The 2025 London Recycling Scorecard confirmed the capital’s household recycling rate remains stuck at 32.7%, with Tower Hamlets performing worst at just 16%. According to CPRE London, only Bromley exceeds the 50% threshold, prompting renewed calls for borough-level ambition and systemic reform.

This continues to spotlight the stark postcode lottery in recycling performance and the need for stronger consistency across local authorities.

The Circularity Gap Report 2025 revealed that just 7.2% of global material use is currently circular, a slight increase from 6.9%, but still worryingly low. The report urges urgent action on systems change and circular business models, noting that incremental progress won’t meet climate or material efficiency targets.

It’s a global wake-up call that reinforces the need for bold interventions across production, consumption, and recovery systems.

Coca-Cola has agreed to change its “100% recyclable” bottle labels following greenwashing accusations that the claim was misleading. As reported by Circular Online, campaigners argued that while the material may be recyclable, actual recycling rates and infrastructure limitations mean most bottles still end up incinerated or landfilled.

This is a warning shot to all brands: sustainability messaging must align with reality, not just intention.

Material Focus launched a £1 million Circular Electricals Fund this month to support projects that extend the life of electronic goods and reduce e-waste. Grants of up to £150,000 are available for reuse, repair, or innovative recovery initiatives, with applications open until August.

With e-waste now the UK’s fastest-growing waste stream, this funding aims to accelerate scalable, circular interventions in a space long overdue for reform.

Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I has overhauled its Lucozade Energy bottles with a 60% reduction in plastic sleeve usage and improved recyclability. As reported by Food Manufacture, the change is expected to divert 956 tonnes of plastic from the system annually and represents the brand’s most significant packaging update in nearly 100 years.

It’s a reminder that design decisions, not just disposal shape system-wide sustainability outcomes.

A Lincolnshire company director has been ordered to pay over £100,000 after operating an illegal waste site without a permit. According to Circular Online, the case resulted in a suspended prison sentence and major financial penalties.

It’s the latest example of regulators cracking down on non-compliant operators, reinforcing the importance of transparent, licensed waste management at every stage.

May’s stories underline the tension between ambition and execution in UK waste and recycling. The sector is being pushed to align messaging with material realities, design with disposal, and infrastructure with ambition. As compliance tightens and public awareness sharpens, the pressure and opportunity to act has never been greater.