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Reconomy
FormerlyCritical Resource Limited (1994–2006); Reconomy Solutions (2006–2017); Reconomy Group (2022–2023)
Company typePrivate
IndustryWaste management, Recycling, Circular economy, Environmental compliance, Extended producer responsibility
Founded1994
FounderPaul Cox (Founder & Director)
Area served
Global
Key people
  • Guy Wakeley (Chief Executive)
  • Paul Cox (Founder Director)
Revenue£1 billion (2022)[1][2]
Websitewww.reconomy.com

Reconomy, a trading name of OS Phoenix Bidco is an international provider of resource management, environmental compliance, sustainable returns and circular economy services.[3][4] Founded in the United Kingdom in 1994 as a waste-management business, the company has expanded internationally through a combination of organic growth and a programme of acquisitions across Europe and North America.[5][6] Reconomy operates as the flagship, global brand within a ‘branded house’ structure of more than 20 specialist brands that operate across the company’s core service areas.

Reconomy provides technology-enabled waste and resource management, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) compliance, international take-back and reverse logistics, carbon and circularity reporting, and global returns-management solutions. The company states that it supports businesses in reducing waste, improving resource efficiency and meeting regulatory compliance requirements.[7]

As of 2025, the company employs more than 4,300 people and manages activity for over 25,000 customers in more than 175 countries, with a reported 2023 revenue of £1.2 billion.[7][8]

Ownership and history

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1994–2003: Formation and early operations

[edit]

Reconomy (UK) Limited was incorporated in July 1994 under the name Critical Resource Limited.[9] In its early years, trading as Waste File, the company operated as a UK-focused outsourced waste-management provider serving commercial customers. It developed early digital reporting tools enabling clients to monitor waste movements and recycling performance online.[10] Reconomy also built a national network of subcontracted waste-management partners, forming the foundation for the outsourced ‘broker-based’ model it would later scale.[11]

2003–2010: Private-equity investment and development

[edit]

In 2006, the company secured private-equity investment from Englefield Capital, which later merged into Bregal Capital.[12] The investment enabled Reconomy to expand its national brokerage operations and grow its compliance-related consulting capability.[13] It also supported development of more advanced digital tools for service visibility and environmental reporting.[14]

2010–2017: Diversification and UK acquisitions

[edit]

Throughout the early 2010s, Reconomy diversified its operations through acquisitions and investment in specialist recycling and consultancy services. It expanded into construction, infrastructure and retail sectors, supported by growing demand for digital waste tracking and environmental reporting.[15]

A significant milestone came in 2015 with the acquisition of Network Waste, which increased capacity in skip-hire brokerage and construction-sector services.[16] Further consolidation in this period positioned Reconomy as a prominent UK-wide provider of contractor-focused outsourced services.[17]

2017–present: EMK ownership, loops model and global expansion

[edit]

Reconomy was acquired by private-equity firm EMK Capital in 2017.[18] As the company and its suite of specialist brands expanded, the trading name Reconomy Group was established to house all brands under it, which also, for the first time, directly established the connection between Reconomy and circular economy services. Within a few years, the Reconomy Group brand was retired, and Reconomy was reintroduced as the company’s flagship, global identity.

The company then introduced an operating model structured around three internal business units known as loops: Recycle, Comply, and Re-use. These units were created to organise Reconomy’s growing portfolio of brands and support its transition towards circular economy and compliance services.[19]

From 2018 onward, Reconomy expanded internationally through acquisitions in the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and North America.[20][21] These acquisitions increased the company’s activity in compliance services, take-back programmes and international circular supply-chain operations.[22]

In 2023, Reconomy introduced a refreshed logo and visual identity to align the brand with its positioning as a circular economy and sustainability services provider.[23]

Leadership

[edit]

Guy Wakeley – Chief Executive

[edit]

Guy Wakeley is Chief Executive of Reconomy and leads the company’s global strategy. Under his leadership, Reconomy has focused on organic growth, strategic acquisitions and development of digital services.[24]

Paul Cox – Founder Director

[edit]

Paul Cox previously served as Chief Executive of Reconomy for nearly 13 years before transitioning to his current role of Founder Director. He remains involved in strategic planning and investment.[25]

Services

[edit]

Reconomy delivers a global portfolio of compliance, resource-recovery, digital and circular-logistics services used by commercial, construction, retail, manufacturing and e-commerce clients. Its services combine operational delivery with data insight, environmental reporting and circular economy consultancy.

