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Circular News Digest: October 2026
Was bewegt die Kreislaufwirtschaft in Berlin diesem Monat? Wir haben die neuesten politischen Updates, lokalen Berliner Initiativen und Innovationen der Kreislaufwirtschaft in den Bereichen Verpackung, Bauwesen, Elektronik und Textil für Sie zusammengestellt.
vorbereitet von Casper van Alfen, Rémi Laoubi, AnaMaria Quijano-Wittemann, Dina Padalkina
Updates from Circular Market
Concular was selected for Morgan Stanley Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures Accelerator.
Konzentrisch was selected among many other companies for the Morgan Stanley Accelerator program. This is a strong signal from institutional venture capital validation for digitized urban mining inventories and material passports, helping transition secondary material sourcing from pilot phases into mainstream commercial real estate. Read the announcement on Architekturblatt.
German packaging market shrinks again in 2025.
The production volume fell by 2.4 percent compared to the previous year to 16.7 million tons, after 17.1 million tons in 2024. Plastic packaging continued to account for the largest share of production value with a share of 44.9 percent. In terms of volume, however, packaging made of paper, cardboard and cardboard dominated the market with a share of 47.1 percent. The development shows that packaging manufacturers continue to operate in a challenging market environment. At the same time, new regulatory requirements under PPWR and the Packgaging Law Implementation Act have created additional clarification requirements for companies.
Global Race for Decarbonization Materials Highlights Need for Urban Mining
As the global transition away from fossil fuels accelerates, UNEP forecasts that demand for critical energy transition minerals like copper will double or triple by 2040. However, primary mining supply is falling short, creating a projected shortfall of 6.5 million tonnes by 2031. To bridge this gap sustainably, urban mining and circularity must take center stage—recovering infinitely recyclable materials embedded in our infrastructure, railways, and electronics to relieve pressures on primary extraction and local ecosystems.
WWF Report: Closing the Valuation Gap in Circular Investments
A new report and business case framework by WWF Germany, Quantis, Bertelsmann Stiftung, and BDI identifies 10 quantifiable Circular Value Drivers (across Risk & Resilience, Strategy & Competitiveness, and Ecosystems) to help companies capture systemic value beyond conventional financial appraisal.
Updates from Circular Governance
Germany’s Building Modernization Act (Gebäudemodernisierungsgesetz)
Following the July 2026 enactment of Germany’s Building Modernization Act (Gebäudemodernisierungsgesetz), two intertwined regulatory mechanisms are accelerating will push circular construction forward. First, legal guidance on existing building standards protection (fortgeltende Regelungen) protects load-bearing concrete frames and masonry that met code at initial build, removing forced-upgrade penalties and preventing unnecessary structural demolition during adaptive reuse projects. Second, Section 88b of the GModG transposes the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) into national law, legally mandating whole-life carbon calculations, covering material extraction, transport, and deconstruction, for public buildings starting in 2028 and all new builds by 2030. Together, these provisions reward developers for locking in existing embodied carbon.
Berlin voted and the packaging tax will now be decided by the upcoming coalition.
Die Linke won with 25.7%, and is now in talks with the Greens and SPD to form a coalition. Packaging remains an open question: the Greens want the single-use tax and estimate it to be approximately €40 million a year, while Die Linke voted it out of their own programme before the election. The coalition agreement will decide whether Berlin gets one this term. Read about the coalition talks here.
Berlin’s public sector goes fully reusable.
Since 1 October, the AV Mehrweg requires every Berlin authority, public institution and state-owned company to use reusable dishes, cups and cutlery only. And it doesn’t stop there: any event on city premises must contract for reuse, and anyone receiving city funding must pass the rule on to their suppliers. Tipping food from a single-use box into a reusable one is banned too. Only charity food and emergencies are exempt. A law that passed almost unnoticed but has a huge, positive impact on the waste our city creates!
Updates from Circular Culture
New podcast episode from Circularity.fm
A detailed episode on Circularity.fm breaks down the environmental, economic, and social parameters required to evaluate circular interventions over standard linear metrics for the circular construction with Dirk Hengst, founder of Denk.mal.Bau., and Lewin Fricke from TRIQBRIQ.
Smarter packaging design could create a win-win for people
Approximately 60% of the plastic collected for recycling around the world is handled by 40 million waste pickers. And yet waste pickers in lower and middle income countries (LMICs) have lost over $150 million in potential earnings due to poorly designed PET bottles. Simultaneously, designs that raise the value of a pack are expected to reduce the likelihood of waste leaking into the river, ocean, or terrestrial ecosystems. The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Plastic Waste Coalition of Action has recently released a paper showing how packaging design changes can improve recycling outcomes, reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in the environment and raise living standards for sector workers in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Emil Fischer Schule Wins “Umweltschule in Europa” Award
We are proud to announce that Emil Fischer Schule has once again been awarded the prestigious “Umweltschule in Europa” title! A key element of their sustainability recognition was our joint project, “Fit für Circular Economy,” which successfully integrated circular principles into vocational education and school life through new dedicated teaching materials. Congratulations to everyone involved in making sustainability and circular economy education part of everyday school life!
