Upp!
Upp! (UPP! UpCycling Plastic bv) is a Netherlands-based circular economy company that operates modular plastic-recycling factories converting unsorted mixed plastic and textile waste into construction materials for regions, municipalities, and waste management operators across Europe and Southeast Asia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersZuidermeer, Netherlands
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Upp! does
Upp! (legal entity: UPP! UpCycling Plastic bv) is a Netherlands-based circular economy company founded in 2017 by Jan Jaap Folmer that develops and operates modular "Circular Plastic Factories" converting difficult-to-recycle mixed plastic and textile waste into durable construction materials such as planks, poles, drainage systems, decking, and street furniture for local markets. Its core technology is the Plastech Mixer/Melter (PMM), licensed from Australian partner PlasTech Recycling and marketed as the UnWastor or "Green Machine," which uses friction heat to melt unsorted, unwashed, and unshredded mixed plastic streams at their respective melting points—eliminating the energy-intensive sorting, washing, and shredding steps required by conventional recyclers—and extrudes finished products directly without an intermediate pelletizing stage.
The company serves regions, cities, waste management operators, and development organizations through a B2B/B2G project-development model. Revenue derives from direct sales of construction materials in the regions where factories operate, supplemented by factory operations, project-based partnerships, and potential technology licensing. Two factories anchor the current footprint: a 4,000 tpa demonstration facility in Farmsum/Groningen, Netherlands, operational since Q4 2025 (24/7 from Q1 2026) under the UPPACT Australian-Dutch joint venture, and a 2,000-4,500 tpa pilot in Sidoarjo/Surabaya, Indonesia, operational from Q1 2026 under the PT. Uppcycle Sustainindo Perkasa joint venture with local partner PT. Sumber Djaja Perkasa. The head office is in Zuidermeer, Netherlands, with active operations in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Upp! finances growth primarily through grants and corporate sponsorship rather than venture capital: key backers include the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (whose members include BASF, Dow, and Total), Beiersdorf's Women in Circularity Program II, MVO-Nederland, and P4G. The company's stated long-term ambition is to save over 250,000 tons of plastic waste from incineration, landfills, and oceans across more than five countries and enable more than ten plastic-waste-free cities, supported by a portfolio of strategic partnerships spanning financial backers, technology licensors, regional operators, waste suppliers, and impact organizations.
Upp! firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Upp!
- Legal name
- UPP! UpCycling Plastic bv
- Website
- https://upcyclingplastic.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Upp! (UPP! UpCycling Plastic bv) is a Netherlands-based circular economy company that operates modular plastic-recycling factories converting unsorted mixed plastic and textile waste into construction materials for regions, municipalities, and waste management operators across Europe and Southeast Asia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Upp! industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Recycled Plastic Products & Circular Manufacturing
- NAICS
- Other Plastics Product Manufacturing (32619), Plastics Product Manufacturing (3261), Plastics Pipe, Pipe Fitting, and Unlaminated Profile Shape Manufacturing (32612)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Plastics Products (3080), Misc Industrial & Commercial Machinery & Equipment (3590)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Plastic Recycling Equipment & Technology Providers (Sorting, Washing, Extrusion) (EUAIAKAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Rigid Plastics Recycling (HDPE/PP, Injection/Blow Molded) (EUAIAKAF), Industrial Packaging Waste Services (Pallets, Cardboard, Film, IBCs/Drums—Non-hazardous) (EUAIAGAD), Recycled & Sustainable Thermoformed Products (rPET/rPP, Bio-based) (IMANAHAL)
Keywords
Where Upp! is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Zuidermeer
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
Upp! business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Product Sales: Upp! generates revenue by selling construction materials and products manufactured from recycled plastic waste, including plastic planks, poles, drainage systems, decking, street furniture, and irrigation systems for local markets.
