CDE set the stage for CIRCLE symposium
Robert Bilott, the environmental attorney who exposed the global impact of PFAS, to headline
BALANCING the urgent need for infrastructure with environmental responsibility is the defining challenge of our time and to address this wet processing experts CDE have announced further details of CIRCLE, an influential waste recycling symposium taking place next year in Brussels.
The event, now programmed over two days from 7–8 May 2026, will bring together expert voices from across the industry – including materials processors, technology experts, legislators, academics, and policymakers – to share insights and rethink the global waste burden in the beating heart of policymaking in the EU.
With CIRCLE, CDE’s ambition is to deliver an impactful programme that allows delegates to explore the future of the materials that power our world – from infrastructure to technology – and how we can uncover innovative strategies to balance sustainability with progress, while redefining waste as a valuable resource. It will also address one of the most far-reaching health concerns of our generation, with PFAS being a central theme.
‘This is not your typical conference,’ said CDE business development director Darren Eastwood. ‘CIRCLE is a call to action.
‘By convening global decision-makers in the beating heart of EU policymaking, the symposium will provide a truly collaborative platform to accelerate the pace of change in waste recycling and help rewrite the narrative around waste for a more circular future.
‘We will notably be unveiling a first-of-its-kind solution for PFAS soil remediation – a breakthrough that could redefine how the industry tackles one of the most persistent environmental threats of our time.’
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – also known as ‘forever chemicals’) is found in thousands of everyday products and increasingly present in contaminated soils and waste streams. With regulators tightening standards, operators face mounting pressure to stay compliant while advancing sustainability goals.
CDE have also announced their esteemed headline speaker for the event: internationally recognized environmental attorney Robert Bilott, who rose to prominence for his work uncovering the global impact of environmental contamination caused by PFAS.
The tenacious environmental lawyer who became ‘DuPont’s worst nightmare’, according to The New York Times, will lead discussions on the urgent need for innovation in the management of PFAS contamination.
A partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, Mr Bilott will share the harrowing journey of his epic 20-year legal battle that exposed massive chemical contamination of unprecedented scale and scope, now impacting virtually every living thing on this planet. Among his many honours, Mr Bilott was selected as one of the best lawyers in America for several years running and in 2017 received the Right Livelihood Award, commonly known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’.
His book, Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer’s Twenty-Year Battle Against DuPont, inspired the major motion picture Dark Waters, featuring Academy Award nominee Mark Ruffalo.
CDE’s advanced wet-processing technologies have been transforming complex waste streams into valuable resources for more than 30 years. Today, their soil-washing systems, enhanced by advanced water treatments, offer a future-ready alternative to traditional PFAS remediation, already helping companies safely recover and reuse 70–80% contaminated waste materials.
But for CDE, this is not the finish line. The next challenge is to remediate 100% of contaminated material – not just removing PFAS from soil but eliminating it from the entire process. That means developing new techniques to liberate PFAS more efficiently and combining innovative treatment solutions into modular systems to achieve improved results. CIRCLE will be the stage for unveiling this ground-breaking new solution.
CDE’s Eunan Kelly, an expert in material recovery, said: ‘CDE are continually demonstrating that effective soil washing is a powerful approach to tackling PFAS contamination. We’re not stopping at partial remediation. At this symposium, we will be sharing fresh insights into the progress we are making in the space alongside some of our customers who are pioneering new strategies to treat contaminated waste.
‘With Robert Bilott headlining, CIRCLE is gearing up to be an unmissable opportunity to stay ahead of regulatory shifts, discover breakthrough technologies, and connect with high-level peers shaping the industry.
‘Together we will reshape the future of recycling and create a truly circular economy.’
CIRCLE takes place from 7–8 May 2026 in Brussels, Belgium. For more information and to register interest, visit: www.cdegroup.com/circle2026
