Recyclables are recognized as the world’s ‘Seventh Resource’, alongside water, air, coal, oil, natural gas, and minerals. For manufacturing, this recognition is increasingly tied to competitiveness as much as environmental responsibility. In a world defined by material scarcity, supply chain volatility, and constant scrutiny on environmental impact, recycling has become a strategic priority. For Global Recycling Day 2026, Patrik Eurenius, Head of Sustainability and EHS at manufacturing solutions and metal cutting expert Sandvik Coromant, explains how manufacturers can reap the business benefits by turning sustainability ambition to operational action.

A Global Recycling System Under Strain

According to the latest Circularity Gap Report 2025, only 6.9 percent of the materials used annually by the global economy come from recycled sources, highlighting that recycled material use is still very low despite growing awareness. In addition, many industrial metals are geographically concentrated, which exposes manufacturers to geopolitical and pricing risk.

There are approximately seven million tons of global reserves of tungsten—a core material in cemented carbide tools—so long-term preservation of supply is essential. This material makes up around 75 percent of cemented carbide, meaning its availability and price stability directly affect tooling manufacturers and their customers.

As industries digitize and expand, demand for high-performance materials is only rising. With mining and primary extraction both carbon-intensive and environmentally demanding, this is where recycling should be regarded as more than a waste management solution. It’s also become a strategic tool for preserving resources and strengthening long-term resilience.

Measurable Manufacturing Change

Although net-zero roadmaps, Scope 3 emission reductions, and circularity commitments have led manufacturers to set ambitious sustainability targets, the industry is still far from executing this into day-to-day operations.

The challenge today is increasingly about demonstrating clear business value—particularly in a market facing cost pressures and supply uncertainty. For manufacturers, this means ensuring sustainability initiatives also deliver operational and economic benefits. Circular manufacturing provides one area where environmental goals and business advantage can align. This involves recovering and reprocessing high-value materials such as carbide to reduce dependence on virgin materials, cutting embedded carbon in tooling and components.

At a time when tungsten prices are at a record height, material recovery can also help manufacturers control costs and improve resource security. In precision machining, where material performance cannot be compromised, this is crucial. The ability to recover valuable materials while maintaining quality standards offers a practical way to combine sustainability objectives with operational resilience.

To ensure operational action, it means integrating recycling into core workflows—not treating it as an external sustainability project. This means homing in on transparent logistics, reliable processing, and measurable impact data that can inform purchasing and reporting decisions.

Circular Production in Practice

Cemented carbide has long been recognized as a material well suited to circular manufacturing. Sandvik Coromant has promoted carbide recycling for decades, recognizing the value of recovering tungsten and other materials from worn cutting tools.

The majority of a carbide insert can be recycled using two methods. Mechanical recycling involves crushing, milling, and cleaning worn tools, while chemical processes use acids or oxidation-roasting to produce Ammonium Paratungstate (APT), a high-purity intermediate. In both cases, recovered tungsten achieves properties equivalent, or similar to newly mined material, enabling it to be reused in the manufacture of new cutting tools. Other materials, such as cobalt, are responsibly managed through specialized recycling partners.

In response to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025, Jennifer Layke, Global Director, World Resources Institute, said, “Recycling isn’t just waste diversion—it’s part of strengthening material supply chains. We need to… find ways to mine less—by recycling minerals from end-of-life products, tapping overlooked waste streams, and designing systems that rely on fewer materials.” These comments affirm why circular programs such as carbide buy-back schemes should become operational priorities that are at the forefront of production and decision-making processes.

Making Circularity Measurable

At Sandvik Coromant, circular manufacturing has been embedded through its cemented carbide buy-back program, which allows manufacturers to return worn inserts and solid tools so the material can be recovered and reprocessed into new products. Customers receive recycling containers that are filled with used carbide tools and collected once full, creating a straightforward pathway for material recovery within normal operational workflows. The recovered material is purchased at the current market price, meaning manufacturers can generate revenue from worn tools that would otherwise be scrapped.

By buying back worn tool inserts and reusing them in the production of new tools, Sandvik Coromant creates a valuable closed material loop between machining operations and tool manufacturing.

The benefits of producing tools from recycled carbide are also seen in the significant reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, compared to manufacturing from virgin material, while keeping tungsten and other valuable resources in circulation. According to Sandvik Coromant’s calculated average, around 85 percent of the materials used across its product portfolio are recycled, with the company setting a 90 percent circularity goal by 2030.

Global Recycling Day serves as a reminder that resource preservation is a shared responsibility. For manufacturers, though, the focus must go beyond awareness. Recycling is no longer about managing waste—it’s about managing resources and responsibility. The future of sustainable manufacturing will be defined not by just ambition, but by the systems we create to make circularity real.

For more information: sandvik.coromant.com