Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into the materials industry. This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked startups developing recyclable materials.
Global Startup Heat Map: 5 Top Startups working on Recyclable Materials
The 5 startups you will explore below are chosen based on our data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and relevance of technology, among others. This analysis is based on the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering over 1.3 million startups & scaleups globally.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights the 5 recyclable material startups our Innovation Researchers curated for this report. Moreover, you get insights into regions that observe a high startup activity and the global geographic distribution of the 236 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
Dolea produces Recyclable Straws
Plastic pollution is a major threat to ecosystems globally. Moreover, most plastic waste, such as plastic straws, are too lightweight to recycle and often end up in oceans, where they pollute the water and hurt marine wildlife. And while governments across the world are enforcing plastic bans to tackle this issue, startups are working on a range of materials for creating recyclable products.
Dolea is a Finnish CleanTech startup producing sustainable paper straws. The startup’s recyclable straws are biodegradable and contain no additional chemicals such as glue. Recyclable as paper waste, Dolea’s straws are repulpable and reusable, thereby fostering a circular economy. Further, the straws degrade rapidly, leaving no impact on land or ocean.
Celloz creates Sustainable Construction Material
The construction industry has a large carbon footprint due to its consumption of non-renewables, high energy use, and non-biodegradable waste. Further, the industry largely uses non-recyclable materials. To change this situation, startups are working on new bio-based materials that are both recyclable and sustainable. The environmental benefits of such materials include energy savings and waste reduction as well as reducing carbon emissions.
French startup Celloz creates a bio-based material from cellulose fibers. The startup upcycles waste papers and cardboards, mixing them with plant-based materials to create products with added value. Celloz’s construction material finds applications in roofing because it is fire-resistant, light weight, and flexible. Moreover, it is sustainable recyclable.
FenX develops Insulation Materials
Synthetic thermal insulation materials also contribute to the high carbon footprint in the construction sector. However, there is an increasing demand for sustainable and environmentally-friendly alternative insulation materials. In addition to creating new materials, recycling waste also enables low-carbon and circular economy solutions. Startups recycle mineral waste from construction or mining projects for use as insulation materials.
Swiss startup FenX develops insulation materials from mineral waste. The startup’s technology produces foams with tunable porosity from mineral wastes and low-value natural materials. FenX’s fully-recyclable materials find applications as panels, bricks, and customized parts for the construction industry. The manufacturing process yields low carbon emissions and supports a circular economy.
Last Bottle Clothing provides Recyclable Apparel
The apparel industry is highly polluting, largely due to use of petrochemical dyes, and currently requires hundreds to thousands of liters of water for each apparel. To counter this, brands are turning to clothes designed from recycled waste such as plastics. However, this doesn’t address the fact that most textiles are thrown away after use. Circular economy startups in the industry therefore seek to increase the recyclability of clothes.
Last Bottle Clothing is a US-based startup providing fully-recycled and fully-recyclable apparel. The startup’s manufacturing process utilizes recycled plastic bottles and requires 700 times less fresh water compared to cotton shirts. It produces high-performance fabric that is wrinkle and odor resistant. This way, the startup’s closed-loop system further minimizes their carbon footprint and keeps plastics out of landfills.
MyCoTech develops Mycelium-based Materials
The production process of animal-based products, such as leather, is highly unsustainable. Fungi and bacteria offer more economical and eco-friendly methods to produce these materials. These solutions also enable the circular economy by making bio-based materials that are more easy to recycle or repurpose compared to traditional materials.
Indonesian startup MyCoTech produces sustainable materials from mushrooms. The startup utilizes mycelium fibers to produce sustainable and recyclable materials. Through this technique, MyCoTech biofabricates Mylea, a leather alternative, from agroforestry byproducts. The material has a customizable characteristic texture with a tensile strength of 1-11 MPa.
Discover all Circular Economy Startups
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