Read the CIWM Presidential Report 2025: ‘Lost Opportunities? Winning Back Materials to Drive the UK’s Circular Economy’ now.

Dr. David Greenfield launched the CIWM Presidential Report 2025 ahead of his inauguration as CIWM President at Terrace Pavilion, House of Commons.

Written by Dr Ryan Woodard, the report, ‘Lost Opportunities? Winning Back Materials to Drive the UK’s Circular Economy’, issues a call to action to capture and derive value from resources that are currently being lost to the UK’s economy.

Read an extract from the report’s Executive Summary below or check out the full version of the report here.

Executive Summary

We live in a world where valuable resources are readily squandered – lost.

Across the world a vast array of materials are discarded in residual waste, dumped or burnt. Recovering these resources presents opportunities to reduce the consumption of virgin materials, address resource security and increase UK productivity through domestic reprocessing.

This report highlights the global challenges of lost materials, and examines six of the many often-overlooked materials that are lost to the UK economy – all classified as critical minerals by UK government due to supply risks.

Used Cooking Oil (UCO)

Most UK household UCO is not recovered, instead entering residual waste or sewers, where it causes blockages. Biofuels are the main end-use market, but the UK relies heavily on imports of UCO to meet biofuel demand, with increased concerns over sustainability and fraud.

Emerging opportunities for UCO include biopolymers and road construction, with increased potential recovery opportunities through Extended Producer Responsibility and in-store collection points – both of which are already implemented in other countries.

Seafood shells

Globally most shells are treated as by-products and enter residual waste, and the UK alone generates 30,000 tonnes/annum of scallop, cockle and whelk shells.

A key emerging market is extracting natural polymers from shells for a range of applications including in packaging and textiles as an alternative to synthetic materials. Other opportunities include construction, conservation and agriculture.

Wool

With the income from wool sales no longer covering shearing costs, an estimated 20% of UK wool does not make it to market. Some countries discard wool as a by-product of food production.

Innovation is driving new markets including insulation, soil amendments, and sound absorbers – boosting demand and supporting wool prices.

Lithium

Approximately 87% of lithium is used in rechargeable Li-ion batteries, and non-rechargeable primary batteries. Recovering lithium remains technically and economically challenging.

Additionally, battery-related fires are a significant issue, costing the UK over £1 billion annually. With growing supply concerns, there is increasing investment in domestic recovery infrastructure. Businesses repurpose rechargeable Li-ion batteries for energy storage thereby extending battery life.

Potential UK policy opportunities to stimulate investment could include specific lithium battery collection targets and mandatory recycled content targets in batteries.

Gallium

Through its use in integrated circuits gallium is present in most electronic and electrical equipment. Despite its value and relative scarcity, no end-of-life gallium recycling currently takes place due to its use in dispersed small quantities, and the difficulty of separating it from other materials.

Whilst pilot / demonstration projects show it is possible to recover gallium, policy interventions are needed to scale-up these solutions.

Tin

Through its use in solder, tin is present in virtually all electronic and electrical equipment. Large amounts of tin are lost in the processing of e-waste with focus on extracting other metals. The small quantities of tin in products also present challenges to recovery.

Research shows promising results in recovering tin from end-of-life waste – the next step is to scale these solutions – policy interventions are needed to facilitate this.

The post CIWM Presidential Report 2025: Lost Opportunities? Winning Back Materials to Drive the UK’s Circular Economy appeared first on Circular Online.

Ahead of his inauguration as CIWM President today at Terrace Pavilion, House of Commons, Dr. David Greenfield has launched the CIWM Presidential Report 2025.

Written by Dr Ryan Woodard, the report, ‘Lost Opportunities? Winning Back Materials to Drive the UK’s Circular Economy’, issues a call to action to capture and derive value from resources that are currently being lost to the UK’s economy.

Focusing on what it calls the ‘urgent need’ and ‘real opportunity’ for the UK to lead the transition to a circular economy, the report highlights six commonly overlooked materials that are currently lost to the economy both in the UK and internationally.

The report examines both cycles – renewable and finite – of the circular economy. It explores three everyday renewable organic materials, cooking oil, seafood shells, and wool, and three essential finite mineral resources in the form of lithium, gallium, and tin.

It provides an assessment of how much waste of each type is generated and why it is lost to the economy, and explores current and future management pathways.

