Think Circular
Award

ReLondon

The ReLondon Packaging Footprint Report project, in partnership with Reconomy brand, Valpak, and WRAP, has quantified and mapped the city’s packaging footprint, focusing on materials and carbon emissions.

With urban centres consuming over 75% of natural resources, the role of cities is critical in driving the circular economy forward.

It explores levers of action like promoting reusable packaging, improving waste services, and encouraging market demand for recycled content – critical steps toward tackling packaging waste.

The report is available now for download:

https://relondon.gov.uk/resources/londons-packaging-footprint

RePen Recycling Initiative

Representing a game-changer for sustainability in healthcare, RePen has been awarded Reconomy’s Think Circular Award for their incredible insulin pen recycling initiative. Every year, 1.5 thousand tonnes of disposable insulin pen waste ends up in landfills in the UK alone, but the introduction of RePen is turning this disposable medical waste into a sustainable future, with a 100% recycling solution.

Insulin pen users simply request a prepaid return envelope, fill it with up to 12 used pens, and send it back for free. At the recycling centre, materials like glass, metal, and plastics are all separated and transformed into new products, with no residual waste sent to landfill or for incineration, delivering exceptional circularity.

VARTA Microbattery SRL Brasov

Since May 2021, alongside the amazing team at VARTA Microbattery SRL Brașov, our RLG team in Romania has been running an innovative internal campaign that motivates employees to bring in used portable batteries in exchange for attractive rewards, including high-quality electronic items from the VARTA range, such as flashlights, book lights, and power banks.

This initiative is not only having a positive impact on the environment by encouraging recycling and circularity, it is also boosting employee engagement in projects dedicated to environmental protection, becoming a shining example of corporate social responsibility, producing some seriously impressive results!

McDonald’s

As part of their reimaging store refurbishment works, McDonald’s is making huge strides in preventing waste, promoting reuse, and uplifting communities. In 2023, Reconomy first facilitated the reuse of surplus-to-requirements McDonald’s furniture from a newly refurbished restaurant in Lymm (Warrington). The furniture was donated to YMCA, demonstrating how commercial-grade restaurant furniture can avoid becoming waste and instead add value socially, environmentally, and commercially.

The scalability of the project and the potential for national impact has seen it expand in 2024, with furniture from Bromley and, most recently, Droitwich restaurants also going to support community projects/charities. Stools from Droitwich found a new home at One Vision School of Arts, aiding their rehearsals and performance space, and creating both circularity and social value.

Taylor Wimpey

Taylor Wimpey established a Biodiversity Net Gain and nature enhancement project on a housebuilding site within Shropshire, which included hedgehog highways, bird and bat boxes and bug hotels. This initiative involved a partnership with Shrewsbury’s Severndale Academy Futures program.

Aimed at 16–18-year-olds, the program focuses on practical skills like landscaping, hospitality, catering, and technology, rather than traditional academics. As part of the project, Reconomy delivered used pallets to the academy, where students repurposed the timber into bird boxes, which were then returned to Taylor Wimpey for installation around the site.

This provided a closed-loop solution to reduce waste and support sustainability goals, as well as invaluable hands-on experience for the students. It also enabled Reconomy to educate them on environmental benefits, fostering a new generation of sustainability champions. The success of this project sets the stage for expanding this initiative across the wider Taylor Wimpey portfolio.

KiK

As the founding member of Reconomy’s first Textile Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) in Italy, KiK is pioneering efforts to adapt to upcoming Textile Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation with Reconomy brands RLG and ReBound. This proactive approach ensures that KiK is not just compliant, but also leading the way in sustainability and environmental responsibility in the textile industry. This vital partnership marks a significant milestone not only for KiK but for the entire textile sector in Italy.

Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo has been recognised for its dedicated commitment to circularity, involving a comprehensive review of existing waste operations as part of Reconomy brand ACM’s Greener Path Programme. By pioneering innovative ways to reduce waste, improve reuse and recycling, and embed sustainable practices, Chester Zoo is setting a benchmark for what sustainability efforts should look like on its journey towards zero waste.

M&S

We were delighted to celebrate the innovative thinking of M&S to introduce EcoVend Reverse Vending Machines across 20 flagship stores, a pioneering step ahead of Ireland’s inaugural Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). With the support of Reconomy brands ACM and EcoVend, M&S is leading by example, showcasing a commitment to sustainability that goes beyond expectations. The introduction of EcoVend machines are not just a testament to M&S’s dedication to reducing waste and promoting recycling; they’re a beacon of change, encouraging us all to think and act more sustainably.

HP Latin America

HP Latin America, demonstrated the social benefits that can be harnessed alongside environmental protections when increasing circularity. Reconomy brand, RLG, worked with HP to develop an innovative process to collect and ship HP toner cartridges collected across seven countries to Colombia for recycling. Developing this process, the toners are then dismantled, and the materials separated before the plastics are turned into pellets.

These recovered plastics are then used in social project called “Recupera tu silla” – or “Recover your chair” – which aims to restore chairs and tables in primary schools in poor, rural areas in Colombia.

“This is excellent news, and we are thrilled that RePen has received this award. It aligns with our sustainability strategy, which is a top priority for Sanofi both in the UK and globally. We hope this marks the beginning of more initiatives that will have a meaningful impact now and for the future of our planet.”

A representative from the Sanofi Project Team

“We are committed to raising awareness of the importance of resource protection. By developing more sustainable products and packaging, VARTA is working for the preservation of natural resources for future generations. In Europe, only about < 50 % of household batteries are returned to the circular economy via the appropriate collection points. Each year ~35,000 tons of batteries are improperly disposed of by EU households. From 2023 we have started a comprehensive communication campaign under the motto ‘VARTA loves Recyclers’ where our efforts are directed towards consumer education regarding proper disposal of used batteries. In Romania we are happy to work with a reliable partner – Reverse Logistics Group – who helped us every step of the way in implementing various consumer projects all over the country which led to increased awareness among young public regarding battery recycling. We are happy that together we did a small step towards our mission and we are grateful for this award!”

Roxana Siboiu, Managing Director of VARTA Consumer, Romania

“Donating to charities such as the YMCA aligns with our commitment to reducing waste. We’re proud to see our old furniture repurposed, given a new lease of life, and supporting local communities and the environment.”

Dominic Murphy, Restaurant Manager

McDonald’s Lymm (Warrington)

“We’re committed to reducing waste and enhancing nature across the business and this work with Reconomy contributes to both, while helping young people gain valuable sustainability related skills. We are delighted to win this award for a very rewarding project and look forward to the next exciting initiative.”

Ian Heasman, Director of Sustainability,
Taylor Wimpey

“We’re delighted to have won the Reconomy Think Circular Award, celebrating our work towards zero waste. Right now, we’re facing a global biodiversity and climate crisis. Never before has nature been in need of more urgent help. That’s why it’s vitally important that, as a global conservation and education charity that’s striving to create a better world where nature can survive and thrive, we lift our efforts on sustainability to new heights and showcase what’s possible. We’re proud to be a leader in this area that’s inspiring others to do the same – the future of our planet depends on it.”

Jennifer Kelly, Head of Sustainability,
Chester Zoo

“We are delighted to be the recipient of this award. Our priority is to help our Irish customers to navigate the Deposit Return Scheme confidently and our relationship with EcoVend supports this through the innovative and user-friendly design of their reverse vending machines”.

Eddie Murphy, Country Director for Ireland and Northern Ireland,
M&S