The Recycle Studio, Costa Rica (TRS)

Just 9% of the 8.3 billion metric tonnes of plastics ever produced has found its way into the recycling system, pointing to a broken system. At TRS, we believe that the one of the root causes lies in a false economic and perceived value given to plastic; it is disproportionate to its potential life cycle and the environmental cost to produce it. This, combined with modern throw-away culture, has created a system that gives preference to disposing over reusing and recycling.

TRS works to reshape these attitudes by showcasing the potential in plastic waste. We transform it into high-quality, circular design sheet materials, created to take centre-stage in creative spaces throughout Costa Rica. By adding value to and increasing demand for plastic waste, we seek to strengthen and diversify the recycling chain, create opportunities to empower those working within it and encourage a move towards a circular economy.

Costa Rica throws away 550 tonnes of plastic waste each day. 93% does not find its way into the recycling system, leaving over 500 tonnes to contaminate our seas and natural environment. As it does so, it leaks toxic chemicals into the soil and water supply. 

The reasons behind this are complex and wide ranging, from a lack of human-resources and infrastructure to the general attitude towards recycling. The market value for plastic waste is exponentially low, stunting growth in the sector; which limits recycling rates and sees only small financial incentives for those working within the recycling industry, often made up of marginalised communities. The low cost also generates poor quality product solutions which reinforce skepticism towards the functionality of recycling in general. 

An important consideration is the geographical discrepancy in recycling; the national recycling average isn’t reflected in each region. Higher percentages are traditionally concentrated in urban socio-economically affluent areas, with rural socio-economically vulnerable regions reaching much lower rates. Accessibility, education and resources (both on an institutional and domestic level) are the primary hurdles for regions with low recycling index to tackle, and it’s in these areas we believe we can add value.

Given the association between environmental and social issues, one of our focusses is to use our plastic sourcing activities to create diverse and far-reaching alliances within all sectors of the plastic recycling chain. 

We are focussing our efforts into three sectors. Firstly, we want to provide an outlet for the 25/30 grassroots recycling groups who process plastic throughout the country, in the most marginalised areas of Costa Rica. We are in conversation with governmental institutions to identify and initiate pilot projects with two or three of these groups, with the idea to include more as our business grows. We will economically empower this sector by paying prices which are a much fairer reflection of the demanding processes needed to get plastic waste ready for upcycling.

Secondly, we are building upon our technical expertise to include rescued beach/sea plastics within our products and are actively exploring a partnership with the UNDP and NGOs to implement projects with coastal communities. 

Lastly, local municipalities within San José have shown interest in running pilot projects with us in which plastics which have a lower recycling rate are used to create products for public works. If successful, this model could be replicated throughout the country.

The Recycle Studio designs and produces plastic sheet materials made exclusively from post-consumer and post-industrial waste sources. We transform this waste into an innovative, sustainable and attractive alternative to traditionally used materials. From surface design to furniture pieces, our products can be used in a wide range of applications, giving architects and designers a creative license to use our materials how they see fit. Each sheet is designed to tell a story and encourage deeper debates into what is typically view as rubbish. 

As a start-up we have designed our business model with environmental sustainability at its core. Our materials are made from 100% plastic waste and respect plastic groupings, opening the possibility for their reintegration as a raw material in the future. We focus on using plastic types with the lowest recycling rates in Costa Rica (polypropylene and polystyrene), providing outlets for plastic waste where there were very few. Our production methods are almost entirely free from fossil fuels, taking advantage of Costa Rica’s national grid powered by renewable sources. We have partnered with a company who can absorb the little factory waste that we produce into fuel meaning that all the plastics that pass through our workshop are reused. With this in mind we are a leading force in the movement towards a circular economy. 

Our specialised machines, designed based on technical aspects that were tried and tested during our research and development phase, are able to ensure excellent quality control of our production processes. By doing this, we can ensure that the plastic waste streams we absorb as a company are transformed into products that are designed to last, with good mechanical properties that encourage their acceptance into the local market. Our prototype materials have sparked significant interest among interior designers and architects, who are motivated and eager to use sustainable, environmentally friendly materials in their projects.

We are moving into an exciting new stage of our production in which our demand for ‘raw-materials’ will increase to around 1,000 kilos a month, providing many more channels for the partnerships we are forming. As our project grows and we continue to evaluate and develop our business model, we have our sights set even further, reaching a stage where we are able to process over 7,500 kilos, creating more opportunities for new partnerships and further growth in the local recycling market.

