Will Israel’s 8.6 million investment in recycling tech make a difference?

The Israel Innovation Authority is investing 30 million shekels (US$ 8.6 million) in setting up a plastics recycling consortium named CIRCLE.

Israel currently generates almost 1 million tonnes of plastic waste per year. End-of-life plastics make up over 41% of the country’s total waste stream, by volume. Only about half of all plastic products used can be recycled. In fact, no more than 25% of all waste ends up at recycling centres while the majority (around 75%) is landfilled.

The new venture is meant to help recyclers, manufacturers, universities and research institutes to develop innovative ‘cutting edge’ recycling technologies. The Isreal Innovation Authority underlines it is eager to close the technological gap and expand the range of recycled materials and their applications. Ultimately, the CIRCLE is hoped to make the country a leader in waste management sector.

According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Israel has a network of 20 000 plastic waste collection facilities. It’s interesting to note that the country is trying to achieve a recycling rate of 50% in 2020.