The company’s service offering includes:

  • Technology-enabled waste and resource management;
  • Environmental compliance, including extended producer responsibility (EPR) and Deposit Return Systems (DRS);
  • Digital waste-tracking tools;
  • International take-back and reverse-logistics programmes;
  • Returns-management and sustainable-packaging advisory.[26][27]

Rather than being structured as traditional divisions, these services are directly delivered through the company’s specialist brands, which are organised into three loops — Recycle, Comply, and Re-use — which integrate technology, operations and data insight to support customers in reducing waste, meeting regulatory requirements and adopting circular economy practices.[28]

Sustainability and circularity

[edit]

Reconomy positions circularity as a core component of its global operating model, describing itself as an enabler of the circular economy. It provides data-led insight, compliance expertise, resource-optimisation services and circular-logistics capabilities to help businesses reduce environmental impact and meet regulatory obligations.[29][30] Reconomy’s Sustainability performance is reported across the company’s three operational loops — Recycle, Comply and Re-use — reflecting their different roles in resource management, regulatory compliance and circular logistics. This information is consolidated into an annual Sustainability Report.[31]

According to its 2024 Sustainability Report, Reconomy supported customers in diverting 5.8 million tonnes of material from landfill in 2023, with 61% of managed material sent for recycling or reuse.[32] The same report states that the company reduced its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 24% year-on-year, partly through efficiency measures and increased procurement of renewable electricity.[33]

Reconomy reports that it physically managed 3.7 million tonnes of material in 2023, of which 45% was routed to closed-loop recycling processes designed to keep materials in circulation at their highest possible value.[34] The company states that 95.6% of purchased electricity came from renewable sources and that internal analysis identified a 55% “circularity gap” between the resources flowing through its ecosystem and a fully circular outcome.[35]

Reconomy aligns its disclosures with a number of international sustainability frameworks, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).[36] In December 2023, Reconomy’s near-term and net-zero emissions targets were validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.[37]

The company has received recognition for its environmental, social and governance performance. Reconomy won the Lloyds Bank Sustainable Business of the Year Award at the 2024 British Business Excellence Awards and has received “Excellence in ESG” recognition from the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association | BVCA as a private-equity portfolio company for three consecutive years (2023-2025).[38][39] Reconomy has also been recognised in CIO 100 rankings for its technology and data-led approach to sustainability and operations.[40] In 2025, the company was also named a Best Managed Company by Deloitte Private and secured Provider of the Year at the National Sustainability Awards.

Climate impact and environmental record

[edit]

Reconomy publishes an annual assessment of its climate impact, including carbon footprint data, emissions-reduction plans and analysis of its role in supporting customers’ decarbonisation strategies.[41] Its reporting differentiates between emissions generated directly through operations and those linked to customer activities managed through its platforms and loops.

In 2023, Reconomy launched its “Close The Gap” movement to advocate for circularity by raising awareness of the difference between the current ‘take-make-waste' model of a linear economy, and a theoretical fully circular economy. The company’s analysis identified its own circularity gap across materials flowing through its ecosystem was 55%, compared to the global figure of under 10%, and that closing this gap would significantly reduce embodied emissions in supply chains.[42]

Reconomy has linked its circularity work to Earth Overshoot Day, highlighting how improved resource efficiency can reduce the date on which global resource consumption exceeds annual planetary regeneration capacity. In its public commentary, the company has reported that the combined effect of its managed material flows and circularity initiatives was equivalent to moving Earth Overshoot Day by 12 minutes in 2023, and 15 minutes in 2024, based on methodology from the Global Footprint Network.[43][44]

The company reports that its loops support customers in reducing climate impact through measures such as route optimisation and transport consolidation in the Re-use Loop, increased recycling and waste-prevention in the Recycle Loop, and improved compliance data and eco-design advice through the Comply Loop.[45] Reconomy’s climate strategy is overseen by its executive team and board, with performance monitored through internal carbon budgets and scenario analysis aligned with TCFD guidance.[46]

Operations by location

[edit]

Reconomy’s operations are delivered across key global markets and reflect the three core loops of Recycle, Comply, and Re-use.[47]

Recycle Loop

[edit]

The Recycle Loop operates outsourced waste management and resource optimisation services for commercial, construction and public-sector customers, including activities delivered under the Reconomy Connect brand.[48] Geographically, this loop operates in the United Kingdom and North America under brands such as Lincoln Waste Solutions.

