What is the latest update in the circular economy?

The circular economy market is worth around 560 billion dollars in 2026, growing at roughly 12 percent each year, and we are tracking every major move.

This is our Q1 2026 market update for the circular economy, and we constantly refresh this blog post as new data comes in.

Below you will find the biggest deals, partnerships, policy changes, and financial results from the first quarter of 2026.

And if you want to better understand this new industry, you can download our pitch covering the circular economy.

Summary table of the most important updates in the circular economy

We define the circular economy market as all activities that keep products and materials in use for longer and return them safely to the economy or nature instead of sending them to waste.

We include circular design, sharing and product-as-a-service models, repair and refurbishment, remanufacturing, high-quality recycling, bio-based and compostable materials, regenerative agriculture, and the digital, logistics, consulting and financial services that enable these loops.

We exclude purely linear "take-make-waste" activities, traditional waste disposal (landfilling and non-recovering incineration), and generic sustainability actions that do not materially change how resources and materials flow through the economy.

You can also get all the latest market news for the month here.

News	Category	Date	Source
Ireland launched a national circular economy strategy with repair vouchers and digital product passports	Regulations & Policies	February 24, 2026	gov.ie
Cyclic Materials raised $75M Series C to scale rare earth recycling globally	Fundraising	January 23, 2026	Cyclic Materials
BMW and PreZero partnered to turn end-of-life cars into a circular materials business	Partnerships	February 5, 2026	BMW Group
Komatsu acquired a U.S. remanufacturing business to grow its circular parts network	M&A	February 5, 2026	Komatsu
Canon launched office-device remanufacturing in the U.S. as part of a global rollout	Product launches	March 10, 2026	Canon U.S.A.
Cyclic Materials committed $82M to a new rare-earth recycling campus in South Carolina	Market expansions	January 29, 2026	Cyclic Materials
Singapore moved closer to Southeast Asia's first national deposit-return system	Regulations & Policies	January 23, 2026	TOMRA
PepsiCo and National Geographic funded regenerative agriculture research in four countries	Partnerships	February 24, 2026	PepsiCo
WM posted $25.2B in 2025 revenue and doubled down on recycling automation	Financial results	January 28, 2026	WM
TOMRA reported a record quarter in Collection and a strong finish to 2025	Financial results	February 12, 2026	TOMRA
CIBO won Nutrien to power regenerative-agriculture measurement across the Midwest	Customer wins	February 10, 2026	CIBO Technologies
Sims reported a 65.9% jump in EBIT driven by circular electronics and metals recycling	Financial results	February 17, 2026	Sims Limited

How is the circular economy doing now?

How do we define the circular economy?

We define the circular economy market as all activities that keep products and materials in use for longer and return them safely to the economy or nature instead of sending them to waste.

We include circular design, sharing and product-as-a-service models, repair and refurbishment, remanufacturing, high-quality recycling, bio-based and compostable materials, regenerative agriculture, and the digital, logistics, consulting and financial services that enable these loops.

We exclude purely linear "take-make-waste" activities, traditional waste disposal (landfilling and non-recovering incineration), and generic sustainability actions that do not materially change how resources and materials flow through the economy.

This is also the definition we use in our report covering the circular economy.

How big is the circular economy in 2026?

We estimate the circular economy is worth approximately 560 billion dollars as of January 2026, based on a cluster of credible research firm estimates ranging from 450 to 700 billion dollars and confirmed by our own bottom-up calculation.

This is not a random guess, if you want to know how we have come up with this estimate, you can read our circular economy size analysis here.

To give you a sense of scale, the circular economy is roughly the same size as the global semiconductor industry at 570 billion dollars and the global pharmaceutical market at 600 billion dollars.

The circular economy is still in early growth phase with a maturity score of 45 out of 100, moderate competition at 55 out of 100, and extreme fragmentation at 85 out of 100, meaning no single company holds more than 1 percent of the market.

How fast will the circular economy grow in the future?

We believe a realistic growth rate for the circular economy is around 12 percent per year, based on four independent research firms that all landed near 13 percent, with a small discount applied for base effects and infrastructure constraints.

At that pace, the circular economy should reach roughly 880 billion dollars by 2030 and approximately 1.4 trillion dollars by 2036, nearly tripling from its current size.

For comparison, the circular economy grows faster than mature waste management at 5 to 6 percent per year, but slower than electric vehicles at 25 to 30 percent, which makes sense given its mix of established recycling segments and faster-moving digital and bio-based categories.

What does current funding activity look like in the circular economy?

Our team, who continually updates our circular economy pitch deck, is keeping a close eye on the market and tracking key signals.

One of those signals is fundraising activity across startups. Each month, we refresh this page with a list of startups of the circular economy that have raised funding, and we also publish a quarterly analysis here.

Is funding momentum accelerating or cooling in the circular economy these days?

The biggest circular economy fundraising signal in Q1 2026 was Cyclic Materials' oversubscribed $75 million Series C in January, one of the largest rounds the sector has seen in recent quarters, which suggests strong investor appetite for capital-intensive circular supply chain plays.

Venture capital funding in the broader circular economy reached 40 to 45 billion dollars in 2024, and early Q1 2026 activity suggests that momentum is continuing, particularly in critical materials recycling and regenerative agriculture technology.

The average deal size appears to be trending upward, driven by later-stage rounds like Cyclic Materials' $75 million raise, which points to a market where investors are doubling down on proven circular economy business models rather than spreading small bets.

Which categories and business models are attracting capital in the circular economy?

