Market

Fornnax Technology has appointed a new sales partner in Germany as part of its expansion in Central Europe. The company has entered into a cooperation with Dieter Jerschl, who will represent Fornnax recycling equipment and solutions in Germany, Austria and selected neighbouring markets.

Two years after its launch on 1 February 2024, Ireland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) demonstrates the role of digital infrastructure in operating a national circular economy system at scale. Since becoming operational, the scheme has processed close to 2.5 billion returned beverage containers, supported by an integrated IT platform managing data, transactions and reporting across the value chain.

BEWI has opened Norway’s first recycling facility for expanded polystyrene (EPS) at its insulation production site in Fredrikstad. The new plant enables the collection, processing and direct reuse of recycled EPS within the company’s local production of insulation materials.

Mozambique has issued its first waste recovery certificate through the Kolekt Exchange, marking an early step towards compliance with forthcoming Extended Producer Responsibility regulations. The certificate was issued by Topack, one of the country’s largest recycling companies and a long-standing partner of Kolekt.

In the plastics manufacturing industry, at least 50% of total costs are materials—primarily plastic resins—while the remainder is allocated across labor and other operating expenses. According to PLASTICS’ 2025 Size and Impact Report, materials accounted for 66.6% of shipments, annual payroll represented 12.7%, and the remaining 20.7% reflected other operating costs.

A carbon footprint assessment commissioned by the British Metals Recycling Association indicates that operational greenhouse gas emissions from the UK metals recycling sector could be reduced by up to 93 per cent by 2050.

The outline conference programme for the Plastics Recycling Show Europe 2026 has been released ahead of the event, which will take place on 5 and 6 May 2026 at the RAI Amsterdam.

Plastics Recyclers Europe has published the first Europe-wide mapping of plastics recycling technologies. The report provides a data-based overview of the current status of plastics recycling in Europe, identifying existing technological capacities as well as structural and technical gaps. It is intended as a reference for stakeholders along the plastics value chain, including recyclers, converters, brand owners and policymakers, and supports evidence-based decision-making.

The Polystyrene Recycling Alliance and R3vira have entered into a collaboration aimed at expanding polystyrene recycling infrastructure in Mexico City. The cooperation links a North American industry coalition focused on scalable recycling solutions for polystyrene and expanded polystyrene with a locally based organization operating community-oriented collection systems in one of the largest urban regions in the Americas.

Representatives from the German government, the European Commission and the Free State of Bavaria will open IFAT Munich 2026, underlining the political and economic relevance of environmental technologies.

Cylib has completed a customer project involving the production of lithium carbonate (Li₂CO₃) from end-of-life NMC (nickel, manganese, cobalt) lithium-ion batteries. The recycled lithium carbonate has been qualified by an international battery manufacturer and is being used in the production of new electric vehicle batteries.