Circular Matters

What Circular Matters does

Circular Matters, LLC is a U.S.-based consulting firm founded in 2019 and headquartered in Winter Park, Florida, that advises clients on circular economy strategy and sustainable materials management. The firm serves private-sector companies (including product and packaging manufacturers, brand owners, retailers, waste haulers, and recycling service providers), industry organizations and collaboratives, NGOs, and federal, state, and local government agencies. Its work centers on helping clients interpret and respond to environmental and packaging-related policy, including extended producer responsibility, recycled content mandates, and sustainable packaging regulation. Circular Matters operates across the United States and Canada, with no proprietary technology products; its delivery is structured around expert advisory services rather than software or platforms.

The firm's offering is organized into four service areas: policy tracking, assessment, and strategic advisory; recycling market development (including supply/demand analysis and technical assistance to recycled product manufacturers); sustainable materials management planning, evaluation, and circular economy planning; and thought leadership development (white papers, articles, training programs, and stakeholder engagement). Documented work products include the Texas Recycling Market Development Plan, a chemical recycling white paper for Winpak LTD, policy implementation tools for the Carton Council, a Sustainable Materials Management Vision and Framework for U.S. EPA Region 4, and a steel can recyclability design guide for the Can Manufacturers Institute. The team's competitive position rests on the depth of experience of its principals — Tim Buwalda, Susan Bush, Ed Boisson, Betsy Dorn, and Isabelle Faucher — each of whom brings 20–35 years of experience in recycling policy, market development, or product stewardship, with prior leadership at the California Integrated Waste Management Board, the Northeast Recycling Council, and Mecklenburg County's Recycling Division.

Circular Matters generates revenue through project-based consulting engagements with no publicly disclosed pricing. The go-to-market model is sales-led and relationship-driven, with new business sourced through white papers, articles in trade publications such as Resource Recycling, and conference presentations at events including the Northeast Recycling Council Fall Conference, Global Pouch Forum, SustPack Conference, and Plastics Recycling Update. Services are delivered directly to clients with no intermediaries or channel partners. The firm is structured as a privately held LLC owned by its principals, with no external institutional investment indicated in available data.

Name

Circular Matters

Legal name

Circular Matters, LLC

Website

https://circular-matters.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Circular Matters is a U.S.-based circular economy consulting firm founded in 2019, serving manufacturers, brand owners, government agencies, and industry organizations with policy advisory, recycling market development, sustainable materials management planning, and thought leadership services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability and Circular Economy Consulting

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Management Consulting Services (54161)

akta.pro primary industry

Circularity Consulting & Program Management (EPR, Design-for-Circularity, LCA) (EUAIANAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Circular Economy & Resource Efficiency (BPADALAM), Circular Economy & Sustainable Products (Reuse, Repair, Upcycling) (BPAGALAF)

Keywords

• Sustainability consulting
• Circular economy advisory
• Recycling market development
• Sustainable materials management
• Packaging policy consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Winter Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Sustainability Consulting Services: Circular Matters generates revenue through consulting engagements with private sector clients (product/packaging manufacturers, brand owners, retailers, waste haulers, recycling service providers), industry organizations, NGOs, and government agencies. Services include policy tracking and assessment, recycling market development advisory, sustainable materials management planning, evaluation, and thought leadership development.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Circular Matters is a U.S.-based consulting firm that advises private companies, government agencies, industry associations, and NGOs on sustainable materials management and circular economy strategy. Its core offerings include policy tracking and strategic advisory on extended producer responsibility and packaging regulation, recycling market development, sustainable materials management planning and evaluation, and thought leadership production such as white papers and design guides.

Product overview

Circular Matters is a consulting firm providing sustainability and circular economy advisory services to private-sector and government clients. The firm offers four core service areas: Policy Tracking/Assessment and Strategic Advisory, Recycling Market Development, Sustainable Materials Management Planning/Evaluation and Circular Economy Building, and Thought Leadership. These services are delivered through consulting engagements and result in tangible work products including state recycling market development plans, white papers on topics like chemical recycling and polypropylene packaging, policy implementation tools, EPA vision frameworks, and industry design guides for recyclability. The company serves private companies (manufacturers, brand owners, retailers, waste haulers, recyclers), industry organizations, NGOs, and government agencies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Policy Tracking, Assessment and Strategic Advisory Policy intelligence service monitoring federal and state legislative activity, assessing stakeholder positioning, and developing policy position statements for clients on extended producer responsibility, recycled content mandates, and sustainable packaging regulations.
• Recycling Market Development Advisory service offering strategies to strengthen recycling markets, including assessments of program effectiveness, supply and demand analyses, and technical assistance to recycled product manufacturers.
• Sustainable Materials Management Planning, Evaluation and Circular Economy Building
• Thought Leadership Service preparing white papers, developing thought leadership articles, creating training programs, and facilitating stakeholder engagement sessions to help businesses engage as leaders in building the circular economy.

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Resource Recycling Systems (RRS): RRS is a U.S.-based consultancy focused on recycling system design, materials management, and circular economy advisory for governments and industry — directly overlapping with Circular Matters' core services in recycling market development and sustainable materials management planning.
• Anthesis Group: Anthesis is a global sustainability consultancy advising brands and governments on circular economy, packaging, and EPR strategy — a larger but directly comparable competitor in the same advisory category Circular Matters serves.
• GreenBlue: GreenBlue is a nonprofit sustainable materials and packaging advisor that develops tools and guidance for industry on recyclability and circular design — directly comparable to Circular Matters' sustainable packaging work.
• BSR (Business for Social Responsibility): BSR is a sustainability advisory nonprofit working with corporations on circular economy, packaging policy, and supply-chain sustainability strategy, overlapping with Circular Matters' private-sector advisory work.
• Pure Strategies: Pure Strategies is a sustainability consultancy advising CPG and packaging companies on circular materials and EPR — directly comparable in client base and service offerings to Circular Matters' manufacturer-side engagements.

Emerging players

• The Recycling Partnership: The Recycling Partnership is a nonprofit advancing U.S. residential recycling through public-private programs; it works on recycling market development and policy — closely adjacent to Circular Matters' public-sector recycling engagements.
• Closed Loop Partners: Closed Loop Partners combines circular economy investment, consulting, and program development for brands and governments — an adjacent player whose advisory activities overlap with Circular Matters' circular economy planning services.

Broad incumbents

• SCS Engineers: SCS Engineers is a large environmental engineering and consulting firm with solid waste and recycling practices — a broad incumbent providing similar recycling policy and materials management advisory as Circular Matters.
• Antea Group: Antea Group is a global environmental, health, and safety consultancy with sustainability and materials management practices — a broader incumbent whose services overlap with Circular Matters' environmental and materials advisory work.
• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): ERM is one of the world's largest environmental and sustainability consultancies offering packaging, EPR, and circular economy advisory as part of a much broader portfolio — a broad incumbent competing for the same RFPs as Circular Matters at greater scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/circular-matters

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Circular Matters