Innovation

Surgical gloves being discarded
NHS shift from single-use plastics to bio-based products could unlock £120 million market

New research by BB-REG-NET suggests the NHS's £5.5 billion annual spend on single-use medical products represents an opportunity to support the UK bioeconomy whilst advancing Net Zero goals.

Doctor removing blue plastic gloves and throwing them in the bin
Healthcare single-use plastics could cost health systems €34 billion annually by 2040

Study shows 53 per cent reduction in hospital plastic waste achievable through proven circular strategies

Conveyor belt leading a mix of plastics and bioplastics to a near infra red sorter
Bio-based plastic sorting trial demonstrates recycling breakthrough

PROSPER project successfully separates contaminated bio-based packaging from conventional plastic streams using NIR technology

Construction starts on €73m research centre for circular battery manufacturing
By
Olivia Loughran
| 21 August 2025 |
New German research facility will integrate production and recycling processes for next-generation batteries
Scottish scientists upcycle waste coffee grounds into skincare products
By
Olivia Loughran
| 31 July 2025 |
Biotech company Revive Eco is collecting waste from coffee shops to extract sustainable ingredients
Blast Furnace
Birmingham University partnership to improve carbon-recycling technology
By
Olivia Loughran
| 16 July 2025 |
The partnerships aims to scale up production to support closed-loop carbon technology
Scientists review biodegradable products
Regulatory standards favour fossil-fuel materials over bio-based alternatives
By Resource |
3 July 2025 |
Research exposes systematic regulatory bias favouring fossil materials over those made from biogenic carbon
Repolywise's Bryan Ng
Production trials announced for 'atomic scissors' approach to plastic recycling
By
Beth Jones
| 27 June 2025 |
Oxford-based company announces partnership with Taiwanese companies to demonstrate novel recycling technology processing unsorted plastic waste into virgin-grade polypropylene
Computer screen displays Deepnest performance insights
Greyparrot launches AI platform connecting brands with waste data
By
Maisie Stephens
| 24 June 2025 |
New Deepnest platform provides real-time packaging performance insights to bridge information gap between producers and recyclers
CIWM report highlights six critical materials squandered by UK economy
By
Charles Newman
| 20 June 2025 |
‘Lost Opportunities?’ study commissioned by incoming CIWM President, Dr David Greenfield, identifies six overlooked resources squandered despite supply chain vulnerabilities
Wheat in field
Agricultural waste converted into pulp to create sustainable clothing
By
Beth Jones
| 19 June 2025 |
Swedish researchers have developed a soda pulping process to turn wheat straw and oat husks into textile-grade cellulose materials 
Ambassador Uffe A. Balslev, Guy Wakeley and Torben Kristiansen
Reconomy launches circularity innovation hub in Bucharest
By
Beth Jones
| 11 June 2025 |
Sustainability research facility receives £1 million initial investment to develop new use cases, propositions, and ways of working in the circular economy 
Revantis pilot plant equipment
Start-up secures Series A funding for plastic recycling technology
By
Beth Jones
| 30 May 2025 |
Scottish start-up Reventas raises investment to scale chemical recycling process for polyethylene and polypropylene from pilot to commercial operation
TOMRA reuse collection point
TOMRA unveils reverse vending machines for reusable food packaging
By
Beth Jones
| 28 May 2025 |
Reuse Collection Point (RCPs) will accept QR-coded containers and provide instant deposit refunds, with rollout planned for Q1 2026
A box full of recovered vegetables and fruits
Cross-industry consortium pilots AI food redistribution platform
By
Beth Jones
| 27 May 2025 |
Seven-partner project uses artificial intelligence to tackle UK food waste through automated surplus reallocation initiative
Parc Adfer energy-from-waste facility
AI waste analysis technology deployed at Parc Adfer EfW facility
By
Beth Jones
| 20 May 2025 |
Enfinium and Wasteer partner to employ artificial intelligence detection in feedstock contamination at North Wales plant following a successful pilot
Ball of cables
Material Focus launches Circular Electricals Fund
By
Beth Jones
| 14 May 2025 |
Up to £150,000 per project is offered to organisations demonstrating solutions in material recovery, product design, and business models to reduce e-waste in the UK
Carbon Cell plastic-free foam
Start-up secures £1.2M to scale plastic-free foam production
By
Beth Jones
| 14 May 2025 |
Carbon Cell raises pre-seed funding to develop biochar-based alternative from batch to continuous manufacturing
Internal shot of empty industrial facility that is the basis for the battery plant in Plymouth, now under construction,
Altilium begins construction of UK's first at-scale EV battery recycling and refining plant
By
Charles Newman
| 17 April 2025 |
The clean technology group's Plymouth facility will process materials from 24,000 electric vehicles annually
Matoha FabriTell technology
AI-powered technology for identifying textile waste secures further investment
By
Beth Jones
| 10 April 2025 |
WRAP-backed Circular Plastics Accelerator among investors in infrared scanner using machine learning algorithms to improve sorting of different fabrics
Fabric fibres
Textiles industry urged to support fibre pollution mitigation
By
Beth Jones
| 5 March 2025 |
A report from Fashion for Good and The Microfibre Consortium calls for improved filtration technologies during production and in homes, as well as integration of other techniques.
Cable markers
Cable Markers: Types and Their Applications in Different Installations
By Resource |
27 February 2025 |
Different types of markers serve specific environments from data centers to industrial settings
Ferrybridge mixed energy facility, with CCS
Seventh Carbon Budget proposes UK target of 68 per cent recycling rate by 2035
By Resource |
26 February 2025 |
Committee for Climate Change also says EfW must be included in Emissions Trading Scheme and face mandatory carbon capture requirements