<p>This literature review assesses the role of digital twins and the metaverse in enhancing sustainable circular processes in different sectors. In the growing context of sustainability, the digital twin solutions shine brightly, providing improvements in the tactical operations with optimization of resource consumption and a logical minimization of waste by constant monitoring of processes and predictive analysis embedded in virtual copies of real-world systems. However, there are newly emerged concepts with the development of the metaverse which includes the immersive, augmented, and virtual world, in terms of virtual collaboration, process simulation, and workplace training. In this paper, the reviewed literature from over 150 studies in the last decade is consolidated on applying those technologies and understanding their benefits and limitations in the context of the circular economy. Thus, the analytical findings revolve around the technological complements, or lack thereof, of the digital twin with the metaverse, the barriers to scale, and the application or otherwise of such tools in the pursuit of circular performance efficiency. This review also reveals several gaps in the literature on non-industry-specific applications and AI enablers that will improve the ability to predict. The paper concludes with an identified research agenda to address such gaps and a conceptual framework that can inform future applications. The review will serve as a map for the researchers in addition to serving as a guide to the practitioners. A basis is established for applying the concept of a digital twin and a metaverse to deliver sustainable, circular operations.</p>