company’s Management Board. Effective September 1, 2026, the Board will consist of Philipp Ebbinghaus (CEO), Dr. Ulrich Hornfeck (currently CCO, future COO), and Katharina Obergruber (CCO). Katharina Obergruber, currently Chief Sales Officer Hygiene and member of the Management Team of Sandler AG, will assume responsibility for all sales activities as Chief Commercial Officer. She will assume this role from Dr. Ulrich Hornfeck, who will focus primarily on production and supply chain topics.

DyStar releases FY2025 sustainability report, marking a new milestone towards its 2030 targets

DyStar, a leading specialty chemicals company with more than a century of expertise in product development and innovation, today announced the release of its FY2025 Sustainability Report, marking a significant milestone in its sustainability journey and reinforcing its commitment to long-term value creation.