In the suburban city of Rogers, Minnesota, a journey to circularity is about to begin.

Currently, just 5% of flexible packaging and films used in the US each year are recycled. The rest – which includes everything from single-use shopping bags to e-commerce mailers and shrink wrap – typically ends up in landfills and incinerators, or is littered in the environment. Coupled with low recycling rates and heavy reliance on virgin plastics, concern around the country’s waste management practices has grown in recent years.

South African recycling company, Myplas, hopes to change this system by processing and recycling plastic film collected from commercial and agricultural use in applications where its original quality is required. Specifically, it hopes to turn plastic waste into recycled pellets that will be used in food-grade film and products like shrink wrap, grocery bags, and other flexible packaging.

The Alliance provided an initial concessional loan with financial terms that enabled Myplas to attract additional growth funding of US$14.9 million from other investors. The funds will go, in part, towards a new 15,700 square metre mechanical recycling plant, before reintroducing it into the economy. It is expected to open with two production lines in Summer 2023.