Klagenfurt-based company plasticpreneur builds small-scale innovative machines for recycling plastics. They offer a very low-threshold way of helping boost the circular economy, even in remote locations such as at the foot of Mount Everest where it isn’t possible to set up a factory.
plasticpreneur develops, designs and manufactures plastic recycling machines for small-scale users. “Our product range includes everything you need to reintroduce plastic into the circular economy,” says co-founder and CTO Florian Mikl. “We have a plastic shredder to shred plastic waste into small flakes. These flakes are then used in the injection moulding machine which can be used to manufacture small products in large quantities. We also offer an extruder, to make large products in small quantities.”
Recycling plastics at the foot of Mount Everest
The Carinthian company has exported 550 of its machines to over 90 countries around the globe. Use cases for plasticpreneur’s ‘creator sets’ include the world’s highest plastics recycling plant, located at the Mount Everest base camp at an altitude of over 5,000 metres above sea level.
Florian Mikl:
“Initially, we had no idea just how much could be done with our machines. If you look at our customer portfolio now, it includes schools, universities and makerspaces all over the world, even at the base camp on Mount Everest and in refugee camps in Kenya and Uganda.”
It started in Uganda
The plasticpreneur story began in East Africa. While in Uganda in 2016/17, Sören Lex, company co-founder and CEO, and his wife Marcella were looking for opportunities to implement a development aid project. They quickly recognised that plastic waste and unemployment were major problems in the country. Back home in Klagenfurt, they realised their idea of building small and simple machines for recycling plastic decentrally.
Upcycling on site
“I’m particularly proud that we have created solutions that enable local people to work independently, to produce things themselves as a means of overcoming their problems,” emphasises co-founder Raphaela Egger. “One positive example is EcoBrixs, a Ugandan waste-picking organisation that previously collected and sold garbage. They can now transform the plastic they collect into valuable products on site and sell them on the market.”
By downscaling plastics processing from an industrial to a small commercial scale, plasticpreneur’s creator sets make it possible to establish recycling and upcycling projects virtually right on the doorstep, particularly in emerging economies. “Plastic is an ideal material for the circular economy. It’s lightweight, resistant and durable, easy to process and shape, and energy-efficient to recycle,” says the company in a press release.
“Low-threshold and simple access to plastics processing and recycling also represents a ‘new’ trade which can be opened to a wide variety of target groups, applications and scenarios, topics, processes, skills and know-how.”
International Awards
plasticpreneur has already received numerous international awards for its innovative approach, winning the Creative Business Cup in Denmark in 2022. The Klagenfurt-based company is particularly proud of having won the UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) global call for innovative ideas and technologies in the Resilient Industries and Infrastructure category in 2020.
“We feel well supported by the FFG”
In recent years, plasticpreneur has taken advantage of several rounds of FFG funding, “which have primarily helped to raise awareness within Austria,” says Raphaela Egger. The company hopes to continue being successful in circular economy calls in the future. “Cooperation with the FFG has always been very positive. We feel well supported by the FFG and very well advised.”