United Circles took part in the 13th International Conference on Sustainable Solid Waste Management, held on the Greek island of Kos from 24 to 28 June 2026. The event brought together researchers, industry representatives, public authorities, municipalities and technology providers to share knowledge and discuss recent developments in waste management, resource recovery, industrial-urban symbiosis and circular water systems.
The conference provided a valuable opportunity to present some of the work currently being carried out within United Circles and to exchange experiences with other European and international initiatives working towards more circular and resource-efficient industrial systems.
CARTIF represented the project through the oral presentation “Experimental evaluation of forward osmosis at laboratory pilot scale for industrial wastewater desalination and water recovery.” The study assessed the performance of a forward osmosis pilot plant at TRL 5 using representative industrial wastewater streams. The results showed stable and reproducible water fluxes, reliable operation and a relatively low tendency towards irreversible membrane fouling. This supports the potential of technology to concentrate industrial effluents and recover water for reuse within industrial processes.
This contribution was complemented by the poster “Laboratory-scale evaluation of capacitive deionisation for efficient desalination and industrial water reuse.” The work focused on capacitive deionisation as a modular, low-voltage electrochemical technology for removing dissolved salts from industrial water. Both studies form part of the technological developments being carried out in the United Circles Salamanca Hub, with the aim of improving industrial water recovery and reuse and moving towards more closed-loop water systems.
United Circles was also represented through several oral presentations related to construction and demolition waste and industrial-urban symbiosis. The presentation “From Waste to Value: Lessons from the United Circles Ankara Hub” introduced the integrated approach being developed in the Ankara Demonstrator Hub, combining waste valorisation, industrial symbiosis, digital traceability, innovative governance, social transformation and first-of-a-kind technologies.
Another contribution, “Greek Circularity Hub for the Management of Construction and Demolition Waste in the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in Greece,” focused on the United Circles Mirroring Hub in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. The presentation highlighted how regional cooperation, technological innovation and the coordinated management of waste streams can support more effective circular value chains in the construction sector.
The project also contributed to the assessment of industrial-urban symbiosis through the presentation “A Modular Framework for Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Industrial Urban Symbiosis Systems,” delivered by Deborah Leone from SUPSI. The work presented a modular approach for assessing the environmental, economic and social performance of these systems and supporting decision-making in the development of Hubs for Circularity.
Francisco Corona, from CARTIF and coordinator of United Circles, also served as co-chair of the session on Circular Economy and Symbiosis. Overall, participation in KOS 2026 helped raise the visibility of United Circles, share the project’s progress and create new opportunities for knowledge exchange and collaboration.
Written by CARTIF