Comply Loop

[edit]

The Comply Loop manages Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes and compliance services. Brands operating in this loop include Valpak (UK), Noventiz, and Reverse Logistics Group (RLG).[49][50] The loop supports regulatory compliance across European markets, as well as providing EPR support in North America.

Re-use Loop

[edit]

The Re-use Loop focuses on sustainable returns, reverse logistics, and asset recovery. Its primary brands include ReBound and Advanced Supply Chain Group (ASCG). This loop manages returns and redeployment of goods for retail and e-commerce clients across the UK and EU.

Growth and acquisitions

[edit]

Reconomy has expanded through a series of acquisitions and brand integrations across its loops. Major acquisitions and brand additions include:

Major acquisitions and brand additions by Reconomy
Year Company / Brand Description / Focus Service area Source
2015 Countrywide Waste Management Commercial waste-management and brokerage services supporting national accounts in partnership with Network Waste United Kingdom [51]
2015 Network Waste Waste brokerage and outsourced waste-management services United Kingdom [52]
2016 SkipHire UK (via Cory) National skip-hire brokerage and construction-waste services United Kingdom [53]
2016 Skippy Nationwide Skip-hire brokerage services acquired as part of Cory’s national waste-brokerage businesses (UK Nationwide Skip Hire Ltd) United Kingdom [54]
2018 Helistrat Outsourced waste management services for business and industry sectors United Kingdom  
2018 Valpak Producer-responsibility compliance, data and EPR scheme management United Kingdom and EU [55]
2019 AWS Nationwide (Advanced Waste Solutions) Waste services and plant-hire support for construction and infrastructure projects, following the separate acquisitions of AWS (Advanced Waste Solutions) and Nationwide Services Group (NSG) in 2019, which were later merged into this single brand United Kingdom [56]
2020 ACM Environmental (including CollectMyWaste) Outsourced commercial waste-management and recycling services. CollectMyWaste joined as part of the ACM acquisition and was wrapped up into Reconomy Connect as part of the brand migration United Kingdom [57]
2020 EcoVend Reverse-vending and deposit-return technology brand used in Reconomy and Valpak projects in Europe and the United Arab Emirates. Acquired as part of the ACM Environmental acquisition, but now operates on its own in the Recycle Loop United Kingdom and EU. [58]
2020 Noventiz EPR schemes and packaging-compliance services Germany and EU [59]
2020 Reverse Logistics Group (RLG) Reverse logistics and international take-back programmes supporting the Comply and Re-use Loops Global, with primary operations in the EU [60]
2020 Waste Source Waste-management brokerage for multi-site commercial customers; later migrated into Reconomy Connect United Kingdom [61]
2021 Advanced Supply Chain Supply-chain services, returns management and freight forwarding supporting retail and e-commerce clients United Kingdom and EU [62]
2021 ReBound Returns Returns-management and logistics solutions for fashion and e-commerce brands United Kingdom and EU [63]
2021 Casepak Materials-recovery and recycling facilities processing household and commercial recyclables United Kingdom [64]
2021 Oceala Waste-management services aligned with Casepak recycling operations United Kingdom [65]
2021 Eurokey Recycling Plastics-recycling and resource-recovery business. United Kingdom and EU [66]
2022 Rene AG EPR and take-back compliance services Germany and EU [67]
2022 Webbs Training Health-and-safety training provider specialising in powered-access and working-at-height courses accredited by bodies including IPAF and PASMA United Kingdom [68][69]
2023 Combineering Secondary-resource solutions and industrial-waste recycling Denmark and EU [70]
2023 UK Waste Solutions Limited (AMA, Novati, ClickWaste) Waste-management group whose brands AMA Waste, Novati, and ClickWaste expanded Reconomy’s UK brokerage, national accounts and SME services. The Novati brand has since been migrated into Reconomy Connect. United Kingdom [71]
2023 Smart Comply Environmental-compliance and data-management services supporting the Comply Loop, including EPR and regulatory reporting United Kingdom [72]
2023 Envirovert Deposit-return and recycling initiatives within Reconomy’s compliance operations United Kingdom [73]
2024 Circle Waste Construction-sector waste-management and skip-hire services United Kingdom [74]
2024 Sudamin Rohstoff Metal-recovery and zinc-bearing dust recycling business Germany and EU [75]
2024 Lincoln Waste Solutions Waste-consulting and haulier-management services for multi-site customers United States [76]
2025 Complete Solutions & Sourcing Waste- and recycling-brokerage and consulting provider United States [77]
2025 Waste Focus Commercial waste-management services for national and regional accounts United States [77]
2025 American Outsourced Waste & Recycling (AOWR) Waste-management and recycling services across the US and Canada, expanding Reconomy’s North American outsourced-waste offering United States and Canada [78]

