What Cirplus does

Cirplus was a Hamburg-based B2B digital marketplace for recycled plastics, founded in 2018 by Christian Schiller and Volkan Bilici. The platform connected buyers and sellers of post-consumer recyclate (PCR) and post-industrial recyclate (PIR) materials across the European plastics value chain, targeting enterprise customers including manufacturers, recyclers, and automotive companies. Revenue was derived from transaction fees and commissions on trades facilitated through the marketplace.

Beyond marketplace operations, Cirplus positioned itself as the "Grundlagendigitalisierer" (basic digitalizer) of the recycled plastics sector, initiating and co-developing three industry standards: DIN SPEC 91446 (a Data Quality Level classification framework co-developed with IKK and 16 industry partners), DIN SPEC 91481 (introducing a Digital Product Passport for recycled polyamides, developed with 19 partners), and EN 18065 (a European standard for recycled plastics classification scheduled for 2025 publication). The German Automotive Association (VDA) adapted DIN SPEC 91446 as VDA 284 for automotive recyclate applications, extending the company's standard-setting influence into the automotive vertical.

Cirplus pursued a sales-led, enterprise-focused GTM motion and expanded to Asia in August 2024. Despite regulatory tailwinds from the EU PPWR and standards-based differentiation, the company struggled against a sharp drop in recyclate demand (reported by Packreport in late 2023) and ultimately entered liquidation in March 2026, ceasing all operations on 1 April 2026.

Name

Cirplus

Legal name

cirplus GmbH i.L.

Website

https://cirplus.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cirplus was a Hamburg-based B2B digital marketplace that facilitated trade in recycled plastics (PCR and PIR) for enterprise manufacturers and recyclers, and initiated three industry standards (DIN SPEC 91446, 91481, EN 18065) for quality classification and traceability before entering liquidation in March 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recycled Plastics Marketplace

NAICS

Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesalers (42393), Plastics Materials and Basic Forms and Shapes Merchant Wholesalers (424610)

SIC

Wholesale-Durable Goods, Nec (5099), Miscellaneous Plastics Products (3080)

akta.pro primary industry

Secondary Materials Brokerage & Trading (Recovered Commodities) (BPALADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainability Testing, Certification & Compliance (LCA, Recyclability/Compostability Testing, FSC/PEFC) (IMALAMAK), Post-Consumer Plastic Collection & Sorting (MRF/PRF, Bale Supply) (EUAIAKAA), Post-Industrial Plastics Scrap Recovery & Regrind (IMANAMAB)

Keywords

• Recycled plastics marketplace
• Circular economy platform
• Industrial materials trading
• Digital product passport
• Sustainable plastics procurement

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Marketplace / Platform fees: Cirplus operated a digital marketplace facilitating recycled plastics transactions, reducing transaction costs and increasing access to recycled plastics. Revenue likely derived from transaction fees or commissions on trades facilitated through the platform.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cirplus operated a digital B2B marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of recycled plastics (Post-Consumer Recyclate / PCR and Post-Industrial Recyclate / PIR), facilitating transactions and reducing barriers in the recycled plastics trade. The company also co-developed industry standards (DIN SPEC 91446, DIN SPEC 91481, and contributed to EN 18065) introducing Data Quality Levels (DQL) and Digital Product Passports for quality classification and traceability across the recycled plastics value chain.