TRS was born out of the necessity to show the huge potential we throw away when we badly manage plastic waste. Whereas the Costa Rican market has several examples of plastic waste being reused in products, most companies use similar processes to create similar low-quality solutions. We felt that not only did this limit the markets in which these products could be sold, but they also did little to combat the apathy towards recycling and poor financial benefits for people working within the chain.

TRS’s focus has been to make the plastic recycling chain work. By creating materials with high-value we are able to ensure that all those within the recycling chain feel the benefits. To do this, we have created a high-quality product and we believe that the technology we use is completely specialised at a regional level giving us a unique position within the market.

We’ve also spotted an opportunity to take advantage of Costa Rica’s drive towards a greener economy, in which both the public and private sector are encouraged to use sustainable materials in their constructions. Whereas use of the current recycled plastic products is hard to spot due to the current production methods and the desire to replicate painted wood, our materials are unique, striking and tell a story about where the waste has come from. And by putting the idea of a circular economy model into practice we are able to provide one more positive reason to work with our materials.

Rationale: Every day in Costa Rica 500 tonnes of plastic waste are mismanaged. The reasons are complex and wide-ranging, but it ultimately boils down to poor training, lack of infrastructure and low financial incentives. Outside of the main cities, it’s even harder to carry out effective recycling.

Inputs: Our experience and knowledge of plastics and community engagement, specialised machines and a demand for well processed plastic waste.

Activities: In communities we will carry out awareness raising activities, give training sessions on basic plastic knowledge and how to divide and process plastic so that it’s attractive for recycling companies.

Short-term outcomes: An increased awareness on the importance and possibilities of recycling. A community that feels empowered to do it and can see the financial potential of proper recycling management. 

Long-term outcomes: The group is fully trained and regularly collecting, dividing and processing a large majority of the waste in their community. Through their first sales to us they are able to see that there is value to be had by properly managing the waste their community produces.

Impact: An established and diverse group of recyclers that are able to effectively process and sell their plastic waste and spread their knowledge to neighbouring communities. Community members see value in waste management as recycling becomes a model that is financially feasible. It has positive effect by reducing the waste and plastic contamination produced at a local level and contributes to increasing recycling levels on a national scale.

As we are yet to begin operations, our number is currently zero.  However, during the next year we will begin to put into practice our vision of being a client for the grassroots recycling groups working within plastic waste management. Our UNDP work will work with a group of about 80-100 people and although our work with the Ministry of Environment and Energy has yet to be fully planned, we predict to be working with 25/30 of groups of varying sizes (8-30). Other groups, such as Manos Pacíficas and GEF, will also involve working with several communities over varying sizes and these are conversations that will be developing over the next couple of months. Through a process of monitoring and evaluation, we will implement the improvements necessary for us to scale up and replicate the project in other communities along the coast.

As well as pushing forward with our work with local communities, there are several other opportunities to be explored, including our work with the local municipalities and the possibility of partnering with other organisation to use our materials in social housing. Whereas we don´t have numbers for this just yet, we believe that this will significantly increase the number of people that will benefit from The Recycle Studio´s work.

Although we are yet to pilot our project, we have a clear vision for how we will measure our impact.

Our environmental impact will be measured principally from our product output (the total weight of plastics that we as TRS have upcycled into products). At this upcoming stage of production we’ll have the capacity to transform just over a tonne of plastic a month. At the next stage, our demand will grow to around 7 tonnes of plastic a month. Knowing the quantity of plastic we process will also enable us to carry out an approximate calculation on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Studying the plastic production cycle, we can see that 61% of emissions are produced whilst extracting plastics, 30% are produced in converting those resins to products and 9% is produced when it is disposed. By using 100% recycled plastics and emission-freeproduction we predict that at our first stage of production we’ll reduce greenhouse emissions by 15,200 tCO2e every month.

Our social and economic impact will be measured by the number of people involved in our supply chain that are benefitting from the creation of value within it. By ensuring fair prices, we will also be able to measure how many livelihoods have been positively affected by our involvement and even how many people have been able to dedicate themselves full-time to recycling.

2020 is going to be a transformative year for us. Our new machine, arriving in March/April of this year, will produce 60 cm x 60 cm sheets and allow us to increase production from 2 to 12 sheets a day. This will mark the start of the pilot phase of our business model, in which we’ll pass from a process focussed on research and development to commercial production. In the three months following the arrival of the machine, we hope to reach monthly sales that represent 40% of our productive capacity, reaching 80-90% within nine months. 

An increased productive capacity means that we’ll need to establish solid relationships with our suppliers to ensure a good flow of raw material of over 1,000 kilos a month. Our plan is to work with grassroots recycling groups as principal suppliers and we will be closely evaluating the potential to replicate this model as our production grows.

