Reterra
Reterra Corporation is a Houston-based chemical recycler that converts post-consumer and low-value PET plastics into recycled raw materials — RPET and specialty polyols sold under the RetroSeed brand — for UPR, PUR/PIR, and oil-industry manufacturers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersHouston, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Reterra does
Reterra Corporation, founded in 1999 and headquartered at 1503 Haden Rd in Houston's Ship Channel area, is a privately-held chemical recycling company that converts post-consumer and low-value PET plastics into reusable raw materials for industrial buyers. The company's proprietary chemical recycling process — developed from expertise dating to the early 1980s — accepts hard-to-recycle, contaminated, or low-value PET streams (including residuals from mechanical PET reclaimers and historically, desilvered X-ray films) and transforms them into outputs containing 99%+ post-consumer content. Its flagship offerings are sold under the RetroSeed brand, comprising recycled PET (RPET) raw materials and a specialty polyol engineered for phthalic anhydride, isophthalic acid, and terephthalic acid applications. Applications include spray-foam insulation marketed as roughly twice as efficient as fiberglass and unsaturated polyester resins for composite manufacturing.
The firm operates a vertically-oriented B2B model that buys PET feedstock from suppliers (regardless of quantity, including sub-truckload volumes) and sells processed raw materials directly to manufacturers of unsaturated polyester resins (UPR) and polyurethane/polyisocyanurate (PUR/PIR) products, with the oil industry identified as a target expansion vertical. The company is privately held, employs 1-10 people, has not raised institutional capital beyond a $2M Closed Loop Partners round in March 2020, and reports a cumulative 300 million pounds of RPET shipped as a 2024 operational milestone. Day-to-day sales are conducted through direct outreach, the corporate website, phone, and email from its single Houston site, with the founders — including President and Director Jason Ball — remaining central to operations.
Reterra firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Reterra
- Legal name
- Reterra Corporation
- Website
- https://reterra.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Reterra Corporation is a Houston-based chemical recycler that converts post-consumer and low-value PET plastics into recycled raw materials — RPET and specialty polyols sold under the RetroSeed brand — for UPR, PUR/PIR, and oil-industry manufacturers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Reterra industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Plastic Recycling
- NAICS
- Petrochemical Manufacturing (325110)
- SIC
- Plastic Materials, Synth Resins & Nonvulcan Elastomers (2821)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Chemical/Advanced Recycling (Pyrolysis, Depolymerization, Solvolysis, Gasification) (EUAIAKAC)
Keywords
Where Reterra is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Houston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Reterra business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Recycled Raw Materials Sales: Reterra generates revenue by selling chemically recycled PET raw materials under the RetroSeed product line to industrial customers in the UPR, PUR/PIR, and oil industries. The company purchases recyclable plastics from suppliers, processes them through chemical recycling, and resells the resulting raw materials.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
Reterra product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Reterra Corporation operates a chemical recycling facility that processes used PET plastics—including soda bottles, water bottles, desilvered X-ray films, and low-value streams from mechanical PET reclaimers—into reusable chemical raw materials sold under the RetroSeed product line. The company purchases recyclable materials from suppliers and resells the resulting recycled PET (RPET) and specialty polyol products to industrial customers in the UPR and PUR/PIR industries.
Product overview
Reterra Corporation is a chemical recycling company that transforms used PET plastics into valuable raw materials. The company operates with a single unified product offering centered on their RetroSeed product line, which encompasses Recycled PET (RPET) raw materials and specialty polyol products. Their core technology chemically processes post-consumer PET bottles and low-value polyester streams into reusable materials for the unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) and polyurethane (PUR/PIR) industries. The RetroSeed brand serves as the umbrella product line under which RPET and polyol products are sold, with RPET being the primary volume product and polyol representing a higher-value specialty application.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- RetroSeed: Product line of recycled raw materials including recycled PET sold by Reterra Corporation
Products and services
- RetroSeed A product line of recycled raw materials derived from PET plastics. Reterra takes used PET plastics such as soda bottles, water bottles, and other low-value or contaminated PET streams and processes them into reusable raw materials sold under this brand to industrial customers.
- Recycled PET (RPET) Chemically recycled post-consumer PET raw material with 99%+ post-consumer content, used in applications lasting over 100 years where carbon stays locked up in valuable applications such as polyester polyol spray foams or unsaturated polyester resins.