Product overview

Cirplus operated as a unified digital marketplace platform for recycled plastics. The platform enabled transaction of PCR (Post-Consumer Recyclate) and PIR (Post-Industrial Recyclate) materials, facilitating trade between suppliers and buyers in the plastics recycling industry. The company also developed and initiated industry standards (DIN SPEC 91446, DIN SPEC 91481, and contributed to EN 18065) to bring quality classification and digital traceability to the recycled plastics market. The company entered liquidation in March 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cirplus Digital Marketplace A B2B digital marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of recycled plastics (Post-Consumer Recyclate / PCR and Post-Industrial Recyclate / PIR), facilitating transactions and reducing barriers in the recycled plastics trade. Built for plastics manufacturers, recyclers, converters, and industrial brand owners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduces transaction costs for recycled plastics procurement
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• IKK (Institut für Kunststoffe und Kreislaufwirtschaft)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIKK from Hannover served as Coordinator alongside Cirplus as Initiator & Co-Coordinator for the development of DIN SPEC 91446. The standard was developed jointly over 12+ months, with over 3,000 working hours across 28+ meetings.
• VDA (Verband der Automobilindustrie)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVDA, the German Car Manufacturer Association, adopted DIN SPEC 91446 and created VDA 284 specifically for automotive recyclate applications. This endorsement significantly extended the standard's industry reach into the automotive sector.
• DIN SPEC 91446 Consortium PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA consortium of 16 leading actors from the entire plastic value chain participated in drafting DIN SPEC 91446. Named participants include: Remondis, TOMRA, Materialis, VDMA, SKZ, BDE, Krauss Maffei, Der Grüne Punkt, Polifolm, MKV, Steinert, Institute for Plastics, Greiner.
• DIN SPEC 91481 Consortium PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDIN SPEC 91481 was developed by a group of 19 research and industry partners to improve quality and marketability of recycled polyamides, establishing classification criteria based on data quality levels and a digital product passport.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• PlasticBank: B2B marketplace that trades recycled plastic credits and recovered ocean-bound plastic, targeting brands and converters. Closest comparable in marketplace model and circular-plastics mission, though PlasticBank's feedstock sourcing is more collection-driven and its end-buyers are brand-led ESG programmes rather than industrial recyclers.
• MBA Polymers: Global recycler producing post-consumer recycled engineering plastics (ABS, PC, PP) for resale to manufacturers and converters. Directly comparable as a recycled-plastics supplier addressing the same procurement problem Cirplus tried to solve via marketplace and classification tooling.

Emerging players

• Carbios: French biotech company commercialising enzymatic recycling of PET and developing bio-based monomers. Comparable as an emerging player targeting the same PPWR-driven demand for traceable, high-quality recycled plastics, but with a proprietary technology moat rather than a marketplace/distribution model.
• Syre: Recently-launched venture (backed by H&M Group and investment partners) building a vertically integrated recycled-polyester supply chain. Emerging player addressing the same circular-polyester demand that motivates DIN SPEC 91481, but with proprietary offtake contracts rather than a marketplace model.
• Madaster: Netherlands-based registry for material and product passports covering buildings and (increasingly) products. Comparable on the digital product passport layer underpinning DIN SPEC 91481, with adjacent infrastructure ownership that overlaps with the data backbone Cirplus initiated.

Broad incumbents

• Eastman: US-listed specialty materials company with a major molecular recycling programme for polyester and other plastics. Broad incumbent whose recycling-for-resin ambition competes for the same downstream offtake relationships Cirplus was building, though at vastly larger scale and with capital recycling technology rather than a marketplace.
• TOMRA: Global leader in sensor-based sorting for recycling and waste streams; a DIN SPEC 91446 consortium partner of Cirplus. Comparable as a critical infrastructure provider in the plastic-recycling value chain, but incumbent-scale and equipment-focused rather than a marketplace.
• REMONDIS: One of the world's largest private waste-management and recycling companies; a DIN SPEC 91446 consortium partner. Comparable as both a potential supplier and customer in the recycled plastics trade Cirplus intermediated, and a broad incumbent whose scale dwarfs any digital intermediary.
• Veolia: Global environmental services group operating plastics sorting, recycling, and secondary materials trading across Europe. Comparable as a vertically integrated incumbent with internal brokerage capabilities that competes with the intermediation role Cirplus tried to play, but at far greater scale.
• Greiner: Austrian packaging and plastics group active in recycling and recycled-content packaging; a DIN SPEC 91446 consortium partner. Comparable as both a potential buyer on the Cirplus marketplace and a competitor offering integrated recycled-content packaging solutions, but at incumbent scale and with manufacturing rather than marketplace economics.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@cirplus
• Xx.com/cir_plus
• Facebookfacebook.com/cirplus
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cirplus

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cirplus