Sydney-based waste recycling service RecycleSmart has raised $1.04 million through the crowdfunding platform Birchal.
Co-founded by Giorgio Baracchi and Marco Prayer in 2019, the company picks up hard-to-recycle waste from households and sorts and transfers them to specialist recycling partners such as Mobile Muster, APR Plastics and the Red Cross.
The company accepts soft plastics, clothes, shoes, e-waste and unwanted clothing which will be picked up for $5 a bag and up to two bags per pick up.
“With over 900 investors backing us, our community has demonstrated their unwavering support for our mission to revolutionise recycling,” Baracchi told Business News Australia.
“With our successful crowdfunding campaign, we’re now poised to open in major capital cities, starting with the official launch of Melbourne next week.”
The company’s app has more than 10,000 active users, has grown 175 per cent during the past year and diverted 450 tonnes of waste from landfill.
“This expansion will accelerate our offerings for businesses and allow us to expand the list of items we collect for recycling. This is just the beginning of our journey towards a better, more circular economy,” said Baracchi.
The company will now expand its DTC service further to connect to more suburbs, enhance its AI technologies and add more items to its list of recyclables.