- Polyol A specialty polyol product derived from chemically recycled PET, containing very high content of post-consumer RPET. Suitable for use in products requiring phthalic anhydride, isophthalic acid, or terephthalic acid, and applied in the UPR and PUR/PIR industries.
Quantifiable outcome
- 300 million pounds of Recycled PET shipped
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Reterra
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Reterra technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Reterra partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Reterra competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Eastman Chemical Company: Eastman's Eastman Renew advanced recycling technologies (including methanolysis) depolymerize PET and polyester waste back to monomers for repolymerization, directly comparable to Reterra's chemical recycling process and end-markets (UPR, polyols, specialty polymers).
- Carbios: Carbios has developed enzymatic depolymerization technology for PET that yields monomers for repolymerization into virgin-quality polyester. Closely comparable to Reterra in the chemical/biological recycling of PET to monomers and downstream polyols/resins.
- Loop Industries: Loop Industries uses a proprietary chemical depolymerization process to break down PET and polyester waste into monomers (MEG and DMT/TPA) for repolymerization. Directly comparable to Reterra's chemical recycling approach and target end-use in polyester resin systems.
- Ioniqa Technologies: Ioniqa has developed a chemical recycling process for PET that depolymerizes colored and contaminated PET streams back to high-purity monomers, with similar feed flexibility and target end-use in polyester and polyol applications as Reterra.
- Jeplan: Jeplan (formerly PET Refining Technology) operates chemical depolymerization of PET into monomers used for new PET and polyester production. Directly comparable to Reterra in chemical PET recycling feedstocks and customer base in polyester and resin manufacturers.
- APK AG: APK's Newcycling solvent-based process recycles multi-layer and mixed plastic waste (including PE/PP/PET) into recycled-grade polymers suitable for film, packaging, and industrial applications. Comparable to Reterra as a chemical/solvent-based recycler serving industrial resin customers.
- CarbonLite: CarbonLite is a U.S.-based recycler that processes post-consumer PET bottles into food-grade rPET pellets. While CarbonLite primarily uses mechanical recycling (vs. Reterra's chemical), it competes for similar PET feedstock streams and serves overlapping downstream resin and packaging customers.
- Plastipak Holdings: Plastipak operates PET bottle-to-bottle recycling facilities (including chemical/advanced recycling programs) producing food-grade rPET for its own packaging operations and external customers. Comparable to Reterra in the U.S. PET recycling market and resin-grade output for industrial customers.
Broad incumbents
- Indorama Ventures: Indorama Ventures is the world's largest PET producer with significant PET recycling capacity (both mechanical and chemical) via its Deja™ and other programs. Competes with Reterra in supplying recycled-content PET and polyester feedstocks to brand owners and resin converters globally.
- BASF: BASF's chemCycling program uses chemical recycling (including pyrolysis and depolymerization of plastic waste) to produce feedstock for its polyamide and polyurethane product lines, including polyols. Overlaps with Reterra's chemical-recycled polyol into PUR/PIR systems and resin manufacturers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Reterra social profiles
Digital presenceReterra financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Reterra leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Reterra funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Reterra 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 Reterra
What does Reterra do?
Reterra Corporation operates a chemical recycling facility that processes used PET plastics—including soda bottles, water bottles, desilvered X-ray films, and low-value streams from mechanical PET reclaimers—into reusable chemical raw materials sold under the RetroSeed product line. The company purchases recyclable materials from suppliers and resells the resulting recycled PET (RPET) and specialty polyol products to industrial customers in the UPR and PUR/PIR industries.
Is Reterra a public or private company?
Reterra is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Reterra founded?
Reterra was founded in 1999. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Reterra based?
Reterra is headquartered in Houston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Reterra make money?
One revenue line is on record: recycled Raw Materials Sales.
Who are Reterra's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Eastman Chemical Company, Carbios, Loop Industries, Ioniqa Technologies, Jeplan, APK AG, CarbonLite and Plastipak Holdings. Broad incumbents are Indorama Ventures and BASF.
Does Reterra have an API?
No public API is recorded for Reterra.
What industry is Reterra in?
Reterra's product category is Plastic Recycling. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAIAKAC, Chemical/Advanced Recycling (Pyrolysis, Depolymerization, Solvolysis, Gasification). Its NAICS code is 325110 and its SIC code is 2821.