Branding and logo evolution

[edit]
Logo evolution
Period Logo Branding name
1994–2017 Critical Resource / Reconomy Solutions
2017–2022 Reconomy
2022–2023 Reconomy Group
2024–present Reconomy

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ https://environment-analyst.com/uk/109579/reconomy-shows-value-in-circular-economy-hitting-1bn-revenue
  2. ^ https://www.packagingnews.co.uk/news/business/results/reconomy-group-doubles-revenues-to-over-1bn-14-07-2023
  3. ^ "Reconomy completes multiple European acquisitions". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  4. ^ "Reconomy expands North American operations". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  5. ^ "Reconomy completes multiple European acquisitions". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  6. ^ "Reconomy expands North American operations". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  7. ^ "Reconomy Sustainability Report 2024" (PDF). Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  8. ^ "Reconomy reports £1.2bn revenue in 2023". Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  9. ^ "Companies House – Reconomy (UK) Limited". Retrieved 19 November 2025.
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  16. ^ "Reconomy buys Network Waste". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
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  38. ^ "British Business Excellence Awards – 2023 Winners". Retrieved 19 November 2025.
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  40. ^ "Global CIO 100 honourees". Retrieved 19 November 2025.
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  42. ^ "Reconomy launches Close The Gap circularity campaign". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  43. ^ "How Reconomy helps move Earth Overshoot Day". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  44. ^ "Earth Overshoot Day – Methodology". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  45. ^ "Reconomy Sustainability Report 2024 – Loop case studies" (PDF). Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  46. ^ "Reconomy Sustainability Report 2024 – Governance" (PDF). Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  47. ^ "Reconomy – Global operations overview". Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  48. ^ "Reconomy unveils Reconomy Connect". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  49. ^ "Reconomy acquires Noventiz". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  50. ^ "Reconomy takes over Reverse Logistics Group". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  51. ^ "Reconomy boosts footprint with Countrywide Waste Management deal". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  52. ^ "Reconomy buys Network Waste". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  53. ^ "Cory disposes of SkipHire UK and Network Waste". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  54. ^ "Cory disposes of SkipHire UK and Network Waste". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  55. ^ "Reconomy acquires Valpak". Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  56. ^ "Reconomy acquires Advanced Waste Solutions". Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  57. ^ "Reconomy acquires ACM Environmental". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  58. ^ "Reconomy Sustainability Report 2023 – International projects" (PDF). Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  59. ^ "Reconomy Group now owns RENE AG and Noventiz". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  60. ^ "Reconomy takes over Reverse Logistics Group". Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  61. ^ "Reconomy acquires Waste Source Ltd". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  62. ^ "Reconomy Group snaps up Advanced Supply Chain". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  63. ^ "Clearwater advises ReBound on its sale to Reconomy". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  64. ^ "Reconomy buys British service providers Casepak and Oceala". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  65. ^ "Reconomy buys British service providers Casepak and Oceala". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  66. ^ "Valpak acquires Eurokey Recycling". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  67. ^ "Reconomy now owns Rene AG". Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  68. ^ "Reconomy Group acquires Webbs Training Services". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  69. ^ "PASMA Courses UK - Webb\'s Training Services". Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  70. ^ "Reconomy acquires Denmark's Combineering Group". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  71. ^ "Reconomy Group acquires UK Waste Solutions Limited". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  72. ^ "Reconomy expands compliance division with Envirokey acquisition". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  73. ^ "Reconomy Sustainability Report 2023 – Global operations" (PDF). Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  74. ^ "Reconomy acquires Circle Waste". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  75. ^ "Reconomy acquires Sudamin Rohstoff". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  76. ^ "Reconomy buys Lincoln Waste Solutions". Retrieved 17 December 2025.
  77. ^ a b "Reconomy completes two further US acquisitions". Retrieved 17 December 2025.
  78. ^ "Reconomy makes fifth US acquisition via Lincoln Waste Solutions platform". Retrieved 17 December 2025.