Plastic Recycling Corporation of California

What Plastic Recycling Corporation of California does

Plastic Recycling Corporation of California (PRCC) is a California nonprofit corporation founded in 1995 and headquartered in Sonoma, California, that brokers recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bales derived from #1 beverage containers. It operates a two-sided marketplace connecting California-based PET recyclers, collectors, and processors (sellers) with reclaimers and packaging manufacturers (buyers), facilitating transactions and earning fees on each sale. The organization's core differentiator is a full-time quality inspector who travels throughout California to certify bale consistency — a service quality layer that PRCC explicitly markets as a competitive moat. Since 1995, PRCC has facilitated the sale of 4,466,617,903 lbs of recycled PET, equivalent to approximately 72.8 billion beverage containers.

Name

Plastic Recycling Corporation of California

Legal name

P E T Recycling Corporation of California

Website

https://prcc.biz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Plastic Recycling Corporation of California (PRCC) is a Sonoma-based nonprofit founded in 1995 that brokers recycled PET bales from California beverage containers, connecting collectors with reclaimers and packaging manufacturers via transaction-fee pricing and a statewide quality-inspection program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plastic Recycling & PET Bale Brokering

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (562920)

akta.pro primary industry

Post-Consumer Plastic Collection & Sorting (MRF/PRF, Bale Supply) (EUAIAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Recycled Resin Trading & Distribution (PCR/PIR Commodity Markets) (EUAIAKAK), Food-Grade & rPET/rHDPE Recycling (Decontamination/SSP, Bottle-to-Bottle) (EUAIAKAD)

Keywords

• PET container recycling
• Recycled plastic baling
• Beverage container recovery
• RPET material brokering
• Post-consumer resin trading

Headquarters

HQ city

Sonoma

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. PET Bale Brokering: PRCC brokers PET bales, connecting sellers (collectors/processors) with buyers (reclaimers, manufacturers). The company facilitates transactions, ensuring stable markets and transparent pricing for #1 PET beverage containers collected in California.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Plastic Recycling Corporation of California (PRCC) brokers PET bales of recycled #1 PET (polyethylene terephthalate) beverage containers to reclaimers and packaging manufacturers in California. The organization ensures stable markets and increased value for PET collected in California by providing transparent pricing, reliable volumes, and quality-assured bales verified through a full-time statewide quality inspector. Since 1995, PRCC has facilitated the sale of over 4.4 billion pounds of recycled PET representing approximately 72.8 billion beverage containers.

Product overview

PRCC operates as a PET recycling and baling service that processes #1 PET beverage containers collected in California. The core offerings consist of PET Bales (quality-assured, brokered bales sold to reclaimers and manufacturers) and broader PET Recycling Services (collecting, processing, and marketing recycled PET to ensure stable markets). Since 1995, PRCC has sold over 4.4 billion pounds of recycled PET and provides market intelligence through regular PET Market Updates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PET Bales Brokering Brokering of quality-assured #1 PET (polyethylene terephthalate) beverage container bales from California PET collectors and processors to reclaimers, packaging manufacturers, and emerging Mexican buyers, with transparent market-based pricing, reliable volumes, and statewide quality inspection.
• PET Recycling Market Services End-to-end California PET beverage container recycling services that coordinate collection processing, quality inspection, and market placement of #1 PET to ensure stable markets and increased material value, complemented by periodic PET Market Update intelligence publications.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,466,617,903 lbs of recycled PET sold (72,832,755,030 bottles returned) since 1995

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Waste Management: Largest US waste and recycling services provider with significant recycling infrastructure. Comparable to PRCC as an incumbent that aggregates PET bales at scale and could bypass independent brokers through direct supply relationships.
• Republic Services: Major US waste and recycling services provider with polymer recycling operations. Comparable to PRCC as a large incumbent competing for the same recycled PET feedstock and increasingly selling into the same rPET end markets.
• Novolex: US-based packaging manufacturer with significant sustainable packaging and PCR product lines. Comparable to PRCC because it is a downstream buyer of rPET and competes in the same recycled-content packaging market served by PRCC's broker customers.
• Veolia: Global environmental services and recycling incumbent with PET recycling operations. Comparable to PRCC as a large, established competitor in the broader plastics recycling market that has the resources to integrate vertically and disintermediate brokers.

Direct peers

• Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR): International trade association representing the plastics recycling industry. Peer because PRCC operates in the same PET/plastics recycling ecosystem and serves many of the same reclaimers and brand owners that APR represents.
• KW Plastics: One of the largest US PET and HDPE recyclers, processing bottles into PCR resin. Comparable to PRCC because it sits on the buyer side of the same PET bale market PRCC brokers, competing for the same California and national PET supply.
• Envision Plastics (a Novolex company): US-based plastics recycler operating in HDPE and PET recycling. Comparable to PRCC because it transacts in the same recycled resin markets and serves many of the same brand owners seeking PCR content.
• NAPCOR (National Association for PET Container Resources): US-based nonprofit industry association focused on PET container recovery and recycling. Directly comparable to PRCC as both are mission-driven organizations operating in the PET recycling value chain with overlapping stakeholders and education/outreach focus.
• CarbonLite: US-based PET bottle-to-bottle reclaimer producing food-grade rPET. Comparable to PRCC as a direct downstream buyer in the PET recycling value chain and a participant in the same California rPET supply market.

Regional players

• Recology: California-based employee-owned waste and recycling company. Comparable to PRCC as a regional player in California's recycling ecosystem, handling many of the same PET streams and operating in the same geographic market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plastic-recycling-corporation-of-california

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

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 Plastic Recycling Corporation of California