$10m invested in Srichakra Polyplast recycling operation

Srichakra Polyplast (Srichakra), a leading plastic recycling and waste management company, today announced the official commissioning of its upgraded facility, the first of its kind in India to produce food-grade quality recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) pellets. The company has also commissioned its new polyolefins recycling facility which can produce deodorized bottle-to-bottle grade quality polyolefin pellets. The company has invested more than US$10 million to strengthen its recycling capabilities, which allow it to offer the highest grade of recycled plastic to customers in India and global markets such as Europe and the United States.

Srichakra’s world-class facility features US Food and Drug Administration-approved technology provided by Starlinger, the world’s leading technology provider for high quality plastic recycling, which expands the company’s capacity to become the largest solid state polymerized (SSP) PET processor in India.

As the first premium food-grade quality recycling facility in India, the higher quality recycled plastics Srichakra can produce include: food-grade quality PET pellets, which can be used to produce food and beverage packaging such as water, carbonated soft drink and juice bottles as well as takeaway containers; and high quality deodorized polyolefin pellets, which can be used in home and personal care product packaging such as lotion, shampoo and detergent bottles.

Ravindra Venkata, CEO and Co-founder of Srichakra, said, “Our approach at Srichakra is focused on using leading-edge technology to create reliable, high-quality materials that help brand-owners reduce their use of virgin plastic. The new, world-class technology that we have commissioned for operation today not only enables us to produce food-grade quality recycled plastic for customers, but also gives locally-sourced plastic a new life, preventing it from entering the environment.

“We’re proud to be the first in India to achieve this standard and continue our work towards making the world a better place by cleaning up the environment.”

According to the United Nations Development Programme India, the country generates approximately 15 million tonnes of plastic waste every year but only one fourth is recycled. While more than 10 per cent of this plastic waste is PET and up to 90 per cent is recycled, the recycled material is generally not high quality, resulting in low levels of circularity. Food-grade recycled plastic is close to virgin plastic in quality, allowing Srichakra to overcome one of the barriers to the development of the circular economy in India and positively impact the recycling value chain.

“Srichakra is a true pioneer of the circular economy in India, and we are proud to be its technology suppliers,”said Paul Niedl, Commercial Head of Starlinger recycling technology. “With the new Starlinger PET bottle-to-bottle recycling line with SSP treatment, Srichakra has expanded its scope of products into the important field of food-grade rPET. With these high-quality products Srichakra will set new standards for the Indian plastics recycling industry.”

Rob Kaplan, CEO and Founder of Circulate Capital which invested in Srichakra in December 2020, commented, “The milestone today sets a new benchmark for the recycling and waste management industry in India. Srichakra’s enhanced capability and capacity allows it to capture an even greater economic value in plastic while advancing the circular economy and helping to solve the plastic waste issue. As a strategic investor in Srichakra through the Circulate Capital Ocean Fund, we are excited about the opportunities the new facility offers for scaling growth and impact.”

In addition, the investment has allowed Srichakra to grow its team two-fold to employ 200 workers from local communities. It has also provided upskilling opportunities for employees through training with the Starlinger technology and team.

Srichakra is currently in conversations with multiple global fast-moving consumer goods companies regarding offtake agreements and expects to further increase capacity across its operations.