Igora

What Igora does

Igora, legally IGORA-Genossenschaft für Aluminium-Recycling Schweiz, is a Swiss cooperative founded in 1989 and headquartered at Hohlstrasse 532, 8048 Zürich, that operates the private-sector voluntary collection and recycling system for aluminum packaging in Switzerland. Its core activity is collecting aluminum packaging — including beverage cans, food containers, pet food trays, and coffee capsules — through a national network of over 61,000 collection containers deployed across municipalities, businesses, schools, leisure facilities, clubs, and event venues, with the collected material processed in cooperation with European sorting centers and aluminum smelting plants.

The organization runs supporting digital tools to drive participation and visibility: an interactive Recycling Map (recycling-map.ch) for locating collection points, an Energie-Check calculator that quantifies the ~95% energy savings from recycling versus primary aluminum production, a myIGORA member portal (myigora.ch), and an online shop for purchasing collection containers. It also operates an Aludosen-Rücknahme (can return) service that contributes to a reported 90% recycling rate for aluminum beverage cans in Switzerland. Marketing and citizen engagement are delivered through an active presence on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and TikTok, alongside educational content on alu-recycling.ch in German, French, and Italian.

Igora's business model is structured as a cooperative (Genossenschaft): it is funded by its founding members from the Swiss beverage, food, pet food, aluminum, and retail industries, supplemented by operational fees for collection services and container sales. With 11–50 employees, the organization engages municipalities, companies, schools, event organizers, and clubs as collection-point operators through direct field engagement rather than a traditional sales-led GTM motion. The cooperative's stated mission is to optimize the recycling of aluminum packaging (the name derives from "Interessengemeinschaft für die Optimierung des Recyclings von Aluminium-Verpackungen"), and no venture capital, private equity, or public-market shareholders are indicated.

Name

Igora

Legal name

IGORA-Genossenschaft für Aluminium-Recycling Schweiz

Website

https://igora.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Igora is a Swiss cooperative founded in 1989 that operates a private-sector voluntary aluminum packaging collection and recycling system across Switzerland, serving municipalities, companies, schools, clubs, and event organizers through 61,000+ collection points.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aluminum Recycling Services

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (56292), Waste Collection (56211), Materials Recovery Facilities (562920)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Packaging Recovery & Closed-Loop Programs (Take-Back, Deposit-Return, EPR Support) (IMALAMAF)

Keywords

• Aluminum recycling
• Packaging collection
• Waste management services
• Recycling infrastructure
• Circular economy solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Cooperative membership and collection services: IGORA operates as a cooperative (Genossenschaft) founded by companies from the beverage, food, pet food, and aluminum industries plus retail. The organization runs a private-sector voluntary collection and recycling system funded by its member companies. Revenue appears to come from cooperative membership contributions and operational fees for collection services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IGORA operates a national, private-sector voluntary collection and recycling system for aluminum packaging (beverage cans, food containers, coffee capsules, pet food trays) across Switzerland. The cooperative runs more than 61,000 collection points in municipalities, businesses, schools, clubs, and event venues, and coordinates downstream sorting and smelting through European partners. Complementary offerings include an online shop for collection containers, an interactive recycling map, an energy-savings calculator, and the myIGORA member portal.

