Our Innovation Analysts recently investigated new technology and upcoming startups focusing on packaging solutions. Four leading plastic recycling technology startups have an impact on packaging.
We employed a data-driven startup scouting strategy to determine the most relevant solutions internationally for our four top choices. And they are as follows:
The Good Plastic Co. – Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic
Post-consumer recycled plastic is plastic that has been produced into a product, consumed, discarded, collected, cleaned, reprocessed, and transformed into something new. Current recycling processes do not allow for the recycling of all forms of plastics. Startups are inventing various methods to break down plastics of all sorts so that they do not end up in landfills or the seas.
The Good Plastic Company, a Dutch business, creates plastic recycling technology capable of recovering 90 percent of existing plastic kinds by transforming plastic trash into stunning ornamental panels measuring 1x1m and ranging in thickness from 5mm to 30mm. Their system is easily portable and enables the recycling of plastic trash directly at the source, wherever in the globe.
BioCellection – Chemical Recycling
Polyethylene consumption is the highest in the world, accounting for more than 30% of all plastics. It mostly comes in use for packing as it is lightweight and robust. While high-density polyethylene is frequently accepted for recycling, technological advances have enabled lower-density polyethylene to reach recycling facilities as well. Plastics are broken down to their monomer form via chemical recycling, allowing them to be rebuilt as high-quality plastic products.
BioCellection, based in the United States, creates plastic recycling technology by converting post-consumer plastics. through chemical processes into the building blocks for synthetic chemistry and synthetic biology: succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, suberic acid, and azelaic acid. Their invention, extracted chemically from supermarket bags, bubble wraps, garbage bags, retail packaging, food wraps, and other materials, has the potential to replace fossil fuel as a resource for sustainable supply chains.
NexGenCup – Replacing Single-Use Plastic
The figures on the global situation of single-use plastic and paper goods are virtually incomprehensible. With almost half a trillion single-use plastic cups discarded, the amount of waste going to landfills is worrisome. To top it all off, the plastic content after use, the chlorine content when disposed of in the water. And the production of carbon dioxide and other pollutants to create them can all have an impact on life on Earth. Startups are beginning to develop ways to replace the hundreds of different types of plastic that we use just once.
NexGen Consortium, established in the United States. Intends to refine and organize the whole path of single-use plastic cups to recycling facilities. They sponsor the NexGenCup, an open innovation competition that has already resulted in 12 unique cup solutions. Ranging from making them biodegradable and recyclable at home to developing new materials for the cups. Packaging, recovery, and supply chain specialists offer advice on how to use the proper sort of cup.
Newtechpoly – Recycling More Types of Plastics
One of the most significant issues with recycling plastics is that only a portion of them are recyclable. As a result, many partially recyclable objects are is not even going through the recycling process. Startups have been searching for technologically advanced solutions that can degrade or recycle various forms of plastics.
Newtechpoly, an Australian firm, is developing Polywaste Technique, a patented plastic recycling technology. The primary distinction between traditional plastic melting technology and PolyWaste is that PolyWaste can recycle a wide range and combination of contaminated film, semi-rigid, and rigid plastics from multiple commercial, industrial, agricultural, and domestic waste streams and convert them into value-added plastic products. Additionally, a large portion of the input stock is plastic which can otherwise wind up in landfills or will be burning.