Circulate Capital, a Singapore-based impact investment firm, took a stake in Omnigreen, a plastics recycling company based in Rio Blanco, Veracruz.
Omnigreen is combating plastic pollution by collecting flexible plastics, like plastic bags, shrink wrap, bottles and food containers, that would otherwise end up in the trash. Omnigreen converts the waste into resins for use in new flexible plastic products, furniture and materials for construction and agriculture equipment. Omnigreen is aiming to recycle more than 300,000 tons of waste in the next 10 years and create at least 100 jobs.
The deal gives Circulate Capital, a plastic-focused circular economy investor, a foothold in Mexico, the third market in the dedicated Latin America investment strategy it launched last year.
In Asia, Circulate has since 2018 invested in opportunities to curb and remediate plastic pollution and to improve local livelihoods. A key part of its strategy is engaging and deploying capital from large corporate users of plastics, like PepsiCo, Unilever, Danone and Mondelez International.
Circulate founder Rob Kaplan calls Latin America “a circular economy blueprint for the world.” The firm has raised $70 million for its Latin America fund.
Circulate also made a second investment in Colombia, taking a stake in Ambiental de Plasticos Recyclapet, which produces recycled PET pellets for use in synthetic textiles and bottles. The company is buoyed by policy tailwinds: The Colombian government has mandated that 90% of water bottles and 60% of other beverage containers be made using recycled PET by 2040.
Circulate last July invested in Colombia-based Polyrec – its first deal in Latin America. It also owns a stake in Brazil-based recycling company Cirklo.
