What Ocean Plastic Technologies (pty) Ltd does

Ocean Plastic Technologies (Pty) Ltd, branded as OPT.EARTH, is a South African-headquartered private company (founded 2016, 11-50 employees) that develops and deploys Micro Recycling Pods (MRPs) — portable, modular recycling units that wash, dry and shred plastic waste on-site to produce densified raw material. The technology is structured around a Hub-and-Spoke architecture in which low-volume pods preprocess plastic at the source before delivery to a central hub for granulation, with a blockchain-backed Track & Trace layer providing tamper-proof records for EPR compliance. The company also operates specialised processes for difficult-to-recycle streams, notably vapes and e-cigarettes.

Revenue is generated across multiple streams: Recycling as a Service (RaaS), direct MRP sales and corporate sponsorship, buy-back of processed recycled materials supplied to manufacturers, and custom Circular Products manufactured from recycled feedstock via a rapid-prototyping studio. Go-to-market combines enterprise field sales targeting governments, municipalities and large corporates for EPR/ESG contracts with a community-led distribution model in which local entrepreneurs operate MRPs in underserved areas. Capital is sourced through four investment tracks (seed funding, MRP sponsorship, direct MRP investment, and donations), and cumulative impact metrics disclosed include 497 direct jobs created and 2,840 tons of plastic recycled across the network. Operational footprint spans EMEA (Waterfall, South Africa) and The Americas (OPT USA Inc), with no disclosed revenue, funding history, or named enterprise customers in the available data.

Name

Ocean Plastic Technologies (pty) Ltd

Legal name

Ocean Plastic Technologies (Pty) Ltd

Website

https://oceanplastictechnologies.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ocean Plastic Technologies develops and deploys portable Micro Recycling Pods that wash, dry and shred plastic waste on-site into densified raw material for re-entry into supply chains, serving governments, corporates, and community entrepreneurs via RaaS contracts, hardware sponsorship, and circular product manufacturing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plastic Recycling Equipment

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Plastics Product Manufacturing (3261)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Miscellaneous Plastics Products (3080)

akta.pro primary industry

Mechanical Recycling (Wash, Grind, Pelletize) (EUAIAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Plastic Recycling Equipment & Technology Providers (Sorting, Washing, Extrusion) (EUAIAKAM), Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) & Single-Stream Recycling Processing (IMAIAFAD), Recycled-Content Plastic Packaging (rPET, rHDPE, rPP) (IMALAMAC)

Keywords

• Micro recycling equipment
• Plastic waste processing
• Circular economy solutions
• Recycling as a service
• Recycled raw materials

Headquarters

HQ city

Waterfall

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Recycling as a Service (RaaS): Turnkey solution where OPT provides equipment, expertise, and ongoing support to help companies and governments process plastic waste efficiently. Flexible managed service model.
2. Micro Recycling Pod Sales and Sponsorship: Sale or sponsorship of Micro Recycling Pods to investors, corporations, and partners. Multiple sponsorship options available for ESG, corporate social responsibility, and marketing requirements.
3. Recycled Materials - Buy-back Programme: Buy-back programmes for processed materials. Qualified recycled stock feed supplied to companies looking for sustainable raw materials. Materials re-enter circular economy supply chain.
4. Circular Products - Custom Manufacturing: Working with clients to create practical products from recycled plastic. Cutting-edge design, rapid prototyping, and efficient production methods. Customised manufactured products with purpose.
5. Seed Funding and Investment: Seed funding from like-minded individuals and companies looking to invest in proven circular economy solutions.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ocean Plastic Technologies designs, manufactures and deploys Micro Recycling Pods (MRPs) - portable, modular units that wash, dry and shred plastic waste on-site into high-value densified raw material. It sells Recycling as a Service (RaaS) contracts, supplies recycled stock feed through buy-back programmes, and produces customised circular products from recycled plastic.