These categories and business models of the circular economy are receiving important fundraising currently:

• Critical materials recycling: Cyclic Materials' $75M Series C shows investors want circular solutions for rare earths tied to AI, EVs, and defense supply chains.
• Recycling infrastructure and automation: WM's strong 2025 results and continued investment in automation confirm that large-scale recycling technology remains a high-conviction category for capital allocation.
• Regenerative agriculture technology: CIBO Technologies landed two major enterprise customers this quarter (Nutrien and Primient), signaling growing demand for measurement, reporting, and verification platforms in circular agriculture.
• Remanufacturing: Komatsu's acquisition of SRC of Lexington's remanufacturing assets shows that industrial circular economy models attract both strategic and financial buyers.

The common thread this quarter is that capital is flowing into circular economy businesses that solve hard, physical problems like recycling rare earths or remanufacturing heavy equipment, not just software layers.

Who's writing the most checks in the circular economy?

These investors are being very active when it comes to fundraising in the circular economy:

• Growth-stage venture firms backed Cyclic Materials' $75M oversubscribed Series C, showing that circular economy hard-tech startups can attract top-tier growth capital when the supply-chain case is strong.
• Komatsu acted as a strategic acquirer, purchasing remanufacturing assets in the U.S. to build its circular parts network, a sign that industrial corporates are becoming active circular economy investors.
• PepsiCo partnered with National Geographic to fund regenerative agriculture research across four countries, showing that major food companies are putting real money behind circular agriculture.

The investor mix this quarter skews heavily toward strategic players and growth-stage funds, which tells us the circular economy is moving past the early-stage experimentation phase.

Any big acquisitions or IPOs in the last three months in the circular economy?

These are the big acquisitions and IPOs that happened recently in the circular economy:

• Komatsu agreed to acquire the remanufacturing business of SRC of Lexington in the United States, adding circular parts capability for heavy equipment at industrial scale.

This was the only major M&A move in Q1 2026, but it is a meaningful one because it shows that remanufacturing is now seen as strategic infrastructure by global industrial players.

How are companies in the circular economy performing overall?

We are watching this market everyday, because we need to constantly update our pitch deck. Here is a couple of things we have noticed.

Are there any standout success metrics or financial results in the circular economy?

Yes, several circular economy companies posted strong financial results in Q1 2026:

• WM reported $25.2 billion in 2025 revenue and said its recycling automation investments are improving margins and cash generation across its operations.
• TOMRA reported a record quarter in its Collection division and a strong overall finish to 2025, driven by deposit-return systems and resource-productivity infrastructure.
• Sims Limited posted underlying EBIT of $121.1 million for the first half of fiscal 2026, up 65.9 percent year over year, with strong growth in circular electronics and metals recycling.

All three results come from companies in recycling and recovery, which confirms that the most mature segment of the circular economy can still deliver serious profit growth.

Have there been any major partnerships in the circular economy?

Yes, Q1 2026 brought several notable partnerships in the circular economy:

• BMW and PreZero signed a strategic cooperation agreement to push circularity in the European auto industry by turning end-of-life vehicles into a better source of recycled materials.
• PepsiCo and National Geographic announced five new grants for regenerative agriculture research across four countries, focusing on crop resilience and soil health.

Both partnerships share a pattern: large corporations are now treating the circular economy as part of their core operations, not a side initiative.

Have there been any notable technology or infrastructure breakthroughs in the circular economy?

Yes, two developments stand out in Q1 2026:

• Cyclic Materials committed $82 million to a new rare-earth recycling campus in South Carolina, which will produce recycled mixed rare-earth oxides for vehicles, electronics, wind energy, defense, and AI infrastructure.
• Canon launched office-device remanufacturing in the United States, expanding a model already running in Japan and Germany, making remanufactured business equipment available in a third major market.

These moves show the circular economy is crossing the line from pilot programs to real industrial-scale infrastructure, which is exactly what the market needs to keep growing.

Have any companies restructured or shifted pricing or business model in the circular economy?

We did not spot any major restructurings, pricing changes, or business model shifts during Q1 2026 in the circular economy.

Are there any other notable wins or successes in the circular economy?

Yes, two customer wins stood out this quarter in the circular economy:

• CIBO Technologies won Nutrien as a strategic partner to provide measurement, reporting, and verification services across Nutrien's sustainable agriculture programs, which already cover more than 3.7 million acres worldwide.
• CIBO also landed Primient in a multi-year deal to scale regenerative practices and manage Scope 3 reporting across Primient's corn supply chain.

Two major enterprise wins in one quarter for a single circular economy platform suggests that digital measurement tools for regenerative agriculture are moving from "nice to have" to "must have."

What is the overall sentiment in the circular economy right now?

Are there any notable recent opinion pieces, thought leadership about the circular economy?

Yes, one major opinion piece stood out this quarter:

• The Ellen MacArthur Foundation published a policy opinion arguing that the upcoming EU Circular Economy Act is a critical opportunity to create common rules for circular solutions and expand markets for recycled and refurbished products across Europe.

This is a reminder that the circular economy's growth path depends heavily on whether policymakers follow through on regulatory promises, especially in Europe.

Are there any interesting and recent market research reports about the circular economy?

We did not come across any standout market research reports published during Q1 2026 that are worth highlighting here for the circular economy.

Have there been any regulatory changes, policy updates, or new compliance requirements in the circular economy?

Yes, two significant regulatory developments happened in Q1 2026 in the circular economy:

• Ireland launched its Circular Economy Strategy 2026-2028, a country-level plan that includes a pilot repair voucher scheme, digital product passports for textiles, furniture, and tyres, and sector-specific action plans for reuse, repair, and recycling.
• Singapore appointed operators for its upcoming beverage-container deposit-return scheme, moving closer to launching Southeast Asia's first legislation-based nationwide system of this kind, licensed from April 2026 to March 2033.

Both policies create concrete new demand for circular economy infrastructure, from repair services in Ireland to reverse vending machines and logistics in Singapore.

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NEW MARKET PITCH TEAM

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