2026 Circular Economy Summit
On March 19th, Divert NS hosted a Circular Economy summit in Dartmouth. The summit showcased efforts to grow the circular economy in Nova Scotia while also exploring case studies and initiatives from other provinces in Canada and in Europe. Attendees also participated in a session, facilitated by Sean Kelly, where they had the chance to discuss lessons learned and priorities for the province.
The day opened with remarks from Divert NS CEO, Stacy Breau who spoke about Nova Scotia’s circular ecosystem and the importance of working together to build momentum and scale progress. Stacy then introduced Janet MacKinnon, Executive Director of the Department of Environment and Climate Change who unveiled a new TransitioNS story titled Turning Waste Into Worth: Celebrating Circular Economy Leadership, featuring the Colchester Materials Recovery Facility and the Divert NS Processing Facility.
After opening remarks, the day kicked off with a thoughtful presentation from Danielle Holly, North America Executive Lead of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Danielle helped to ground the day with an overview of circular economy in Canada. The presentation highlighted challenges such as high resource consumption and low recycling rates alongside emerging policy and industry bright spots. Emphasized was the significant opportunity for Canada to be a leader in circularity especially in areas such as critical minerals and policy modeling.
Attendees then turned their attention overseas to the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Presenter Johan Boterenbrood joined virtually to share how Utrecht’s encourages a circular society. Following Johan’s presentation, was Joan Prummel, International Circular Economy Advisor, based in the Netherlands. Joan shared how procurement plays an important role in enabling the circular economy and shared the eight steps to circular procurement with the audience.
Following lunch, Bill Brunson, Vice President of Sales at Friendlier, took the podium to share how Friendlier, a reusable food packaging company, is building circularity and reducing single-use plastic in the Nova Scotia school lunch program. Bill also spoke about market trends in reusable packaging in the food service industry. Next up in the ‘building circularity in Nova Scotia’ series was Nina Lantinga, the CEO and co-founder of Nets for Net Zero. In her presentation, Nina explained how her organization is building circular systems for abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear and how she is helping to derisk manufacturing with recycled rope content in Nova Scotia and beyond.
Next, the focus shifted to construction and deconstruction. Raphael Lopoukhine, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Circular Construction Canada took the stage to highlight Canada’s growing need for circular construction. Raphael outlined how strategies such as adaptive reuse, deconstruction, and reclaimed‑material supply chains can cut emissions and costs while strengthening the economy. Following Raphael was Meredith Moore, the founder of Ouroboros Deconstruction. Ouroboros is a Toronto-based company specializing in building deconstruction, material salvage, and circular construction strategies. Meredith’s presentation showcased a deconstruction pilot that demonstrated how carefully dismantling buildings can dramatically increase material recovery, reduce carbon emissions, and preserve local heritage.
Following the presentations, attendees had an opportunity to reflect on the themes of the day and discuss the opportunities and challenges for building circularity in Nova Scotia. Learn more about what we heard from the facilitated session here.
60 key stakeholders attended the event, including representatives from the provincial government, municipal government, waste management, academia, environmental organizations, and private sector businesses.
The following presentations were delivered at the summit:
Danielle Holly, Ellen MacArthur Foundation – Circular Economy and Canada: Moment of Opportunity
Johan Boterenbrood, Municipality of Utrecht – [RECORDING] - 2026 Circular Economy Summit Utrecht
Joan Prummel, Rijkswaterstaat -[RECORDING] - Circular Economy Summit Circular Procurement
Bill Brunson, Friendlier – Food Packaging Reuse Market Maturation
Nina Lantinga, Nets for Net Zero – Building Circular Systems for ALDFG
Raphael Lopoukhine, Circular Construction Canada – Why is Circular Construction Important for Canada
Meredith Moore, Ouroboros Deconstruction – Deconstruction Pilot – The City of Toronto
Photos of the summit are available here. (Note: Photos are copyright Divert NS 2026. Please feel free to download and share photos, but credit Divert NS.)
