Plasticpreneur – Empowering people to recycle plastic waste

Most of the materials we know were originally produced on a small scale. The reuse of residual materials was an integral part of the craft. This was the case with wood, metal or glass. Large-scale industrial production followed centuries or even millennia later. Not so with plastics: The plastics developed in the 20th century were manufactured on a large industrial scale from the outset. The recycling of plastics, too, has so far been thought of solely on an industrial scale. As a result, there are hardly any manufacturers of machines and systems that enable plastics to be recycled on a decentralized, small scale. This gap is filled by the Lower Austrian startup Plasticpreneur.

Plasticpreneur develops and sells machines and equipment that – packaged small – can be used anywhere in the world, enabling recycling of plastic waste even on a smaller scale. The versatile machines all meet high-end European quality and safety standards, yet are priced to make them viable for smaller initiatives. The individual components such as shredders or a spraying machine are each priced in the four-digit range.

Customers are both the “maker scene” in developed countries, including science centers, and in particular initiatives in the global south that use plastic waste as raw materials for new products and thus make a decisive contribution to a circular economy. Last but not least, international networks such as Precious Plastic receive requests for machines from all corners of the globe. Deliveries have already been made to 55 countries.

Plasticpreneur is a young startup that has already won several awards, such as the Social Impact Award with the mentoring program attached to it or the Trigos Award 2021 in the category Social Entrepreneurship. The rapid growth shows that it fills a real gap with its business model and thus combines purpose and profit in a special way.

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