From trade shocks to technology breakthroughs, 2025 proved another demanding year for the global recycling industry. Here we’d like to share the most popular stories of the year.
One clear highlight was the release of our Top 100 recyclers ranking, which was exceptionally well received. The latest issue triggered strong engagement, with record download numbers and extensive discussion across the sector. Entrepreneurs told us the Top 100 mattered, not only as recognition but also as a benchmark in a difficult market.
Other top headlines are:
- End of the road for Unimetals
- Trump: Import tariffs on steel and aluminium – but what about scrap?
- Circ’s ready to fashion our wardrobes
- Copper scrap demand set to rise in 2026
- EU urged to unlock ship scrap to fuel green steel transition
- US aluminium industry wants to ban the export of cans
- The Royal Mint turns PCBs into gold jewellery
- Derichebourg opens pioneering e-scrap recycling site
- India pumps EUR 1.5 billion to domestic recycling sector
- US domestic recycled steel shipments plagued by low rivers
- Miner backs Kenya’s first lithium-ion battery recycling plant
Conversations that shaped the headlines
The most popular stories of 2025 strongly reflect conversations we had throughout the year with recyclers, technology suppliers and investors. These exchanges took place at major industry events, including Pollutec, Ecomondo and the BIR conventions. Again and again, the same themes surfaced: margin pressure, feedstock security, regulation risk and the need to invest more smartly.
Technology stories that resonated:
- Stokkermill unlocks circular potential in solar panel recycling
- Recycling rubble in war-torn Ukraine
- New estimate for wind turbine and aircraft wing waste in Europe
- ‘Forever chemicals’ tackled by soundwave recycling
- Robots take over at Chinese recycler
- India is the promised land for recycling tech suppliers
All eyes on batteries
Polls we conducted and discussions on exhibition floors point to one fast-rising topic: battery recycling. Interest spans lithium-ion processing, chemistry shifts, safety and second-life strategies. Entrepreneurs are actively searching for reliable partners and proven technologies, rather than hype.
Recent popular headlines include:
Global sustainability workforce – 158 million
US recycler mourns losses in UPS plane crash
Scientists unveil acid-free breakthrough in lithium-ion battery recycling
Revised EPR will cut business costs, says Brussels
Aluminium sector: ‘We need 30% duties on exported scrap’
Brothers in e-scrap: smartphone recycler among fastest-growing US companies
Recyclers prepare for the battery chemistry reshuffle
Norway kicks off major plastics recycling hub
Europe’s lithium paradox: mining, metals and mixed messages
US recycler George Adams: ‘I love tariffs’
Some headlines have a way of resurfacing. These include:
Ranking the biggest waste producers worldwide
Making it in the non-ferrous business – interview with Amy Bird
Vik Muniz proves the true power of “trash”
The ‘golden age’ of second-hand shopping
New data reveals the 14 worst recycling nations in the EU
Textile recycling pioneers weave their magic
In a tough economic climate, readers want real business stories that inspire confidence. Market reports remain popular for hands-on data and insight. The most read stories of 2025 show an industry still under pressure, but far from standing still.
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