What Nextek does

Nextek is a UK-based sustainability technology consultancy founded in 2004 that develops recycling and circular-economy solutions for the plastics packaging industry, with a particular focus on enabling food-grade recycling of flexible films. Its flagship technology, COtooCLEAN, applies supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) in a waterless process to remove oils, fats, and absorbed contaminants from polyolefin films (PE and PP), and—when paired with green co-solvents—can delaminate multi-layer films and strip printing inks, restoring material to food-contact quality. Supporting technologies include PRISM, an intelligent marker-based sorting system using luminescent compounds compatible with existing Material Recovery Facility optical sorters, alongside a portfolio of multi-participant R&D projects (NEXTLOOPP, BioFreshPak, Safebiopack, Naked Plastics, NextCupCycle).

The firm's commercial offering combines the COtooCLEAN and PRISM technology platforms with a set of professional services—sustainability consultancy, recycling plant design and commissioning, training and support, market research, and material testing—delivered through direct enterprise engagement. Nextek serves brand owners, flexible packaging manufacturers, and recycling operators, with offices in London (headquarters), Melbourne, and Pune. Revenue mechanics rely on project-based fees, grant-funded R&D, and strategic partnerships; the most material commercial milestone to date is the March 2025 partnership with Coveris to build a UK-based industrial-scale demonstration plant implementing COtooCLEAN, following the company's $3 million Alliance Prize win in November 2022.

Name

Nextek

Legal name

Nextek Limited

Website

https://nextek.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nextek is a UK-based sustainability technology consultancy that develops supercritical CO2 decontamination technology (COtooCLEAN) to recycle flexible polyolefin films into food-grade material, serving brand owners, packaging manufacturers, and recycling operators globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plastic Recycling & Sustainability Consultancy

NAICS

Custom Compounding of Purchased Resins (325991), Resin and Synthetic Rubber Manufacturing (32521), All Other Plastics Product Manufacturing (326199)

SIC

Chemicals & Allied Products (2800), Unsupported Plastics Film & Sheet (3081), Miscellaneous Plastics Products (3080)

akta.pro primary industry

Recycling Equipment & Turnkey Reprocessing Systems (Extruders, Wash Lines) (IMANAMAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Circular Economy & Waste/Materials Reporting (Zero waste, packaging) (EUAHAJAL), Bio-based & Biodegradable Polymer Resin Manufacturing (PLA, PHA, PBS, PBAT) (IMANANAA)

Keywords

• Plastic recycling consultancy
• Sustainable packaging solutions
• Polymer recycling technology
• Food-grade recycled plastics
• Recycling plant design

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Consultancy Services: Nextek provides sustainability consultancy services to help businesses improve sustainability performance through better material choices, product design, and processing. Services include tailored projects addressing business sustainability needs.
2. Plant Design & Commissioning: Over 20 years of experience designing recycling plants, commissioning and implementing process improvements for clients.
3. Training & Support: Practical instruction and demonstration services ensuring personnel understand equipment, process and materials for long operational success.
4. Market Research: Detailed scientific reports in the specific field of polymers and recycling for client businesses.
5. Material Testing: Innovative recycling technologies and material sample analysis services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Nextek is a sustainability technology consultancy that helps enterprises improve sustainability performance through better materials, product design, and processing. Its proprietary core technology, COtooCLEAN, uses supercritical CO2 to decontaminate post-consumer polyolefin films (PE and PP) back to food-grade quality. The firm also offers consultancy, recycling plant design and commissioning, training and support, R&D collaboration, market research, and material testing services.

Product overview

Nextek is a sustainability technology consultancy offering a portfolio of recycling solutions and services. The core technology is COtooCLEAN, a supercritical CO2-based waterless cleaning process that decontaminates polyolefin films (PE and PP) to food-grade quality. Supporting services include consultancy, recycling plant design, training, research and development, market research, and material testing. The company also runs collaborative projects including NEXTLOOPP (food-grade recycled polypropylene), PRISM (intelligent marker-based sorting), BioFreshPak (bio-based packaging), and Safebiopack (active sustainable packaging), along with initiatives like Naked Plastics and NextCupCycle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• COtooCLEAN: Waterless cleaning process for polyolefin films using supercritical CO2 to decontaminate post-consumer plastic films back to food-grade quality.

