Plastic waste recycling startup Ricron Panels raises funding from Boon Sustainable, others

Gujarat-based plastic waste recycling startup Ricron Panels has raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A funding round led by Boon Sustainable Technologies. 

The round also saw participation from Harsh Mohunta (Managing Director, Classic Display Systems), Dinesh Babbar (Ex-President, Infra.Market), Boutique investment bank Veromint Advisors, Venkatesh Srinivasan (Ex-Partner, EY GDS), Renuka Sharma (Architect), and Kaushik Rajan (Founder, Stoicus Legal).

Veromint Advisors acted as the sole financial advisor, and Kaushik Rajan, founder at Stoicus Legal, was the legal advisor for Ricron Panels for this transaction.

What does Ricron Panels do?

Founded in 2013 by Rahul Chaudhary and Radhika Chaudhary, Ricron is a plastic waste recycling company based in Gujarat, India. The startup specialises in converting low-value multi-layer plastic (MLP) waste into high-quality, carbon-negative, eco-friendly materials for furniture, housing, roofing, construction and other building applications. 

Developed through an innovative proprietary process, Ricron claims that its panels are a high utility and cost-effective substitute to common materials, such as plywood and metal and cement roofing, offering a sustainable green building solution for emerging and developed markets.

“Waste management is emerging as a major concern across the nations worldwide as we continue to develop and urbanize. India is one such country which is constantly developing along with its growing population and consumerism causing a rapid increase in plastic intake," said Rahul Chaudhary, Director and Co-Founder of Ricron Panel.

Claims to recycle a significant amount of plastics annually

Ricron recycles 5,000 tonnes of plastic annually, preventing one ton of deforestation, avoiding the emission of 4.01 tons of CO2, and saving 21,000 MJ of energy for every ton of Ricron produced. 

"With our state of art technology, today we are manufacturing responsible building materials by recycling 5000 tons of plastic per year and in the next 2 years, we plan to recycle 24000 tons per year," Chaudhary said.

Additionally, Ricron claims to be the first company in India to generate an Extended producer responsibility (EPR) credit. 

The startup will use the raised capital to bolster marketing and distribution efforts to expand its presence in the Indian market, further amplifying its environmental and economic impact.

Ricron's manufacturing presence

Ricron's manufacturing plants are currently present in Ankleshwar and Bhopal. The startup aims to expand to at least four more locations across India within five years. 

Companies like L&T, Tata Projects, DLF, Maruti Suzuki, RMZ, SLEEK bt Asian Paints, Decathlon, and Nestle, are some of its notable clients.

The absence of an organized management of plastic waste leads to widespread littering and pollution in India's many towns and cities, which are often ranked among the world's most polluted.

The UNDP programme, which began in 2018, has so far collected 83,000 metric tonnes of plastic waste. India generates about 3.4 million tonnes of plastic waste annually.

Speaking on the investment, Bharat Jaisinghani, Boon Sustainability, said, “Over the years plastic usage across sectors has been on rise and so has been the after-usage waste which is not only exhausting the dumping space but also causing environmental hazards. Ricron with its innovative technology enables waste plastic to convert into sustainable products. At Boon Sustainability, we aim to extend strategic support to Ricron and scale this sustainable business worldwide.”