Product overview

Ocean Plastic Technologies operates as a platform of interconnected micro recycling solutions centered on the Micro Recycling Pod (MRP) as the core product. The portfolio includes Recycling as a Service (RaaS) for enterprise deployment of MRPs, Recycled Materials for buy-back and raw material supply, and Circular Products for custom manufacturing from recycled plastic. R&D services support specialized recycling processes. The modular Micro Recycling Pods form the foundation, with RaaS providing deployment infrastructure, and ancillary offerings leveraging the processed materials and technology capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Recycling as a Service (RaaS): Turnkey solution providing equipment, expertise and ongoing support for companies to process plastic waste efficiently
• Micro Recycling Pods
• Track & Trace

Products and services

• Micro Recycling Pods (MRP) Mobile, modular recycling units that wash, dry and shred plastic waste on-site into high-value densified raw material. Each pod processes 25kg to 100kg of plastic per hour and operates standalone or as part of a Hub-and-Spoke system. Built to handle hard-to-recycle plastics including vapes and e-cigarettes.
• Recycling as a Service (RaaS) Turnkey managed service providing equipment, expertise, training and ongoing support to governments, municipalities and corporations for processing plastic waste efficiently and meeting EPR/ESG targets.
• Recycled Materials Buy-back programme supplying qualified recycled stock feed to companies and manufacturers seeking sustainable raw materials to reduce reliance on virgin plastic.
• Circular Products Custom manufactured products created from recycled ocean and waste plastic, including rapid prototyping, cutting-edge design and efficient production methods enabling businesses to embrace circular economy principles.
• Research and Development Specialised recycling processes developed for materials previously considered difficult or impossible to recycle, including vapes and e-cigarettes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 3X more income for reclaimers and collectors compared to conventional buy-back programmes
• +5 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• TOMRA: Global leader in sensor-based sorting equipment for waste and recycling streams, supplying optical sorters and reverse vending machines to MRFs and recyclers. Comparable as a recycling-technology provider whose sorting infrastructure sits upstream of OPT's processing.
• Veolia: Global waste management and environmental services giant operating recycling and materials recovery infrastructure across multiple continents. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose recycling, RaaS-style managed services, and EPR offerings overlap with OPT's enterprise go-to-market.
• KW Plastics: One of the world's largest plastics recyclers, producing recycled polypropylene and polyethylene resins from post-consumer and post-industrial sources. Comparable as a large-scale mechanical recycler of rigid plastics serving brand and manufacturing buyers.

Direct peers

• Plastic Bank: Social enterprise that operates collection networks in coastal communities to recover and recycle plastic waste into Social Plastic feedstock. Highly comparable business model to OPT: community-led collection, traceable supply chain, and sale of recycled material to corporate ESG buyers.
• Recycling Technologies: UK-based company developing modular plastic-to-oil recycling units (RT7000) deployable at smaller scale than traditional facilities. Closely comparable to OPT in offering modular, distributed plastic recycling technology targeting hard-to-recover streams.
• MBA Polymers: Global leader in post-consumer rigid plastics recovery (especially from electronics and appliances), producing engineering-grade recycled resins. Comparable as a specialized rigid plastics recycler with similar buyer profile of manufacturers seeking recycled-content feedstock.
• Precious Plastic: Open-source community of small-scale plastic recycling workshops using washing, shredding, and extrusion machines to produce recycled products locally. Direct conceptual peer to OPT's Micro Recycling Pods and community-led model.

Emerging players

• Carbios: French biotech company developing enzymatic recycling technology for PET plastics and partnering with consumer brands on circular packaging. Comparable as an emerging technology player in plastic recycling with corporate ESG and sustainability value proposition.
• Plastic Energy: UK/Spain-based company operating advanced (chemical) recycling plants that convert end-of-life plastics into oils for new plastic production. Comparable as an emerging plastic-recycling technology player addressing hard-to-recycle streams and selling recycled output to brand owners.
• Bantam Materials: South Africa-based plastic-to-product recycling startup building localized recycling and remanufacturing infrastructure for hard-to-recycle streams. Regional emerging peer with strong conceptual overlap to OPT's Micro Recycling Pods and community-deployment model in South Africa.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ocean-plastic-technologies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 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 Ocean Plastic Technologies (pty) Ltd