- Factory Operations and Licensing: Upp! develops and operates circular plastic factories in partnership with local entities. Revenue comes from processing waste, producing and selling products, and potentially licensing the technology to partners in new regions.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
Upp! product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Upp! develops and operates modular circular plastic factories that use Plastech Recycling's proprietary UnWastor/PMM technology to convert unsorted, unwashed, and unshredded mixed plastic and textile waste into construction materials. Output products include plastic planks, poles, drainage systems, decking, street furniture, and irrigation systems sold into local infrastructure and construction markets through joint-venture factories in the Netherlands, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Product overview
Upp! is a circular economy company that operates the UPP! Circular Plastic Factory, a modular recycling solution that processes non-recyclable mixed plastic waste into construction materials. The core technology uses Plastech Recycling's proprietary PMM-technology (Plastech Mixer/Melter), marketed as the UnWastor machine. The company operates through regional subsidiaries including UPPACT (an Australian-Dutch joint venture running the demo factory in Farmsum, Netherlands) and PT. Uppcycle Sustainindo Perkasa (operating the commercial factory in Sidoarjo, Indonesia). Output products include planks, poles, decking material, street furniture, irrigation systems, and drainage systems designed for local markets.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- UPPACT: An Australian-Dutch Joint Venture processing difficult-to-recycle plastic and textile waste streams into robust and recyclable products and applications in the Netherlands and NW Europe.
- Upp! Circular Plastic Factory
- UnWastor / Green Machine
Products and services
- UPP! Circular Plastic Factory A modular circular economy factory solution that processes non-recyclable mixed plastic and textile waste streams into durable construction materials using Plastech Recycling's proprietary PMM-technology. Sold/deployed as a project to regions, cities, and municipalities seeking to establish local circular plastic economies.
- Recycled Plastic Construction Products
Quantifiable outcome
- 250,000 tons of plastic waste to be saved from incineration, landfills, and oceans across 5+ countries
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Upp!
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Upp! technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Upp! partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.
- PT. Sumber Djaja Perkasa (SDP)corePT. Sumber Djaja Perkasa is the local partner in Indonesia for the joint venture PT. Uppcycle Sustainindo Perkasa. SDP hosts the UPP! Circular Plastic Factory at their facility in Sidoarjo, contributing local market knowledge, operations infrastructure, and regional supply chain access.
- Plastech RecyclingcorePlastech Recycling is the technology provider for the UnWastor/Green Machine that forms the core of Upp!'s recycling technology. Their Australian-developed PMM (Plastech Mixer/Melter) technology processes unsorted, unwashed, unshredded mixed plastic waste into finished products.
- Bek & VerburgcoreBek & Verburg is a marine waste specialist and shipping waste partner for the UPPACT project in Eemshaven, Netherlands. They supply maritime plastic waste (fishing nets and shipping plastic waste) for processing at the Upp! facility.
- Sympact SolutionscoreSympact Solutions provides sustainable solutions for textile waste as part of the UPPACT partnership. They contribute expertise in processing textile waste streams alongside plastic waste in the Upp! circular ecosystem.
- MVO NederlandmajorMVO Nederland leads the 'Plastic in Circles' (Plastics in Circularity Indonesia - PICI) program for plastic waste value chain solutions in Indonesia. Upp!'s Surabaya project is part of this consortium, with MVO providing organizational support and connections to the Dutch CSR business network.
- Joost de WaardsupportingJoost de Waard serves as consultant and project manager for the Indonesia project, coordinating and managing the first phase of project preparation and feasibility with financial support from MVO-NL and Ministry of Buza iMVO voucher.
- JCI SrikandisupportingJCI Srikandi is a women-led organization that collaborates with PT. UPPcycle Sustainindo Perkasa and UKWMS to provide healthcare and educational services for waste pickers in Indonesia, as part of the Beiersdorf Women in Circularity Program.
- Universitas Katolik Widya Mandala Surabaya (UKWMS)supportingUKWMS collaborates with PT. UPPcycle Sustainindo Perkasa and JCI Srikandi to provide healthcare services and medical education for waste pickers in the landfill areas of Gresik and Sidoarjo, Indonesia.
