A digital marketplace for circular plastic

A platform is working to improve recycling rates by connecting plastic recyclers to users of recycled plastic

Spotted: According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), although nations are working harder than ever to reduce plastic pollution, only around nine per cent of global plastic waste is actually being recycled. One reason for the low use of recycled plastic is that the market is very fragmented, making it hard for manufacturers who use waste plastic to find what they need.

Hamburg-based startup Cirplus is hoping to change this equation with a platform that acts as a digital marketplace for plastic waste and recycled plastic. The platform connects recyclers with plastic converters (businesses that use plastics to create new products) and allows the converters to find the recycled materials they need.

Making recycled plastics more readily available allows converters to increase the scale of their manufacture and to use a higher proportion of recycled content. This is especially important for the packaging, automotive, and construction industries, which all use a lot of plastic. Cirplus’ goal is to reduce the cost of producing and trading high-quality recyclates to the point where they can compete with virgin plastic products.

Cirplus’ platform is already being used by more than 1200 companies from 100 countries and has built an inventory of over 1 million tonnes of recycled plastics listed for sale.

The world is producing more plastic than ever and recycling rates aren’t keeping up. Closing this gap is spurring a wide range of innovations spotted by Springwise in the archive that range from advances in bioplastics to new recycling systems.

Written By: Lisa Magloff