Plastic is piling up in the oceans even as demand for high-quality recycled plastic is surging. Family offices, corporations and impact investors are driving capital into businesses with solutions to reduce plastic waste and dependency on virgin materials.
The final close of Singapore-based Circulate Capital’s Latin America and Caribbean fund saw commitments from the LATAM Impact Fund, Heading for Change, Sea Forward and iAlumbra, a collective of organizations founded by philanthropist Christy Walton. Builders Vision, founded by her son Lukas Walton, had earlier anchored the fund alongside global corporations including Danone, Mondelez International, Unilever and Chevron Phillips Chemical.
The Circulate fund has identified more than 100 recycling companies that require a combined $240 million in growth capital. “In a shifting macroeconomic landscape, Latin America’s high-growth markets are increasingly attractive for institutional and corporate investors alike,” said Circulate’s Rob Kaplan.
Latam portfolio
Circulate has backed four companies in Latin America since 2023, including Mexico’s Omnigreen, a flexible plastic recycling company, and Colombia’s Recyclapet and Polyrec, two plastic waste recycling companies (see, “With investment in Colombia, Circulate Capital brings growth capital to plastics recycling in Latin America”).
Cirklo in northeastern Brazil has multiple facilities that recycle approximately four billion plastic bottles per year.
The companies have created more than 800 jobs in the region. “Our portfolio companies are tackling three challenges at once: waste reduction, job creation and cleaner communities across Latin America,” said Kaplan.
