Fund offers hope for troubled plastics recycling sector

A new fund, DiDoSa Ventures, has been set up to acquire and connect companies within the plastics recycling chain.

‘The plastics recycling sector is under pressure,’ says initiator and plastics recycler Henk Alssema of Inviplast. ‘Costs are rising and regulation is increasing. The market is demanding more and more scale, security and compliance,’ he tells Recycling International.

For many individual companies, it is becoming increasingly difficult to operate independently, both today and in the future, observes Alssema. ‘We believe the solution lies in collaboration. In joining forces. In building one integrated value chain.’

According to the Dutch plastics recycler, who is also president of the plastic division at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR),  this is the moment for consolidation. ‘Scale, commercial strength and control over the value chain will determine success.’

First acquisition   

DiDoSa has taken a first step by acquiring a compounding company in the southwest of the Netherlands, which will continue operations under the name Delta Compounding. Delta produces raw materials based on customer specifications and actively contributes to high-quality circular applications. ‘This is where the future lies,’ says Alssema. ‘Not just recycling, but delivering consistent, reliable and certified raw materials. This is the start.’