All Circular Economy articles
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ArticleTap&Reuse reusable cup scheme nominated for environmental contribution award
Circular&Co and the University of Chichester’s Tap&Reuse scheme for reusable cups – reported to have prevented the use of 28,000+ disposable cups so far – has been nominated for a Times Higher Education Award.
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ArticleLocal associations support dropping mandatory plastic bottle deposit in France
France Urbaine, l’Association des Maires de France, Intercommunalités de France and the Cercle National du Recyclage praise the decision to scrap a mandatory deposit return system for plastic bottles in France, instead supporting such measures as extended producer responsibility and more funding for waste management services.
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ArticleAliplast recycles over 90% of Cantina Pizzolato’s flexible plastic from wine
Aliplast and Cantina Pizzolato report that they recovered and recycled over 90% of the plastic films used to package and transport wine in 2025, contributing to the development of a circular production model.
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ArticleFrance drops mandatory bottle deposit system in favour of voluntary schemes
France has decided against a mandatory deposit system for plastic bottles and recommends that towns and cities set up voluntary schemes, Reuters reports.
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ArticleNew Zealand government to launch nationwide farm plastics recycling scheme
The New Zealand government has announced plans for a nationwide Rural Recycling Scheme for farm plastics starting in March next year, due to expand recycling and recovery of agrichemical containers, bale wrap and silage sheet with a new take-back system.
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ArticleReuseabox partners with Faith In Nature to reuse over 13,000 boxes annually
Natural beauty company Faith In Nature is sending its excess cardboard packaging to Reuseabox in a bid to reuse over 13,000 boxes and save 12 tonnes of CO2e emissions every year.
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ArticleEU-funded project uses enzymes to recycle degraded plastic waste from the sea
AIMPLAS, the Institute of Marine Sciences, and the Institute of Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia are participating in the OCEANZYME project, involving the enzyme-based recycling of plastic waste found in deep-sea environments.
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ArticlePepsiCo reports 18% recycled content and 6% virgin plastic reduction in 2025
In its latest ESG Summary, PepsiCo claims that it incorporated 18% recycled plastic into its packaging last year and reduced its absolute tonnage of virgin plastic packaging by 6% between 2024 and 2025.
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ArticleAldi and Arla aim to boost milk bottle recycling rated with new collaboration
Aldi and Arla are working with Polytag on a project that will track milk bottles through the recycling process using UV-tagging technology.
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ArticleFlagship project targets drop-in bioethanol intermediate to reduce emissions
The Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) has funded RenewChem, a two-year flagship initiative anticipated to unlock higher-value bioethanol as a cost-effective, carbon-negative drop-in substitute for petrochemical intermediates.
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ArticleStrengthening EPR implementation for Europe’s circular economy
EXPRA has developed a set of proposals and recommendations in hopes of ensuring that the Circular Economy Act’s Extended Producer Responsibility requirements are practical and implementable for market operators. Managing director Joachim Quoden tells us more.
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Article14 EU Member States face legal action for falling short of waste requirements
Fourteen EU Member States have received letters of formal notice and/or reasoned opinions from the European Commission for failing to meet waste recycling targets, and for not transposing elements of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, Single-Use Plastics Directive, or Waste Framework Directive into national law.
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ArticleHow are big brands working with plastic packaging in 2026?
How are household brands using or reducing plastic packaging – and what does it say about brand sentiment on the whole? We take a closer look at the five biggest brands by sales – Nestlé, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Coca-Cola – to discover their attitudes ...
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ArticleHow Swiss packaging law compares to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation
Switzerland has just published its new Ordinance on Packaging. How does it compare to the European Union’s approach?
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ArticleSwitzerland updates packaging law with minimum recycling rates and more
The Federal Council of the Swiss Confederation has revealed a new ordinance for packaging, mandating minimum recycling rates of 55% for plastic packaging and 70% for beverage cartons.
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ArticleCoffee roaster pilots reusable plastic buckets from Jokey and circolution
Jokey and circolution are working alongside Kaffee Braun to pilot reusable polypropylene buckets for industrial applications – designed to be stacked, reused in high circulation volumes, and recycled at end-of-life.
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ArticleMars designs 67% of packaging for recycling, reuse or compost in latest report
In its latest sustainability report, Mars claims that over 67% of its consumer-facing packaging is designed to be reusable, recyclable or compostable – and reiterates industry-wide challenges with infrastructural limitations and access to food-safe recyclate.
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ArticleNew project seeks to recycle 400,000 tonnes of post-consumer waste by 2030
The Flexible Plastic Fund – a coalition comprising Ecosurety, CEFLEX, RECOUP, WRAP, and more – has launched FlexCircular, an initiative intended to help the UK recycle up to 400,000 tonnes of post-consumer flexible packaging by 2030.
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PodcastWhat can we learn from the Petaluma Reusable Cup project? With Closed Loop Partners’ Carolina Lobel
What can we learn from city-scale reuse pilots? In our latest Packaging Europe podcast, Victoria Hattersley spoke with Carolina Lobel, Senior Director at the Closed Lop Center for the Circular Economy, about the findings from the Petaluma Reusable Cup project and what new reuse projects the consortium has in the pipeline.
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ArticleGlobal business coalition presents policy recommendations ahead of INC-5.4
The Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty has published its latest policy recommendations ahead of INC-5.4 – encouraging negotiators to focus on clarifying obligations, improving transparency, and establishing a list of ‘problem’ substances during interim work.