Product overview

Igora operates as a cooperative offering a unified aluminum recycling service for Switzerland. The core offering is the collection of aluminum packaging (beverage cans, food containers, coffee capsules) through a network of over 61,000 collection containers deployed across municipalities, businesses, schools, and event venues. Supporting services include an online shop for purchasing collection containers, a recycling map for locating collection points, an Energie-Check calculator tool for demonstrating energy savings, and the myIGORA member portal. The company facilitates collection at events through dedicated container rental services and collaborates with European sorting centers and aluminum smelting facilities to complete the recycling loop.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Alu-Sammlung (Aluminum Collection Service) Core collection and recycling service for aluminum packaging including beverage cans, food packaging, pet food trays, and coffee capsules, deployed through a network of 61,000+ collection points across Swiss municipalities, businesses, schools, and event venues.
• Sammelbehälter (Collection Containers) Physical collection containers sold via the online shop to municipalities, companies, schools, clubs, and event organizers to set up aluminum packaging collection points.
• Recycling Map Interactive online map service that locates aluminum packaging collection points throughout Switzerland for citizens and organizations.
• Energie-Check Online calculator that quantifies the energy and greenhouse gas savings achieved by recycling aluminum packaging compared with primary aluminum production.
• myIGORA Member portal for IGORA cooperative members to access services, manage recycling activities, and coordinate collection-point operations.
• Aludosen-Rücknahme (Can Return Service) Service dedicated to returning aluminum beverage cans, supporting the reported 90% recycling rate for aluminum drink cans in Switzerland.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% energy savings compared to primary aluminum production
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Swiss beverage, food, pet food, and aluminum industry companiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1989IGORA was founded in 1989 by companies from the beverage, food, pet food, and aluminum industries plus retail as a cooperative. These founding members established and fund the private-sector voluntary collection and recycling system.
• Swiss collection pointscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIGORA cooperates with Swiss collection points operated by municipalities, companies, schools, and other organizations. These partners provide the physical infrastructure for citizens to deposit aluminum packaging.
• European sorting centers and aluminum smelting plantscoreTechnology or IntegrationIGORA works with sorting centers and aluminum smelting plants across Europe to process collected aluminum packaging. These partnerships enable the actual recycling of collected materials.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Duales System Deutschland (Der Grüne Punkt): Germany's flagship EPR system for consumer packaging, operating nationwide collection and sorting of sales packaging. Comparable to IGORA as a producer-funded recovery organization, but at much larger scale and across multiple material streams.
• Ball Corporation: Global manufacturer of aluminum beverage cans with significant investments in can recycling and closed-loop initiatives. Comparable to IGORA at the aluminum beverage can value chain level, though Ball is upstream as a can producer with proprietary recycling programs.
• Novelis: Global aluminum rolling and recycling major, world's largest recycler of aluminum. Comparable to IGORA as a downstream buyer of collected aluminum scrap for closed-loop beverage can production, but operates at industrial scale rather than as a collection cooperative.
• PreZero: International environmental services company providing collection, sorting, and recycling of packaging materials across Europe. Comparable to IGORA at the operational sorting/recycling layer, though at much larger scale and as part of the Schwarz Group.

Regional players

• Stiftung Initiative Mehrweg: German non-profit promoting reusable and recycling beverage packaging systems. Comparable to IGORA as an industry-backed voluntary collection/recovery organization, but focused on Germany's reusable and PET bottle deposit-return ecosystem.
• Relevo: German start-up operating a digital deposit-return alternative for reusable coffee cups and beverage packaging. Comparable to IGORA as a packaging return collection operator with a tech-enabled consumer interface, but focused on reusable rather than recycled aluminum packaging.
• Repasack: Hungarian provider of reusable packaging systems for foodservice and event organizers. Comparable to IGORA's event collection service offering reusable and recyclable packaging solutions, though focused on reusable crates/containers rather than aluminum recycling.

Direct peers

• European Recycling Platform (ERP): Pan-European producer responsibility organization offering cross-border compliance for WEEE, batteries, and packaging. Comparable to IGORA in serving producers' compliance needs for packaging recovery across multiple European countries.
• TOMRA: Norwegian technology company providing reverse vending machines and sorting solutions for beverage container collection worldwide. Comparable to IGORA at the can return collection layer, with TOMRA providing the hardware that DRS schemes use — directly competing with IGORA's voluntary can return service.
• Interseroh: German environmental services provider operating one of Europe's leading producer responsibility systems for packaging recovery. Comparable to IGORA as an EPR service provider coordinating collection, sorting, and recycling of packaging on behalf of industry members.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/aluminiumrecycling
• LinkedInch.linkedin.com/company/igora-genossenschaft-f%C3%BCr-aluminium-recycling
• Instagraminstagram.com/igora_alu_recycling
• TikToktiktok.com/@igora_alu_recycling

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 Igora