UK plastics-to-oil firm lands large equity investment

United Kingdom-based Recycling Technologies, which converts mixed plastic scrap into oils and chemicals, has announced receiving a major £1 million ($1.4 million) equity investment from the global oil trading firm InterChem.

Recycling Technologies began a fundraising campaign on the crowdfunding platform, Crowdcube on Feb. 16, 2018. The fundraising attracted considerable support from more than 1,400 investors. InterChem’s investment, on the same terms as existing and new Crowdcube investors, brings the total amount raised to nearly £3.4 million ($4.7 million), which is close to Recycling Technologies’ current cap of £3.7 million ($5.2 million).

Recycling Technologies’ RT7000 machine has been designed to convert many types of plastic scrap, including films and colored and laminated plastics, into an oil commodity called Plaxx. The commodity can replace fossil-fuel derived feedstock in new polymer production and industrial waxes.

InterChem is a global commodities trader that focuses on financing, storage, blending and logistics in the petroleum and petrochemical industry. It indicates it is committed to backing companies that can provide recycling outlets to polymer producers seeking a more sustainable value chain.

“We are delighted to announce this important £1 million investment from InterChem,” says Adrian Griffiths, CEO of Recycling Technologies. “We anticipate this investment will lead to further business opportunities with InterChem, including the sale of Plaxx to its polymer manufacturing client base. We are very grateful for the tremendous investor support from InterChem and all our investors from Crowdcube who will support the growth of the business to provide a commercial solution to chemically recycle waste plastic.”

Remarks Robert Langstraat, CEO of InterChem, “We see great value in Recycling Technologies’ solution for recycling plastic waste. The talented management team have developed a commercially attractive solution to recycle plastic, which has the potential to scale rapidly. We look forward to supporting Recycling Technologies to build a business that will provide industrial quantities of recycled plastic feedstock, critical for the future of plastics manufacturing.”