How a startup supported by EIT Raw Materials became Europe’s leading digital platform for waste management and recycling.
Recourcify‘s transformative mission is something that EIT RawMaterials has helped to make a reality.
When Resourcify was more of an idea than a product, EIT RawMaterials saw its potential and invested, and helped bring the solution to market. Given the traditional nature of the industry, being a member of the EIT has given Resourcify the credibility to open doors and enter into productive conversations with stakeholders across the sector.
Being able to put the EIT RawMaterials logo on our pitch gave us the credibility to get our foot in the door.
– Gary Lewis, CEO and Co-Founder, Resourcify
The business idea that was born on a cruise ship.
While recycling and the criticality of the circular economy have been creeping up the global environmental agenda in recent years, a zero-waste future still seems some way off.
According to the 2022 “Circularity Gap Report”, more than 100 billion tonnes of raw materials are still extracted from the earth every year, and only around 8.6% of those materials are recycled.
The relative paucity of recycling has huge economic as well as environmental consequences: the Royal Statistical Society has suggested that the value of this unused waste amounts to around $7 trillion.
CEO of Resourcify, Gary Lewis, discovered this problem first-hand, when, in charge of waste management aboard a cruise ship – a micro-city of its own – he was asked to get rid of a defunct engine. He wasn’t asked to fix it or to dispose of it properly, but to dump it in the ocean.
For Gary, this marked a turning point. He began to look for a better way to manage waste and decided to become part of the solution, not the problem.
Making recycling easier for companies.
Reaching the UN climate goals of net zero savings by 2050 is not just about green energy – 45% will have to come from the circular economy.
Resourcify realised that reaching this target and establishing a functioning circular economy would require a revolution in the outdated, fragmented waste management systems. So, it built a tool to take industry from where it is today, to where it needs to be in the future.
With easy-to-use software, Resourcify’s platform helps companies optimise their waste management, by enabling them to keep track of waste streams and recycling rates. Analysing recycling and recovery rates helps companies identify areas for improvement to reduce the environmental impact of waste and achieve the best possible processing of waste into marketable recyclables. It also helps companies replace outdated general contractors and instead, work together with local recyclers and specialist facilities.
To reach our climate goals, we need a resource revolution and a functioning circular economy. By Resourcifying waste management, we can support companies in their net-zero transition – helping them not only to improve recycling and collect more valuables but also to reduce their costs and environmental footprint. All in one easy-to-use platform.
– Gary Lewis, CEO and Co-Founder, Resourcify
A resounding, resourcifying process used in over 15,000 locations worldwide.
Resourcify is now Europe’s leading digital platform for waste management and recycling.
What started as an idea aboard a cruise ship, has now turned into a product used in over 15,000 locations in 7 countries, helping companies to recycle around 50% more of their waste.
The software can be found in major chains like McDonald’s and REWE, and Resourcify is currently developing take-back systems for medical devices in hospitals with Johnson & Johnson to help the healthcare industry become more sustainable.
Last year, Resourcify received an additional financial boost, when in its latest funding round, led by Ananda Impact Ventures and Speedinvest, gained €5 million, bringing the total raised by the startup to over €9 million.
