Unwasted
Unwasted is a London-based climate tech startup that manufactures high-performance panel boards from waste cardboard for construction and furniture manufacturers, operating a B2B hardware sales model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersMississauga, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Unwasted does
Unwasted is a London-based climate tech startup that manufactures high-performance panel boards from waste cardboard as a sustainable alternative to virgin wood-based panels used in construction and furniture manufacturing. Its core technology is a proprietary manufacturing process that converts post-consumer waste cardboard into structural-grade panels, intended to serve as a direct replacement for traditional timber, particle board, and other engineered wood products. The production process is designed to be powered by renewable energy, with the company's first large-scale manufacturing plant being built in Denmark to support commercialization.
The company's go-to-market is a direct B2B enterprise sales motion, supplying sustainable panel boards to construction firms and furniture manufacturers as primary customer segments. The business model is hardware sales of physical panels, with no pricing publicly disclosed. Unwasted has raised seed-stage capital — approximately £1.5M (~$1.85M) in January 2023 led by Elbow Beach Capital with participation from The Future Fund, with an earlier funding event from The Future Fund in 2021 — and has announced plans to expand manufacturing to multiple sites across Europe, Australia, and the United States by 2030. The firm is privately held with 11-50 employees and is actively operating and expanding.
Note on source conflicts: firmographic data lists the company as founded in 2020 and headquartered in Mississauga, Canada, while the corporate history and other sources indicate founding in 2023 with headquarters in London, United Kingdom. The more recent and specific sources (company history, domicile) have been treated as authoritative for this analysis.
Unwasted firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Unwasted
- Website
- https://unwastedtrash.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Unwasted is a London-based climate tech startup that manufactures high-performance panel boards from waste cardboard for construction and furniture manufacturers, operating a B2B hardware sales model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Unwasted industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Sustainable Building Materials
- NAICS
- Veneer, Plywood, and Engineered Wood Product Manufacturing (3212), Reconstituted Wood Product Manufacturing (321219)
- SIC
- Lumber & Wood Products (No Furniture) (2400), Prefabricated Wood Bldgs & Components (2452)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Hardwood Plywood & Decorative Panels Manufacturing (IMAMACAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Engineered Wood Underlayment & Subfloor Panels (IMAMACAK), Engineered Wood Flooring Substrates & Panels (IMAMACAL)
Keywords
Where Unwasted is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Mississauga
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Unwasted business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Sustainable Building Panel Sales: Revenue generated from manufacturing and selling sustainable panel boards made from waste cardboard to construction and furniture industries.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Unwasted product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Unwasted manufactures and sells high-performance panel boards made from 100% waste cardboard, serving as a sustainable alternative to virgin wood-based panels (timber/particleboard). The panels are designed for use in construction and furniture manufacturing applications, with production intended to be powered by renewable energy at a dedicated manufacturing facility in Denmark.
Product overview
Unwasted is a single-product company producing sustainable manufacturing materials. The core offering is high-performance panel boards made from waste cardboard, designed for the construction and furniture industries. The company is building its first manufacturing facility in Denmark, which will be powered by renewable energy, to scale production of these sustainable panels.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sustainable Panel Boards (from waste cardboard) High-performance panel boards manufactured from waste cardboard, positioned as a sustainable replacement for traditional timber and engineered wood panels in construction and furniture manufacturing applications.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reducing deforestation by replacing traditional timber panels
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Unwasted
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Unwasted technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Unwasted partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Unwasted competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Chip[s] Board: London-based startup that also converts waste streams into panel boards for construction and furniture use, sharing Unwasted's waste-to-panel thesis and B2B go-to-market approach.
- ReBoard Technology: Manufactures strong, lightweight panels made primarily from recycled cardboard for construction, retail, and furniture applications — overlapping directly with Unwasted's feedstock and end-use markets.
- Kirei: Designs and supplies sustainable acoustic and decorative panels made from agricultural and recycled fibers, serving the same interior construction and furniture-adjacent buyers Unwasted targets.
Emerging players
- Bcomp: Swiss producer of natural-fibre composite materials (flax, hemp) for mobility, sports, and interior panels; comparable as a plant-fibre-based panel substitute competing for the same sustainability-driven buyers.
- Ecovative Design: Uses mycelium to grow packaging and building-material panels from agricultural waste, an alternative bio-based structural panel technology competing for the same circular-economy narrative.
- HempWood: U.S.-based producer of hemp-based engineered wood panels marketed as sustainable alternatives to traditional timber panels for construction and furniture.
Broad incumbents
- Kebony: Norwegian producer of modified sustainable wood for decking, cladding, and interior applications; competes with Unwasted for sustainability-minded construction buyers but from a different feedstock (timber).
- Accsys Technologies (Accoya): Publicly listed producer of acetylated modified wood (Accoya) for high-performance outdoor and structural uses; a larger incumbent alternative in the sustainable building-products category.
- Kronospan: One of the world's largest wood-based panel producers (particleboard, MDF, OSB); represents the incumbent supply that Unwasted is positioning to displace in construction and furniture channels.
- Norbord / West Fraser: Major North American OSB and engineered wood-panel manufacturer; sets the price/performance benchmark that any new sustainable panel entrant must beat to win specification.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Unwasted social profiles
Digital presenceUnwasted financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Unwasted leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Unwasted funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Unwasted 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 Unwasted
What does Unwasted do?
Unwasted manufactures and sells high-performance panel boards made from 100% waste cardboard, serving as a sustainable alternative to virgin wood-based panels (timber/particleboard). The panels are designed for use in construction and furniture manufacturing applications, with production intended to be powered by renewable energy at a dedicated manufacturing facility in Denmark.
Is Unwasted a public or private company?
Unwasted is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Unwasted founded?
Unwasted was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Unwasted based?
Unwasted is headquartered in Mississauga, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Unwasted make money?
One revenue line is on record: sustainable Building Panel Sales.
Who are Unwasted's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Chip[s] Board, ReBoard Technology and Kirei. Emerging players are Bcomp, Ecovative Design and HempWood. Broad incumbents are Kebony, Accsys Technologies (Accoya), Kronospan and Norbord / West Fraser.
Does Unwasted have an API?
No public API is recorded for Unwasted.
What industry is Unwasted in?
Unwasted's product category is Sustainable Building Materials. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAMACAB, Hardwood Plywood & Decorative Panels Manufacturing, with a secondary code of IMAMACAK, Engineered Wood Underlayment & Subfloor Panels. Its NAICS code is 3212 and its SIC code is 2400.