Products and services

• COtooCLEAN Cutting-edge waterless cleaning process for polyolefin films (PE and PP) using supercritical CO2 to remove oils, fats, and absorbed contaminants, restoring material to food-grade quality. Combined with green co-solvents, it can also delaminate multi-layer films and remove printing inks.
• Consultancy Services Sustainability consulting services helping businesses improve sustainability performance through better choice of materials, product design, and improved processing. Projects are tailored to meet specific business needs.
• Plant Design & Commissioning

Quantifiable outcome

• COtooCLEAN won $3 million Alliance Prize to fast-track deployment

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CoveriscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2025Partnership to transform mechanical recycling of flexible films with COtooCLEAN process. Coveris is a leading European packaging company specializing in high-performance flexible and paper packaging. A UK-based demonstration plant is being developed implementing COtooCLEAN at industrial scale. Goal is to convert post-consumer polyolefin (PE & PP) packaging waste into high-quality food-grade recycled resins and films. Coveris has a 'No Waste' strategy and operates 28 sites across EMEA region with 4,000 employees.
• NEXTLOOPPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-participant initiative creating circular food-grade recycled polypropylene from post-consumer packaging. Nextek is a key participant in this project. L'Oréal became the first brand owner to join NEXTLOOPP Americas.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Carbios: France-based biotech company developing enzymatic and biological processes for plastic recycling (notably PET) into food-grade monomers. Comparable to Nextek as an advanced / specialty recycling technology firm targeting food-contact-grade outputs and brand-owner partnerships.
• Plastic Energy: UK-headquartered advanced recycling company using thermal depolymerization to convert end-of-life plastics into oils for new plastics production. Comparable to Nextek as a UK-based advanced plastics recycling technology firm selling sustainability outcomes to brand owners.
• APK AG: Germany-based company operating Newcycling® solvent-based recycling processes for polyolefins and multi-layer films into virgin-grade recyclates. Highly comparable to COtooCLEAN: solvent-based decontamination of polyolefin films for food-contact applications.
• MBA Polymers: US/UK-based plastics recycling company producing high-quality recycled resins from complex post-consumer plastic streams. Comparable to Nextek as a technology-led plastics recycler focused on delivering high-purity, spec-in recyclates for demanding applications.
• Recycling Technologies: UK-based advanced plastic recycling technology company developing proprietary processes to convert mixed/waste plastics into valuable outputs. Directly comparable to Nextek as a small, UK-headquartered plastics-recycling-technology specialist selling to brand owners and converters.

Broad incumbents

• Eastman Chemical Company: Large US specialty chemicals and advanced materials company that has invested heavily in polyester and chemical recycling (including methanolysis). A broad incumbent whose advanced recycling ambitions overlap with Nextek's food-grade recycling thesis, but at vastly greater scale.
• LyondellBasell: One of the world's largest polyolefin producers with major mechanical and advanced recycling investments (Circulen line, MoReTec). Comparable to Nextek as an incumbent moving into polyolefin recycling at scale, but competing from a resin-producer position rather than a technology-licensor position.
• BASF: Global chemical giant with significant ChemCycling® activities and investments in plastic-to-feedstock recycling technologies. Comparable as a broad incumbent with overlapping advanced plastics recycling capabilities and brand-owner partnerships, though across a much wider portfolio.

Emerging players

• Gr3n Recycling: Switzerland-based startup applying microwave-assisted chemical recycling (MARS) to PET and polyester. Comparable emerging player advancing chemical recycling for food-grade applications, illustrating the broader competitive set Nextek's COtooCLEAN enters.
• CuRe Technology: Netherlands-based startup using polyester depolymerization to recycle PET and polyester streams into virgin-grade monomers. Emerging player with partial overlap to Nextek's food-grade recycled resin thesis, focused on a different polymer but the same end-market of food-contact recycled content.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nextekltd
• YouTubenextek.org/youtube
• Facebookfacebook.com/NextekLtd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 Nextek