low angle photography of green trees during daytime

United Circles and Circular South East

Building a regional circular economy through innovation, collaboration and industrial–urban symbiosis.

A major EU Horizon Europe initiative connecting partners across 16 countries to build Hubs for Circularity, with a dedicated South East England Hub led by Tech-Takeback.

Circular South East, the South East England Hub for Circularity, is part of United Circles, a flagship EU Horizon programme bringing together 44 partners across 16 countries and one UN body to accelerate circularity, resource efficiency and decarbonisation.

TTB Circular Solutions co-leads the Circular South East work for Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex and Greater Brighton, developing new models for circular infrastructure and industrial–urban symbiosis in partnership with Kent County Council and Claire Potter Design.

Overview

United Circles is establishing three Demonstrator Hubs4Circularity across Europe:

Salamanca (urban wastewater)
Ankara (construction & demolition waste)
Veneto (urban food waste / used cooking oil).

Each hub will:

Build industrial and urban networks
Develop governance frameworks
Test financial viability
Deploy digital tools
Advance social and environmental innovation
Create a materials and products observatory

What United Circles is creating

Digital tools

Six advanced digital tools will support mapping, monitoring and circular infrastructure planning:

Regenerate Explorer (RECY)
IUS Flow Catalogue
AI Recommender
IUS Designer
GRETA LCSA platform
TRACID Digital Product Passport

Stakeholder Engagement

Two major stakeholder events have already taken place in 2025, bringing together over 60 organisations to explore governance, material flows and collaboration opportunities.