Recycledin

Our aim is to spread the word about plastic pollution. Plastic-filled shores, birds’ nests made of plastic straws, beached whales and turtles due to plastic bags, mountains of plastic piling up at landfills. We wish to show that there is no need to produce more virgin plastics. It is our mission to raise awareness and show to the world that products can be manufactured from existing plastic waste. Whether our customer owns a chair, earrings or a shelf made by Recycledin or by our partnering designers, the unique product design will be a conversation starter. We strive to create excellent quality products and offer a high-standard customer experience. Recycledin will invest heavily in plastic recycling education, coaching, marketing as well as participate in local beach clean-ups.

After moving to Greece, we had recognised the need for a plastic recycling facility on Kos island, the 6th largest island producer of waste in the country. After 8 months of experimenting and learning from our manufacturing processes, we have developed an efficient plastic recycling workflow and are ready to scale.

Recycledin collects washed up plastic waste from the beach and from local businesses. We then clean the plastic, sort it into colours, material types and shred it into flakes. Afterwards, we heat and press the shredded material into flat plastic sheets of different thicknesses. These sheets can then be cut into various shapes and products using a CNC frazer: tabletops, coasters, keyrings, chairs, coat racks and more. In the future we plan to inject the recycled plastic granulate into a heated mould to create 3D-shapes using an injector. Please see the photos below for our production process.

Recycledin designs and manufactures home design and decor products for online and offline retail. We will offer wholesale prices to stores around the world who wish to collaborate with us and sell our products. We will also work on custom orders for companies, whether they are looking for merchandise or store design elements, such as countertops, made of recycled plastic.

Recycledin will work closely with designers around the world, offering them either our raw plastic material or ready products based on their designs. The designers will then be able to sell their products and designs in their own stores. In that way we aim to further popularise recycled plastic in home design and furniture. 

Our company on Kos island in Greece is a pilot project. After launching the firm, we will be able to create a clear step-by-step guide for like-minded people to launch franchises based on our ready business model, leading to “Recycledin Madrid”, “Recycledin Belgrade”, “Recycledin Cairo”, etc.

Lastly, Recycledin will teach classes to schools and provide consultations to local businesses on reducing their carbon footprint, as we believe waste management education is the main method of halting plastic pollution. We also participate in regular beach clean ups and will donate a part of our revenue to the local clean-up volunteers.

Our pilot project will be “Recycledin Kos, Greece”. After adjusting the business strategy of our firm in Kos, we will be able to reach millions around the globe. We will provide recycled plastic sheets and shapes to product designers, bringing their ideas to life. We will educate school children about the circular economy and describe the benefits of green-businesses. We will be able to employ more people to collect plastic waste and utilise less single-use plastic in their everyday lives. Moreover, we will invest time and financing into our social media in order to reach people in the farthest parts of the world. Based on our business strategy, we will allow for aspiring followers to launch their franchises around the world.

An important part of our online presence will be social media. We have already launched our Instagram, TikTok and Facebook pages to grow our audience prior to the official launch and secure a starting customer base. The response has been remarkable, so far, and our following grows daily. We have already reached over 1,000,000 views and constantly receive positive feedback from our followers. Social media is also where we have received our first business orders: several cafes, an animal shelter and souvenir stores have ordered from us.

Recycledin will stand out as the first plastic recycling company on Kos island and one of around 150 recycling workshops in all of Europe. Our unique material pattern and designs will not only stand out among other recycled plastic companies, but Recycledin will even compete with virgin plastic and wood manufacturers. We aim to show local businesses that whole businesses and private homes can be run on solar power without the use of fossil fuel-generated electricity.

Our company will be managed and run by George Schnipper and Marina Bebina, a young married couple with business experience and great knowledge about waste management. George is a biologist and a wildlife filmmaker. Seeing so much plastic waste in nature led to the idea of starting a plastic collection and recycling facility. Marina is a psychologist, business owner and educator. The latter will greatly help us in our waste management education in schools and businesses. We own a self-sustaining business selling 100% compostable phone cases and have been writing a blog on eco-friendly living for three years. Unfortunately, we are not the producers of the phone cases, hence, we are not able to change the design or feature of the product whenever we wish to. At Recycledin we will be in full control of all products, their production and designs.

The funds from MIT Solve will be used to cover business registration, facility lease and utility expenses for the first three months. With €16,800 we will be able to afford basic equipment for higher-quality products from recycled plastic: heat gun, electric screwdriver, heat press and more. The second financial model requires €45,000 and will allow to purchase a car for plastic waste transportation, professional equipment for manufacturing and a green electricity source setup (solar- and wind-power systems. The solar power will also compensate for the high amount of electricity required to run professional factory-grade machinery, hence, we will not need to pay for diesel fuel. Most importantly, both models require marketing financing.

Due to the word limit and formatting text rules of the online application, we were not able to attach the tables of our business plan. We will be happy to share all of our calculations and lists with you upon request.

Recycledin will be the first plastic recycling company on Kos island in Greece. Besides, Recycledin will be one of the first companies to collaborate directly with designers and provide them with recycled material to bring to life their product ideas. Our manufacturing process creates unique patterns and shapes with every new product created.

After our official launch, we plan to engage local educational institutions to raise awareness about plastic pollution as well as potential recycling opportunities.

We aim to accomplish the following goals within the next year.

