Living in Germany, rubbish sorting is a big part of daily life. Do it incorrectly and your neighbours won’t hesitate to correct you, and repeat offenders may even risk a fine.
But even in cities with collection systems, huge volumes of plastic, glass, metal, paper and cardboard end up in mixed waste and go straight to landfills or incineration. In fact, the European Environment Agency reports that the overall waste recycling rate in Europe remains below 50 per cent, meaning most municipal waste is still treated by landfill or incineration rather than recycling.
Further, PlasticsEurope estimates that about 65 per cent of post‑consumer plastic waste collected in Europe is sent to landfill or incineration instead of being recycled, despite widespread separate collection systems. It’s bad.
But now a Ukrainian startup called Recycle has found a way to turn trash into cash.
It runs a platform (and app) called Recycle that helps people, businesses and estate/condominium associations turn sorted waste into income by selling recyclable materials.
I met the company at a recent trip to Ukraine for TechChill Kyiv, where I sat down with co-founder Anton Ustimenko.
How an office sorting problem sparked Recycle
Ustimenko originally comes from the game-development sector. In 2010, he launched an outsourcing company and secured several major contracts over the years.
Recycle is the consequence of a problem his team faced. He recalled:
“We opened a very cool office in the city centre in Kyiv. And of course, we tried to sort our waste, and we couldn’t manage it efficiently. But every problem for the IT sector is an opportunity. We started to investigate how the market works, and this is how Recycle was started.”
Sell sorted waste in a few taps
Recycle incentivises people to sort waste by paying them money.
“People buy packaging, so why should they have to pay again when they sort it? It’s real goods — they can sell it. But right now, people pay again, just for removal. But it has real value, and they can earn money,” shared Ustimenko.
And it’s done through a simple, intuitive process. Ustimenko explained:
“We make the process of selling recyclables very simple —it’s completed in just a few taps. You create an order, and all the recycling companies that want to buy it make bids.
You choose the best price and agree. A certified recycler then picks up the sorted waste and pays you for it.
It’s very easy. They don’t have to deal with the complexity. We take that away.”
Recycle currently has over 300 active clients. An example is homeware retailer Jysk, which has over 100 stores across Ukraine, and sells its recyclables through the app. The startup takes a commission from the transaction.
Focusing on high-value streams: paper, PET, HDPE, metal and glass
Because some materials are far easier and more profitable to recover than others, Recycle zeroes in on the highest-value streams first.
“We work with waste paper and plastics — at the moment, two main types: PET (type 1) and HDPE (type 2) — as well as metal cans and glass. Essentially, anything that can be recycled,” he explained.
“Polypropylene (PP) is a challenge. There are many different grades of PP, and it’s quite difficult for recycling companies to process. That’s why we’re currently looking for a solution.
But even if people simply start sorting the two most common plastics separately from the start, it already makes a big difference.”
In addition, Recycle aims to convince recycling companies that buying well-sorted waste is much cheaper than post-sorting.
“Even the 'yellow bins,’ where people put all plastics together, are too expensive to sort. So, separate sorting is key to real recycling. Anything else is not really recycling,” asserts Ustimenko.
“Good traction and a good pace”
Ustimenko admits, “I’ve never heard of a model like this either, but it works. And we gained traction very quickly. We’ve been operating for more than half a year, and I think we have good traction and a good pace. Our steady growth is around 20 per cent per month, sometimes even higher.”
He plans that Recycle will become profitable in a year, and after that, "I think we’ll be interesting for investors. Every investor wants traction — real paying customers — not endless pilots that never convert. We have real clients. And we almost don’t have churn — maybe one or two clients stopped using us, but not because of any bad story. Their circumstances just changed.”
The startup is currently operational only in Ukraine due to regulatory requirements. Ustimenko explained that going to another market will take a few months of preparation:
“For every transaction and every deal, we have to generate all the documentation, ecological compliance and accounting compliance and adjust our app to local legislative requirements. It’s not a tough task, but it takes time."
However, Recycle’s next goal is Poland, and then Bulgaria. The company also plans to keep scaling in the Ukrainian market.
Further, through its charity arm, Recycle has partnered with TiKO fund to launch a program called “Sort for the Children of Ukraine.” This initiative sets up sorting stations in schools and kindergartens. The waste collected is sold, and proceeds go to support children in orphanages, boarding homes, as well as children with disabilities or in palliative care.
Lead image: freepik
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