Recycle businesses are everyone's business

Local and national businesses are bringing new ideas to life in the RE space - reworking old problems with new solutions that actually work

One of the most startling 'overnight' successes who have quickly resonated with consumers is Upparel. In 2020, retailer and recycler Manrags (now Upparel) raised $790,500 on Birchal.  Upparel collect old, damaged or unwanted items from your doorstep and give items a second life through reuse, repurpose and recycling initiatives. Their model is unique in that they run a personal collection service and the group is forming alliances with businesses to get ahead of the textile recycle curve - and they collect. As of today, Upparel has diverted 1,469,019 items weighing 175,958 kgs of textiles and accessories from landfill. (You can watch their progress online). 

Other companies, like Sydney start-up RecycleSmart have put a new spin on an old bottle and set up what is essentially a Recyclables Uber.

Sydney RecycleSmart was set up in response to the astonishing percentages of recyclable items that end up in landfill. Only 18% of single-use plastics are recovered from recycling.  11% of which leak directly into the environment, mostly oceans.

And a whopping 20% of what goes into a red bin should actually be recycled.

Rather than lecture, RecycleSmart wanted to create a fun and tech-driven experience that draws people in. And it's working. So far, RECYCLESMART has diverted over 25 tons of waste from landfills with their Power Pickup service. Partnering with councils, RECYCLESMART offers a user-centric approach to recycling items that can't go in your yellow council recycle bin.

Residents can book their Power Pickup in 3 clicks from the RecycleSmart app (or website), leave their bag of recyclables at the doorstep and a local driver will come and make sure every item is collected and recycled. Bonus! Every pickup plants a tree. 

RecycleSmart cover the 4 main categories of hard-to-recycle waste:

• Soft plastics
• E-waste
• Clothes
• Problem Waste (like batteries, globes)

The service is available in City of Sydney council, Randwick city council, Sutherland Shire, City of Canada Bay council and Mosman, now serving over 700,000 Sydney siders.

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