Closed Loop Fund (New York, New York / USA; www.closedloopfund.com), an investment fund that makes below market loans for recycling infrastructure, including household recycling facilities and technologies, has made its first three investments to contribute to a reduction of over USD 5 bn spent by cities annually on landfills. The initial capital includes USD 7.8m from the fund, which will unlock an additional investment of USD 17m from other public and private co-investors.

In April 2014, the fund launched a partnership with some of the world’s leading companies, including 3M, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Walmart. The fund plans to invest USD 100m in US recycling infrastructure by 2020 in the form of zero interest loans to cities and low interest loans to recycling companies, to prove that recycling business models are financially sustainable.