— By Plasteurope.com correspondent — 

Circular economy specialist Reconomy (London; www.reconomy.com) said it has launched CircuLab, a new research facility in Bucharest, Romania, to strengthen its skills in sustainability, environmental science, and resource management.

Investing GBP 1 mn (EUR 1.17 mn) in the project, Reconomy said CircuLab would focus on the development of new use cases, sharing of best practise, leveraging data analytics, as well as exploring new technologies and regulatory issues.

“The function will help Reconomy build specialist and unique capabilities in circularity, strengthening its leading role in the circular economy and leaving it better positioned to serve its customers and help them reduce waste, conserve resources, close circularity gaps, and unlock material cost savings,” it added.

CircuLab will operate alongside RecoTek, Reconomy’s internal delivery engine and technology scaling centre, which was launched last year and now employs more than 130 people.

Guy Wakeley, Reconomy’s chief executive, said the launch of CircuLab could not have come at a more important time. “No only will [it] help our customers lower their carbon footprint, identify material cost savings, and improve profitability, but it also supports our mission to create a waste-free world,” he added.

Related: Reuse key to circular economy shift

A report published last month highlighted the challenges facing those working in the circular economy sector. The Circularity Gap Report 2025, published by Dutch cooperative Circle Economy (Amsterdam; www.circle-economy.com) and US professional services group Deloitte (New York, New York; www.deloitte.com), revealed that global material extraction had surpassed a “landmark” 100 bn t, fuelled by urbanisation, rising GDP, and increased affluence.

According to the report, the majority of materials entering the economy remained virgin, with the share of secondary (reused/recycled) materials falling to 6.9%, a fall of 2.2 percentage points from 2015.