WeRecycle

What WeRecycle does

WeRecycle, operating under WR Group AG following a December 2025 restructuring that wound down WeRecycle AG and Recycling Services AG, is a Switzerland-based subscription recycling collection service founded in 2015. The company targets three customer segments through tiered subscriptions: private households (Home, from CHF 18.25/month with 35L bags, 1-2 pickups/month), small and medium businesses (Business, from CHF 27.40/month with 4x110L bags, 1-4 pickups/month), and municipalities, event organizers and property owners (Individual, custom-priced multi-year contracts). Subscribers receive collection bags made from 100% recycled plastic produced in Germany, place unsorted recyclables — spanning aluminium, PET, glass, beverage cartons, electronics, batteries, coffee capsules, cork, and other specialty materials that municipal programs often exclude — at the doorstep, and receive SMS reminders before scheduled pickup. WeRecycle then routes the bags to regional partner sorting stations where materials are separated by hand before onward recycling.

The company covers 264 Swiss postal codes and additionally serves the Principality of Liechtenstein, with reporting figures of 824,315 kg of recyclables collected and 1,224,315 kg of CO2 saved in 2025 at an average 34% recycling rate. The revenue model combines recurring subscription fees (with 6/12/24/36-month billing cycles and annual prepay discounts) with a secondary e-commerce shop selling sustainable products across clothing, home & living, garden, wellness and recycling-accessory categories, plus affiliate distribution through the Adtraction network. Technology is operational rather than digital-native: SMS-based scheduling, manual sorting, and a standard WordPress/Elementor e-commerce stack with Stripe, PayPal, TWINT, Brevo and Google Analytics. A distinguishing structural feature is the use of social-sector labor via partnerships with CB Stiftung, the Amt für Justizvollzug des Kantons Zürich, and Ökoservice for vocational integration.

Name

WeRecycle

Legal name

WR Group AG

Website

https://werecycle.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WeRecycle (WR Group AG) operates a Switzerland-wide subscription recycling pickup service for households, SMBs, and municipalities, collecting unsorted recyclables in 100%-recycled bags across 264 postal codes, complemented by a sustainable-products e-commerce shop.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recycling Collection Services

NAICS

Solid Waste Collection (562111), Waste Collection (5621)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Eco-Friendly Disposal, Recycling & Donation Hauling (HSAIAOAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Recycling & E-Waste Collection/Hauling (HSAKALAJ), On-site Recycling Programs (Single-Stream, Source-Separated) (BPABALAB), Donation Pickup & Reuse Hauling (HSAKALAI)

Keywords

• Recycling collection services
• Subscription waste management
• Household recycling pickup
• Sustainable product retail
• Circular economy services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kemptthal

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Recycling Subscription Services: Recurring subscription fees for recycling pickup services. Three tiers: Business (CHF 27.40+/month for 1-4 pickups with 4x110L bags), Home (CHF 18.25+/month for 1-2 pickups with 35L bags), and Individual (custom pricing for municipalities and event organizers). Billing cycles are 6, 12, 24, or 36 months. Annual payment includes 1 month free.
2. E-commerce Product Sales: Online shop selling sustainable products including clothing, home & living items, garden & outdoor, wellbeing/wellness, and recycling/disposal accessories. Products sourced from various suppliers and shipped within Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
3. Affiliate Marketing: Partner program via Adtraction network where affiliates earn 8% commission on referred sales. Managed by Swiss company Connects AG in Baar.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

WeRecycle operates a doorstep recycling collection subscription service in Switzerland, picking up unsorted recyclables (aluminum, PET, glass, plastics, electronics, coffee capsules, batteries, and more) in collection bags made from 100% recycled plastic produced in Germany. Materials are manually sorted by hand at regional sorting stations, eliminating the need for customers to separate waste or travel to decentralized collection points. The company complements its core pickup service with an online shop selling sustainable lifestyle products across categories including clothing, home goods, wellness, garden, and recycling accessories.