During the implementation of this pilot phase, we will test to see whether our business model is as feasible in practice as it is in theory. A significant interest from other sectors of the market for more products (or a larger size of sheet), will give us the green light to move into the next stage of growth, a machine that produces 122cm x 244cm sheets and will allow us to process over 7,000 kilos a month.

A particular consideration for our business is its position within the industrial sector which has meant that the start-up process is costly, time-consuming and requires access to technical expertise. 

Although there have been several factors which have limited our ability to implement our business model as quickly as we would have liked, we consider access to finance as the most significant. 

As well as hindering our ability to purchase machines, a lack of access to start-up capital has meant that we have been unable to rent the space we need to begin commercial production and accumulate plastics from our suppliers. Without this space, we have been unable to obtain the benefits we would get from registering TRS as an SME. We are also aware of the necessity to increase the size of our core team but have been unable to do so up until this point.

Another consideration is access to technical skills. To give one example, although we’ve developed good technical knowledge of the requirements needed for our machines, we have yet to find someone within Costa Rica that can construct a machine with those specifications. Although we’re keen to support the local economy we have had to seek quotations for construction from outside Central America.

A few other expected hurdles have come through the time dedicated to understanding the processes and procedures of setting up a business in Costa Rica and understanding the important factors towards acceptance of a new material into an established market. 

In terms of finance, we are confident that with access to start-up capital, we will be in a position to move forward to the next stage of commercial production and begin to build the basis for a sustainable business model. With a fixed location, we’ll register as and benefit from SME status, which will help reduce certain costs through tax breaks, for example.

Once we have developed traction from sales and demonstrated the feasibility and positive impact of including grassroots recycling groups as suppliers, we believe we will have access to a wide range of financial opportunities for the second round of funding, in which we’ll increase production through the purchase of a larger machine.

For technical skills and legal support, we are using every opportunity to expand our network to include people with the specific expertise necessary to accelerate our progress as a start-up. 

Our market research investigation confirmed our suspicion that although there is considerable interest for our products, for the architecture industry in particular there is a need to develop technical datasheets which will support their mechanical and technical properties for certain projects. We have partnered with the national institute of learning (INA), that have a specialise laboratory to test our materials for resistance to heat, force and UV rays amongst other potential stresses. We are also putting a document together to give to clients which will detail how to work with our materials in their projects. 

We believe we have laid the groundwork to pilot our business model. In terms of sales, all participants of our market research study have shown serious interest in working with our materials and are anxiously waiting for production to begin. With our plastic sourcing activities, as soon as we have a large enough space to keep a supply of plastic, we will be able to commence our work collecting from grassroots recycling groups. We have begun work a consultancy pilot project with the UNDP which will serve as an excellent trial for this.

Our primary team consists of two full-time members. We collaborate with freelance individuals on certain projects, as well as acquiring certain professional services for legal and financial administration. Funding will launch us until our first stage of production, which will require (and enable us) to expand the core team’s size. Our focus will be on employing machine technicians to someone who can dedicated themselves to positioning TRS in the local market.

We have a combination of skills and experience in our core team, as well as a wide network of professionals that supports gaps in knowledge we may have. 

As a team, we bring eight years of experience working in urban and rural sustainable development projects in Latin America, primarily focusing on community empowerment through projects on watershed management, youth entrepreneurship, access to education and natural resource management. We managed operations for large, international groups of volunteers and supported the development of regionally relevant projects with local partners. All projects operated with large budgets funded by public and/or private international institutions and working with a broad range of people and sectors.

In terms of education, our backgrounds are diverse with Olivia having studied History of Design, with her final project on curation and space arrangement and Oliver Music and Hispanic Studies, focusing on history, politics and culture of Latin America. Although seemingly unrelated, we have both drawn from our studies different experiences and lessons which we have used to enrich the vision and direction of TRS.

We have invested over two years in the R&D process of our business and have become very skilled in understanding the complex requirements of polymers in the transformation process. As such, we have developed engineering and mechanical knowledge that has enabled us to understand the technical requirements for complex machinery. Throughout this time, we’ve built key partnerships within relevant networks which can now support us in the implementation of new projects and proposals.

We are currently working with the UNDP in conjunction with INCOP (Instituto Costarricense de Puertos del Pacífico) on a pilot project that aims to support a local fisherman’s association to transform plastic into high-value products by providing training, equipment and in-field support. We fulfill a consultancy role where we will guide the implementation of the project and over-see all mechanical operations. As it is likely that their supply of plastic will outweigh their production capacities, our vision is that TRS becomes a solid client for the surplus plastic that they collect.