Commenting on the report’s launch, Dr. Greenfield said: “We cannot afford to waste what the planet and economy cannot easily replace. My report highlights both the challenges and opportunities we face, reinforcing the importance of rethinking not just how we manage ‘waste’, but how we define and prevent it.

“During my year as CIWM President, I am committed to championing the development of a more sustainable and circular economy and facilitating the cross-sector collaboration needed to make this a reality.”

During my year as CIWM President, I am committed to championing the development of a more sustainable and circular economy…

The inauguration of Dr. Greenfield will see Tim Walker assume the role of Immediate Past President. Vicki Hughes and Liz Parkes MBE will become Vice President and Junior Vice President, respectively, and Charlotte Davies will enter her second year as Early Careers President.

Sarah Poulter, CEO of CIWM, commented: “Firstly, I would like to thank Tim Walker for his hard work, dedication, and leadership during his term as CIWM President.

“We are excited to welcome David as President. He brings extensive expertise in waste management and circular economy innovation. In his professional roles, he champions sustainable resource recovery and innovation on a day-to-day basis.

“As Visiting Professor of Circular Economy at the University of Brighton, he has demonstrated his commitment to advancing a more circular and resource-efficient economy.”

The CIWM Presidential Report 2025 makes a series of recommendations for unlocking the potential of these resources and says that a coordinated, cross-sector approach is ‘essential’.

CIWM says the report’s findings show that government, policymakers, business, and the resource management sector have an opportunity to:

• align UK policies to capture ‘lost’ resources;
• develop business cases to capitalise on these opportunities;
• align public sector procurement policies to support resource recovery;
• foster cross-sector collaboration;
• implement a National Material Data System; and
• establish a cross-organisational, open-access research repository.

Dr. Greenfield continued: “We need action – coordinated, courageous, and consistent – to make the transition from linear to circular. Let this be the moment we step up, reach across sectors, and turn waste from a symbol of failure into a source of possibility.

“Through improved design, collection systems, policy interventions, lifecycle thinking, and circular innovation, there are significant opportunities to harness many of the currently lost materials beyond and including the six highlighted here, for the benefit of the environment, society, and the UK economy.”

The post CIWM President launches 2025 report at his inauguration appeared first on Circular Online.

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Le Dr Pen microneedling, ou thérapie d’induction de collagène, est une technique de plus en plus prisée pour traiter les cicatrices d’acné et améliorer la texture de la peau. En stimulant la production naturelle de collagène et d’élastine, cette méthode offre des résultats visibles et durables.

Textile Extended Producer Responsibility Impact Assessment service designed to help producers prepare for textile regulations in the EU launches.

The service allows producers to track upcoming Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations across the globe and identify obligations across relevant markets.

Created by international circular economy specialist Reconomy, the tool allows producers to estimate compliance costs based on market data and expected fee structures, and review data readiness.

While the EU’s EPR mandate for textiles is set to take effect in 2027, several member states including France, the Netherlands, Hungary and Latvia have already implemented their own schemes.

Reconomy is actively involved in shaping the future of EPR and is well placed to help producers navigate these changes…

Lavi Aharon, Director of Textile Programme and Business Development at Reconomy, commented: “We are excited to be launching this new service that builds on our existing market-leading capabilities to give producers much-needed clarity and confidence as they prepare for the most transformative piece of legislation facing the fashion sector.

“With our long-standing relationships with regulators, policymakers and industry bodies, Reconomy is actively involved in shaping the future of EPR and is well placed to help producers navigate these changes, identify cost savings and drive greater circularity across the industry.”

The new service builds on Reconomy’s work in EPR compliance, which includes managing over 40 producer responsibility organisations (PROs) across 15 countries.

Through its brand, Valpak, Reconomy has also developed a packaging and product database that helps global producers report and manage their EPR requirements.

The database also shows how design changes can have an impact on reducing compliance costs and lowering carbon footprints.

The post New textiles EPR assessment service launches appeared first on Circular Online.

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This post explains the new copy trading feature on Bitunix really well—great to see platforms listening to what pro traders need. Do you think this feature will help beginners learn faster, or could it lead to more risk? Also, for anyone taking a break from the screens, checking out the captain d’s fish sandwich price might be a good idea for a quick and tasty seafood meal.

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