Investment management firm Circulate Capital (Brooklyn, New York / USA; www.circulatecapital.com) has announced that its “Circulate Capital Ocean Fund” (CCOF) has invested USD 6m (around EUR 5.5m) in two South Asian plastics recyclers – Lucro (Mumbai, Maharashtra / India; www.lucro.in) and Tridi Oasis (Tangerang / Indonesia; www.tridi-oasis.com). From among several Southeast Asian countries, Circulate Capital had previously identified both India and Indonesia as readily available for investment opportunities in waste management and recycling infrastructure to combat marine litter (see Plasteurope.com of 30.04.2019).

Tridi Oasis recycles PET bottles into rPET flakes, which are used to manufacture packaging and textiles. The recycler is also collaborating with its suppliers on the traceability of the materials. Lucro has set up a facility to produce rPP, rLDPE, rHDPE and rLLDPE, and it also manufactures biodegradable plastics derived from plant starches and sugars. The Indian company recycles flexible plastic packaging for use in its own manufacturing and to sell to other facilities in the country.

Backed by leading brand-owners including Chanel, Chevron Phillips Chemical, Coca-Cola, Danone, Dow, PepsiCo, P&G and Unilever, the USD 106m CCOF is an investment fund focused on ocean plastics pollution in South and Southeast Asia.

Circulate Capital CEO Rob Kaplan said the coronavirus pandemic has shown the need to future proof local supply chains and economies. “By investing in small and medium-sized businesses that reduce plastic pollution and advance the circular economy, we can build sustainable businesses that can endure through a crisis,” he added.