- Impact RecyclingsupportingImpact Recycling partnered with Uppact for pilot installations in Eemshaven, Netherlands. Their BOSS-technique machine processes plastic fishing net material into polyethylene and polypropylene, complementing Upp!'s technology.
- Plug and PlaysupportingTechnology and innovation ecosystem partner shown in Upp!'s partner logos.
- The Great Bubble BarriersupportingEnvironmental technology partner working on solutions for plastic pollution in waterways, shown in Upp!'s partner ecosystem.
- RecikisupportingReciki manages TPST Lamongan waste processing facility near Surabaya, which Upp! visited as part of their Indonesia project development activities.
- TEDx Amsterdam Impact ProgramsupportingTEDx Amsterdam's Impact Program supports Upp! through business development workshops, storytelling coaching, pitching mentorship, and monthly 1-on-1 mentorship provided by DEPT Agency, helping bring visibility and connections to the startup.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Upp! competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ByFusion: ByFusion converts mixed, contaminated plastic waste into construction-grade building blocks (ByBlocks) without sorting or pre-processing — the closest functional analog to Upp!'s direct-to-product mixed-plastic processing approach.
- PlasTech Recycling: The Australian developer and licensor of the UnWastor/PMM technology that Upp! deploys; comparable product/process and underlying IP, though PlasTech operates as upstream equipment licensor rather than factory operator.
- Renewlogy: Renewlogy runs advanced (chemical) recycling plants converting mixed and contaminated plastics into fuels and feedstocks, addressing the same 'hard-to-recycle' waste streams targeted by Upp!.
Broad incumbents
- MBA Polymers: Long-established advanced mechanical recycler producing recovered plastics from end-of-life durable goods and WEEE — operates at much larger scale and serves a similar circular-plastics thesis as Upp!.
- Plastic Energy: Global operator of chemical recycling plants converting mixed and contaminated plastic waste into pyrolysis oil for new plastics — competing alternative pathway for the same difficult plastic waste streams.
- Carbios: French biotech developing enzymatic recycling of PET and mixed plastics into virgin-grade monomers — same end goal of true plastic circularity but different technical pathway.
Emerging players
- Plastic Bank: Social enterprise that collects and recycles ocean-bound plastic in developing regions, monetizing through ESG-linked credit sales; comparable emerging-market, mission-aligned plastic-recycling business model.
- Precious Plastic: Open-source community of small-scale workshops processing mixed plastic waste into products and construction materials — analogous grassroots, low-capex approach to localized plastic upcycling.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key highlights10 records
Customer concentration
Upp! social profiles
Digital presenceUpp! financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Upp! leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Upp! subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Upp! funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Upp! 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 Upp!
What does Upp! do?
Upp! develops and operates modular circular plastic factories that use Plastech Recycling's proprietary UnWastor/PMM technology to convert unsorted, unwashed, and unshredded mixed plastic and textile waste into construction materials. Output products include plastic planks, poles, drainage systems, decking, street furniture, and irrigation systems sold into local infrastructure and construction markets through joint-venture factories in the Netherlands, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Is Upp! a public or private company?
Upp! is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Upp! founded?
Upp! was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Upp! based?
Upp! is headquartered in Zuidermeer, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Upp! make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Product Sales are the primary driver. The others are factory Operations and Licensing.
Who are Upp!'s main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ByFusion, PlasTech Recycling and Renewlogy. Broad incumbents are MBA Polymers, Plastic Energy and Carbios. Emerging players are Plastic Bank and Precious Plastic.
Does Upp! have an API?
No public API is recorded for Upp!.
What industry is Upp! in?
Upp!'s product category is Recycled Plastic Products & Circular Manufacturing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAIAKAM, Plastic Recycling Equipment & Technology Providers (Sorting, Washing, Extrusion), with a secondary code of EUAIAKAF, Rigid Plastics Recycling (HDPE/PP, Injection/Blow Molded). Its NAICS code is 32619 and its SIC code is 3080.