Become a program partner at LOOPTOPIA!
Here are this week’s new additions:
BATMAN Elektronik | Tooly Berlin | Work it up witch | Vincente
From November 14–15, 2026, we’ll be bringing circular solutions directly into the everyday lives of Berliners and you can actively help shape the program. What you can contribute: Whether it’s a workshop, a talk, a community event, or a repair service — share your idea, network with stakeholders from politics, business and civil society, and become part of a high-reach campaign! You don’t have a venue or are you are still looking for collaborators? No problem! Get in touch with us anyway, together we’ll find a solution.
Early-Bird Bonus: The first 25 registrants have a chance to win a €100 net bonus!
📅 Submit your idea by September 1
🔗 Link to registration
📧 Questions? Email us at looptopia@circular.berlin
LOOPTOPIA is made possible by a grant nfrom @stiftung_naturschutz_berlin
CircularPSP: AI Tools & The Reality Check for Circular Cities. Key insights and reflection from Circular PSP event in Brussel
Everyone is talking about the circular economy, but how do municipalities actually take that first step? This month in Brussels, Circular Berlin’s Dina Padalkina joined the Circular Cities in Action conference (part of the CircularPSP project) to discuss AI-powered municipal tools and the real hurdles of scaling urban circularity.
The event showcased two AI platforms designed for municipalities: CircOS (to translate strategies into workflows and break down silos) and CircularAI (for staff training and project coordination).
“Tool fatigue” is real. Cities don’t just need another app; they need solutions that deliver verifiable impact and cost savings. Furthermore, treating circularity solely as a procurement issue is a mistake—if we wait until the purchasing stage, we are already too late. Real savings start with how a city manages the resources it already has.
We need to move away from treating circularity as a voluntary, “nice-to-have” initiative. Bold, mandatory municipal frameworks are urgently needed across Europe.
Everything Circular Berlin
Montag, 17. August
12:00 – 13:00 MESZ
Zoom
Um am Event teilzunehmen, melde dich bitte HIER an.
Join us for an open Q&A session with Circular Berlin, where you can ask anything you’ve been curious about regarding our work, initiatives, and the circular economy in Berlin. This is your chance to get direct answers from our team about how we’re transforming waste into resources, supporting circular businesses, and reshaping consumption patterns in the city. Whether you’re wondering about specific projects we’re involved in, how to get engaged, or what circular economy actually means in practice, bring your questions and we’ll dive into the conversation together.
We would introduce a new section called “FUEL YOUR MIND” with some interesting news from the circular world. Lets start with a reaaly important thing… breakfast! Say hello to a:
Zero Waste & Specialty Coffee in Neukölln
Sustainability is often just a marketing buzzword but at Isla Coffee, it’s measurable practice. Located directly at Hermannstraße 37 (near U-Bahn Boddinstraße), this café has been proving for years that uncompromising circular economy practices and Berlin’s brunch culture are a perfect match.
Isla relies on its own closed-loop systems to actively and measurably reduce food waste, water consumption, and packaging. A seasonal, vegetarian and vegan brunch menu (developed by vegan chef Sophie Hofmann) meets baked goods from Albatross Bakery. Sunday highlights: French Toast and Eggs Benedict. Specialty coffee from Vote alongside homemade nut and hemp milk alternatives.
Why We Love It: A neighborhood hotspot in Neukölln that consistently lives up to its ecological responsibilities without losing its culinary lightness or sense of enjoyment.
Opening Hours: Mon–Fri 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Sat–Sun 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Berlin AI textile sorting startup reverse.fashion lands seven-figure HTGF pre-seed extension to scale pilots and launch line.sort
The Berlin-based AI startup reverse.fashion has indeed secured a seven-figure extension to its pre-seed funding round from High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF). Announced in July 2026, this investment is aimed at addressing a major bottleneck in the textile circular economy by scaling the company’s automated sorting technology.
reverse.fashion develops AI-powered systems that utilize computer vision, machine learning, and advanced sensing to automatically categorize and digitize used garments. The system analyzes items in real-time based on criteria like material composition, condition, brand, and style.
By replacing labor-intensive and subjective manual sorting, the technology accurately routes discarded garments to the most suitable recovery channels, such as resale, repair, or high-quality recycling.
The fresh capital will focus on commercial expansion. It will be used to scale their existing pilot projects utilizing the co.sort software and to drive the market launch of their full industrial automated sorting system, line.sort.
The company, which currently employs 12 people, was founded in 2024 as a spin-off from the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin) by Dr. Karsten Pufahl, Paul Doertenbach, and Mario Osterwalder.
Unlocking the E-Waste in Our Drawers
Remember our consumer electronics report 2026 and our Instgram post about 8 tons of gold? With an estimated 170 to 200 million unused smartphones and tablets gathering dust in German households, Deutsche Telekom, Interzero, and missio Aachen are teaming up to extract these urban resources. They have relaunched the Telekom Mobile Phone Collection Center to tackle the main barrier to electronics recycling: consumers’ data security fears.
Interzero manages the entire reverse logistics chain. This includes certified data wiping and professional assessment to ensure devices are either refurbished for a second life or safely recycled to recover valuable metals like gold and silver.
For every device collected, 50 cents go to one of twelve partner organizations. This includes the Catholic relief organization missio Aachen, which uses the funds to support families in Ghana living near the Agbogbloshie e-waste dump.
The initiative is a key driver for Telekom’s ambitious ESG goal to take back 50% of all devices they bring to the German market by 2030.
The Circular Takeaway: This project demonstrates that combining secure, certified data destruction with social incentives actually works. Over 2,000 devices were successfully recovered for the loop during their very first joint kick-off event in May, providing a practical blueprint for turning dormant household electronics back into active resources.
The Circular Takeaway: The European Commission’s upcoming Urban Agenda priorities—climate action, competitiveness, and affordable housing—are precisely the sectors where circularity hits hardest. Cities and organizations are strongly encouraged to participate in the upcoming public consultation to help shape this vital agenda.
Launching the Circular Economy Hub Berlin
The transition to an industrial circular economy just got easier for small and medium-sized enterprises. The newly launched Circular Economy Hub Berlin provides a free, open-access digital competence platform designed to help businesses take their first practical steps toward circularity.
The platform offers easy-to-understand modules, explainer videos, comprehensive guides, and quizzes tailored for daily business operations. It provides clear orientation along the established R-strategies of the circular economy, helping companies identify exactly where to start. To move from theory to practice, the hub highlights real-world, industrial good-practice examples directly from Berlin.
The Circular Takeaway: Aimed primarily at Berlin-based companies—but open to anyone interested—the hub lowers the barrier to entry by making complex industrial sustainability knowledge accessible and actionable.
Explore the Platform: ce-hub.berlin | Learning Platform
Online Voting for “Klimaschutz nebenan”
The public online voting for the nationwide ideas competition “Klimaschutz nebenan” has been open since July 7. Until August 28, you can help decide which projects will receive funding.
Link to website: www.klimaschutz-nebenan.de
The foundation has already selected 10 project ideas from around 636 submissions, which will each receive €1,000 in start-up capital. Through the online voting, an additional 10 winning ideas will now be determined, which will also be awarded €1,000 each. Afterwards, an expert jury will select 5 of those 20 ideas, which will receive an additional €1,000.
Berliner Klima Schulen 2026: Climate Protection Competition Enters the Next Round
Until October 20, 2026, Berlin schools can submit their projects and activities via the website www.berliner-klimaschulen.de. The competition is looking for already implemented or planned climate protection initiatives, ranging from concrete measures to innovative ideas. Multiple applications per school are permitted.