• Find and lease a manufacturing facility

• Officially register our business and receive a manufacturing license

• Purchase and import all the necessary manufacturing equipment

• Start a targeted online marketing campaign

• Create a website with an online shop

• Register our business name and logo

• Start selling our products on Amazon.eu

• Start selling our products in at least 20 zero-waste stores around Europe

• Start collaborating with at least 5 product designers

• Create custom orders for cafes, clothing stores, offices and other businesses

• Hire a like-minded technician, in-house product designer, marketing- and SMM-manager

• Set up plastic collection bins around Kos Island

We aim to produce long-lasting products not to be thrown away after one use. The trend for recycled products is growing every year, mainly due to governmental initiatives to reduce plastic production and improve waste management systems. To capture a part of the industry, Recycledin will utilise an aggressive online marketing strategy.

Recycledin will be using a multifaceted approach to measure progress.

Our main way of measurement is the weight of plastic waste that we have rescued from landfills and recycled into long-lasting products. This can be measured both in tonnes.

We have already calculated the amount of electricity required to produce each of our products. Hence, if we install a solar- and wind-generated power system, we can calculate how many litres of fossil fuels we have saved from being purchased and, hence, produced more of.

On a local level, we will educate schools and businesses on waste management and eco-friendly living. After teaching several classes, we will be able to observe a change in the mindset of our younger and older listeners from the conversation we'll be having. Due to the small size of the island, tracking such goals is achievable.

On a global level, we have already launched our social media and have reached over a million viewers. With a fine-tuned marketing system and regular posts on Instagram and TikTok, we will be able to reach many more. Hence, we can spread the message on recycled plastic products to millions, measuring our achievements in the number of views and likes.

Our company on Kos island in Greece is a pilot project. After selling franchise licenses and business model, we will be able to calculate the total amount of plastic saved from landfills and fossil fuel saved by each franchise around the world: tonnes of plastic collected and recycled, number of classes taught, kilowatts of electricity saved and more.

According to ypen.gov.gr, Kos island is a major tourist destination and is the 6th largest waste producer among Greek islands. Although the island only has around 30.000 inhabitants, every summer over a million tourists visit the small, 42-kilometre-long, isle. Besides, Kos island is located one of the major plastic crossroads of the Aegean sea currents carrying plastic waste.

Even though Recycledin aims to have a direct impact by collecting plastic waste from the main waste producers and recycling it, we will also be educating schools and businesses on reducing their carbon footprint and will hire ambitions applicants to join our team. Moreover, we will allow people around the world to launch franchises with a similar approach. The Greek government collects and ships most of the plastic waste to larger cities, e.g. Athens. Hence, we will also reduce the carbon footprint of plastic waste transportation by directly collecting, cleaning and recycling plastic waste on the island. Living here, we feel like there is not enough awareness on the problems of single-use plastics. By teaching classes in schools, we strive to change the mentality of the future generation.

Unfortunately, many locals collect and burn their trash with open fire after the tourist season is over. By preventing plastic waste from being burned, we will positively affect the air quality and reduce fire hazards.

After finishing school, younger people often leave the island for the winter season in search of jobs. Recycledin will offer year-round jobs, increasing the financial stability of the island. 

We aim to use the most current technologies in plastic recycling. Moreover, we are developing new ways of working with recycled plastic sheets with ordinary tools and machinery. Here is some of the equipment we aim to utilise in our work:

• solar panels generating up to 6kw of electricity
• wing-turbine generating an additional 2kw of electricity
• CNC-frazer
• Heat press
• Injection moulds
• Design software (CorelDraw, Figma, Adobe Illustrator)
• Facebook Advertisement for greater outreach

Recycledin is building an inclusive and accepting workplace, accepting of marginalised communities of any background, as long as they are passionate about their job.

Recycledin (pronounced [recycled in]) collects plastic waste destined for the landfill, recycles it into home design products and accessories for sale online and in physical shops around the world. The company designs the products and uses clean solar energy for the manufacturing processes. Not just a business, but Recycledin is a multifaceted start-up company that will 1) educate local schools and businesses on waste management; 2) work closely with product designers to provide them with recycled materials; 3) develop a business model for franchises after the test project will become stable. Our initial plan is to start a manufacturing facility to produce products made of various plastic types, including shampoo bottles, plastic caps and grocery bags. Our goal is to provide private and business customers with high-quality alternatives to products made of virgin plastics, excellent customer service and competitive pricing, as well as track the changes in people’s mindset towards a waste-free life on a local level.

We have created a thorough business model with calculations and forecasts of our project's success, however, due to the word limit are not able to share it in the application. We have uploaded our business plan to this google doc.

Recycledin collect payments differently, based on the nature of the sale. We collect a 100% prepayment on all wholesale and retail purchases. When working on custom orders for businesses, we receive payment after the order is complete and the customer approves the finished product. Due to the low material cost and the ability to re-shred and re-melt our products, we can afford to run a profitable business model. We are mainly looking for funding to purchase the equipment and afford the facility lease until the business has stable sales. We have included the accompanying expenses report below for both investment models.

Recycledin requires a minimum of €16,800 to launch and start production and sales. Our second financial model will push Recycledin to the next level and requires €45,000. We are currently seeking funding from Greek governmental grants as well as from MIT Solve. We are also considering stalling the launch of the company until we have the basic funding saved up from personal finances.

Over the past 8 months, we have invested over €5,500 from personal funds and are seeking additional funds to register our business and start sales operations.