Recyclehero
Recyclehero is a Hamburg, Germany-based impact startup founded in 2020 building a reverse logistics platform for the circular economy. Pre-seed stage with 1–10 employees, ~$1.6M raised, undisclosed products, customers, and revenue model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersHamburg, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Recyclehero does
Recyclehero is a Hamburg, Germany-based impact startup founded in 2020, self-described as building a reverse logistics platform to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. The company's functional positioning implies it intends to operate in the used-goods collection, redistribution, or recycling value chain — facilitating the reverse flow of materials and products from end users back into reuse or proper disposal channels. The firm's stated target market is the DACH region, with explicit plans to scale operations within Germany.
Despite the circular-economy mission, the input material is extremely thin on operational substance. Recyclehero is a pre-seed stage private company with 1–10 employees, no disclosed products or services, no listed management team, no public pricing model, no disclosed GTM motion, no app, no API, and no integration partners. Capital raised totals approximately $1.6 million across two disclosed rounds (a July 2022 pre-seed from business angels and a development bank, and a September 2023 round led by U VENTURES with participation from Zu na mi), with stated use of funds directed at German geographic expansion and IT infrastructure buildout. No revenue, ARR, or customer count has been disclosed.
A material integrity concern: Recyclehero's public website (recyclehero.de) currently serves Polish-language online casino / gambling content rather than recycling-related material. The domain is still branded with the Recyclehero logo and references, but the substantive page content is unrelated to the company's stated mission. This could indicate domain hijacking, expiration, sale, or a company that is no longer actively maintaining its public surface — a significant red flag for diligence that warrants direct verification of operating status before any investment action.
Recyclehero firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Recyclehero
- Website
- https://recyclehero.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Recyclehero is a Hamburg, Germany-based impact startup founded in 2020 building a reverse logistics platform for the circular economy. Pre-seed stage with 1–10 employees, ~$1.6M raised, undisclosed products, customers, and revenue model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Recyclehero industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Reverse Logistics and Recycling Services
- NAICS
- Waste Collection (56211), Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Waste Management and Remediation Services (562)
- SIC
- Sanitary Services (4950), Refuse Systems (4953)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Reuse & Resale / Recommerce Operations (EUAIANAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Refurbishment, Remanufacturing & Recommerce Enablement (TLAIAHAC), Donation, Reuse & Sustainability Returns Programs (TLAIAHAJ), Consumer E-waste Collection & Take-Back Programs (EUAIAIAA)
Keywords
Where Recyclehero is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hamburg
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Recyclehero business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel
Recyclehero product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Recyclehero is building a reverse logistics platform that supports the return, collection, and recycling of used products and materials to enable a circular economy. The company is enhancing its IT infrastructure and expanding its operations in Germany to deliver these recycling and material-return services to customers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Reverse logistics and recycling platform
Companies that use Recyclehero
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Recyclehero technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Recyclehero partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Recyclehero competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Rezycl: French reverse-logistics platform focused on recycling and reuse flows for retailers and brands. Closest direct peer to Recyclehero in product (B2B reverse logistics platform), geography (Europe), and circular-economy mission.
- Grover: Berlin-based circular-economy platform operating take-back, refurbishment, and recommerce of consumer electronics in Germany and Europe. Directly comparable circular take-back model and DACH footprint.
- Refurbed: Austria-founded recommerce marketplace for refurbished electronics with reverse-logistics take-back from consumers. Comparable in circular flow and EU-wide cross-border operations.
- ReverseLogix: US-based SaaS platform for managing reverse-logistics and returns operations across multiple product categories. Comparable as a software/platform play in the same reverse-logistics workflow.
- ZigZag Global: UK-based returns management platform orchestrating reverse logistics for retailers across multiple categories. Comparable platform model serving retailers/brands managing returns and reuse.
- Optoro: US-based returns and recommerce platform using data to route returned and excess inventory to the best secondary channel. Directly comparable as a tech-enabled reverse-logistics platform.
Broad incumbents
- Back Market: Global refurbished electronics marketplace operating a reverse-logistics flywheel from consumer take-back to refurbishment partners. A larger incumbent in the recommerce flow Recyclehero targets.
- Inmar Reverse Logistics: Established US reverse-logistics, ITAD, and supply-chain returns operator. Comparable as a broad incumbent operating take-back, refurbishment, and recycling at scale.
- Remondis: One of the largest German and European recycling, waste, and water service companies, with deep municipal contracts and nationwide reverse-logistics capacity. Sets the competitive ceiling Recyclehero must differentiate against.
- PreZero (Schwarz Group): European recycling and circular-economy division of the Schwarz Group operating collection, sorting, and recycling infrastructure across Germany. Major incumbent in the same operating geography and waste streams.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat1 record
Key risks5 records
Key highlights4 records
Customer concentration
Recyclehero financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Recyclehero leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Recyclehero funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Recyclehero M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Recyclehero
What does Recyclehero do?
Recyclehero is building a reverse logistics platform that supports the return, collection, and recycling of used products and materials to enable a circular economy. The company is enhancing its IT infrastructure and expanding its operations in Germany to deliver these recycling and material-return services to customers.
Is Recyclehero a public or private company?
Recyclehero is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Recyclehero founded?
Recyclehero was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Recyclehero based?
Recyclehero is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, in the Europe region.
Who are Recyclehero's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Rezycl, Grover, Refurbed, ReverseLogix, ZigZag Global and Optoro. Broad incumbents are Back Market, Inmar Reverse Logistics, Remondis and PreZero (Schwarz Group).
Does Recyclehero have an API?
No public API is recorded for Recyclehero.
What industry is Recyclehero in?
Recyclehero's product category is Reverse Logistics and Recycling Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAIANAC, Reuse & Resale / Recommerce Operations, with a secondary code of TLAIAHAC, Refurbishment, Remanufacturing & Recommerce Enablement. Its NAICS code is 56211 and its SIC code is 4950.