We are embarking on a new project with Manos Pacíficas (a local NGO) who provides accessible counselling and therapy to marginalised communities; in which they give the possibility of paying a percent of the services in kind with plastic waste. We will be creating a collection of products using these recovered plastics, with a percent of all profits returning to Manos Pacíficas for further programmes.

At the very centre of our business model is the creation of value (perceived and economic) in plastic waste. Whereas a market for recycled plastic exists, the products available do little to tackle the concept that plastics (especially recycled plastics) are just for low-cost, low-value solutions. Through creative designs and the high-quality ‘wow-factor’ of our materials, we are able to produce for a currently untapped market in Costa Rica, interior design and architecture. Our market research participants rated us highly on level of interest created, aesthetics, quality, differentiation and motivation for use. Due to its uniqueness within the Costa Rican market, we will offer customers support on how to best use our products in their projects. 

With the revenue created through sales, we are determined to ensure that the high value created is felt throughout the recycling chain. We’ll focus our efforts in incorporating marginalised areas, where recycling has low financial motive, as our main suppliers. Currently, groups and organisation may collect plastic waste only to realise that recycling companies will happily accept it but will not pay for or collect this waste. Therefore, most initiatives end up sending the waste they collect to landfill, which although better than in our seas and rivers, is not a sustainable solution. We hope to financially empower individuals and groups who participate in the collection and processing of plastic waste by paying prices that are a real reflection of the demanding processes that are needed to get plastic waste ready for upcycling.

After having spent years working within the NGO sector and experiencing the limitations regarding funding, our primary goal was to create a for-profit business with social consciousness and environmental sustainability at its core. Our vision has always been to create a high-value product with plastic waste which can form the basis of a revenue stream in which profits are distributed across all sectors of the production chain. By creating this value, at the top of the chain we can pay the grassroots recycling groups a fairer, more realistic price per kilo of plastic.

We have developed detailed projected cash flows for the next three years in which we have taken into consideration production costs, operational expenses and machine acquisition and replacement costs. In terms of revenue, we have used the price point suggested by the participants of our market research to project sales income for both our 60 x 60 and 122 x 244 machine. We will supplement this income with consultancy fees, donations and grants for specific projects and in the not too distant future, the development of our own range of products that are ready for market (customer to customer). 

We have identified two specific stages in which we will need to raise investment capital to grow the business. These are based on the acquisition of our new machines to increase production and our aim is to seek this funding through grants.

We’re very excited about the doors that will be opened by participating as finalists in the Rethink Plastics Challenge. 

We have seen huge value in the networks that we have created over the past couple of years and would not waste the opportunity to share a space with some of the most creative and dedicated individuals who are working towards the same goal of rethinking plastic waste. We would also love to seek technological support, which would back up our learnings over the past two years.

Although we are incredibly proud of where TRS has arrived as a result of carefully managed personal savings, lack of access to funding has been one of the biggest obstacles to growth. Given that our business’s main goal is changing attitudes towards recycling, we strive to produce the highest quality upcycled products in the market and to achieve that, we require a high level of technology. The next step for us is to import a $20,000 machine but our vision is create a bigger impact, processing over 7,000 tonnes of plastic a month in 122 cm x 244 cm sheets for the architectural market. The machine required for this stage will cost upwards of $500,000. Even though our calculations suggest that this will create a financially feasible business, it will take some time for us to that reach that goal by ourselves and so we hope that with access to finance and an expanded network we can achieve this vision sooner rather than later. 

We have been very fortunate in this aspect that several companies and institutions have shared enthusiasm to establish formal partnerships with us. We’ve been able to identify three key partners who have a likeminded vision and are of strategic importance, which we will be taking forward this year.

One of the key partners we would like to establish in 2020 is the MINAE (Ministry of Environment and Energy), who we have been in preliminary conversations with, as they have a very hands on role supporting regional governments in their waste management, as well and working closely with local grassroot plastic collection centres. These centres often have difficulties selling the raw material which is something we could solve. 

There are 2 municipalities in San Jose who have voiced interest in establishing a strategic partnership with us. We would design a project that’s mutually beneficial, where we would absorb plastics that they’ve collected through domestic and industrial recycling but are unable to recycle, and then give them opportunity to use these materials in public spaces for a low cost.

E-coins is a regional initiative that facilitates recycling for both people and business who want to recycle, and for those wanting to receive recycling. It works with an e-currency, that is paid based on the quantity of X material you’ve recycled at a certified location. They are keen to have more visibility on how the waste is transformed to make useful products, and we aim to become one of their recycling locations.