Product overview

WeRecycle operates a subscription-based recycling collection service combined with an e-commerce sustainable products marketplace. The core offering consists of three subscription tiers: Business (for companies, 1-4 monthly pickups with 110L bags starting at CHF 27.40/month), Home (for households, 1-2 monthly pickups with 35L bags starting at CHF 18.25/month), and Individual (customized for municipalities and property owners). Customers receive WeRecycle collection bags made from 100% recycled plastic and place unsorted recyclables for scheduled doorstep pickup. The FLEX add-on allows extra bags or cardboard orders between regular pickups. Separately, the WeRecycle Onlineshop sells sustainable lifestyle products across categories including home & living, clothing, leisure, and wellness. The company also provides a Recycling Guide resource covering acceptance of 18+ material types. Both services share the brand identity, customer base, and distribution infrastructure (pickup routes, customer service, logistics).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Recycling Abonnement Business Subscription service for businesses providing 1, 2, or 4 scheduled pickups per month with 4 collection bags (110 liters each) included per pickup, plus SMS reminder notifications. Starting at CHF 27.40 per month. Designed for companies with regular operational recycling volumes.
• Recycling Abonnement Home Subscription service for households providing 1 or 2 scheduled pickups per month with practical 35-liter collection bags. Starting at CHF 18.25 per month. Designed for Swiss households seeking convenient recycling without sorting or trips to collection centers.
• Recycling Abonnement Individual Customized subscription service for municipalities, event organizers, and property owners offering tailored, flexible, and economical recycling solutions. Pricing available on request; billing on multi-year contracts.
• WeRecycle FLEX Add-on service allowing existing subscription customers to order extra collection bags or cardboard pickup between scheduled pickups. Orders must be placed at least 48 hours before pickup.
• WeRecycle Onlineshop E-commerce platform selling sustainable products across categories including clothing (mode, bags, accessories), home & living (storage, cooking, decor, garden, energy saving, cleaning), leisure (outdoor, board games, children's games, puzzles), wellbeing/wellness (fragrances, candles, body care, cosmetics, supplements), recycling & disposal (bins, collection boxes, containers), and pet supplies. Ships within Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40% more recyclables collected compared to self-sorting households
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration19 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AdtractioncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWeRecycle participates in the Adtraction affiliate network managed by Swiss company Connects AG in Baar. Affiliates earn 8% commission on referred sales with 30-day cookie tracking. The program offers various ad formats including banners, rectangles, leaderboards, and links.
• ReviewForest / Plant-for-the-PlanetminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFor each Google review submitted, ReviewForest plants a tree through the Plant-for-the-Planet foundation. Trees are planted in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula to restore degraded tropical forests. WeRecycle pays for each review to incentivize customer feedback.
• CB StiftungcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial sector partner providing employment opportunities for people with difficulties entering the primary labor market. WeRecycle provides meaningful work at sorting facilities.
• Amt für Justizvollzug Kanton ZürichcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Zurich cantonal justice department for employment of former inmates (Freigänger). Provides pathway back to employment for incarcerated individuals.
• ÖkoservicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial integration partner providing vocational integration programs. WeRecycle employs workers from integration measures.
• CembraPay AG (Swissbilling)coreOthersInvoice processing partner for private customer subscriptions. CembraPay sends invoices on behalf of WeRecycle and allows customers to pay in installments. WeRecycle uses Swissbilling by CembraPay AG for accounts receivable management.
• VSPR (Verein Schweizer Plastic Recycler)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeRecycle is a member of the Swiss Plastic Recyclers Association, which developed monitoring systems in collaboration with EMPA for transparent tracking of material flows.
• Regional Partner Companies (Sorting Stations)coreTechnology or IntegrationRegional partner companies handle manual sorting of collected materials at sorting stations, separating individual recyclable types for proper recycling processing.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ridwell: Ridwell is a US subscription-based doorstep recycling pickup service (founded 2017, Seattle) that similarly collects hard-to-recycle items beyond municipal curbside. Closest direct comparable on subscription model, no-sort convenience positioning, and multi-material acceptance.
• TerraCycle: TerraCycle operates national and international programs for hard-to-recycle waste streams (cigarette butts, coffee capsules, electronics) — overlapping directly with WeRecycle's specialty-material acceptance (TetraPak, coffee capsules, toner cartridges, cork). Comparable on 'items municipalities won't take' positioning.
• CleanHub: CleanHub is a plastic-waste collection and traceability platform serving brands and consumers globally. Compares to WeRecycle on subscription/collection of plastic waste streams with brand-funded sustainability positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Recology: Recology is one of the largest employee-owned waste and recycling haulers in the US West Coast, operating municipal and commercial collection. Overlaps with WeRecycle on integrated collection-sorting-recovery but at vastly greater scale and via municipal contracts.
• Rubicon Technologies: Rubicon is a waste and recycling technology platform serving haulers and generators with routing, analytics, and material-marketing tools. Adjacent but broader than WeRecycle — comparable as a tech-enabled waste-services operator, though Rubicon focuses on software vs. WeRecycle's direct collection.
• DS Smith Recycling: DS Smith operates paper and cardboard recycling and collection at scale across Europe. Comparable to WeRecycle on recyclable collection logistics and downstream sortation partnerships in DACH/Europe.

Regional players

• SENS eRecycling: SENS is the Swiss foundation running the nationwide e-waste take-back and recycling system — directly overlapping WeRecycle on electronics/battery collection in Switzerland and serving as both a peer and a potential downstream partner.
• IGORA Genossenschaft: IGORA is the Swiss industry cooperative for aluminum recycling collection and take-back. Comparable as a Swiss-based specialist recycler serving the same household/consumer material stream (aluminum) that WeRecycle collects.
• Bring Recycling AG (Bring! Lab): Bring! is a Swiss household shopping and recycling-list app widely used in DACH for organizing what to recycle/dispose of. Adjacent to WeRecycle on consumer recycling engagement in Switzerland, though not a direct collection competitor.

Emerging players

• too good to go: Too Good To Go is a European B2C app reducing food waste via surprise bags — adjacent mission and DACH footprint, but different material stream. Comparable on consumer subscription/marketplace model for sustainability-driven households.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/werecycle.ch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

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 WeRecycle