ATLANTA — Recycling technology company Nexus Circular received an investment from Printpack, a manufacturer of flexible and specialty rigid packaging, as part of a larger round of private funding. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.
Atlanta-based Nexus diverts and economically converts landfill-bound plastic into hydrocarbon feedstocks, which are used by partners to produce virgin resins. Printpack plans to produce sustainable packaging solutions from these recycled resins once the supply chain is fully implemented.
The investment underscores the importance of advanced recycling in preventing plastic pollution, said Jimmy Love, chairman and chief executive officer of Printpack, which works with consumer packaged goods companies to develop and commercialize more sustainable packaging materials.
“This is an important opportunity for Printpack to deliver on our commitment to sustainability in packaging and accelerate the commercialization of a truly circular process for plastics waste,” he said. “Nexus Circular has developed and proven a technology capable of being scaled up, and we are committed to helping them do so.”
Nexus’ proprietary process can handle a broad array of hard-to-recycle films, expanding the scope of used plastics that can economically be converted back into virgin materials. It already has diverted more than 4.5 million lbs of used plastic from landfills, according to the company.
“The journey to convert used plastics into sustainable packaging — economically and at scale — requires committed partners at each step of the process from advanced recycling technology to the resin producer to the packaging converter,” said Eric Hartz, president and co-founder of Nexus Circular. “As an investor, Printpack provides a valuable service in this ecosystem and demonstrates its commitment to addressing the complex challenges of reducing plastics in the environment.”