Amsterdam-based Oscar Circulair, a company that specialises in area-oriented waste collection, announced on Monday, April 24, that it has received €1.5M in funding from a consortium of investors.
The investors include DOEN Participaties, Social Impact Fund Rotterdam (SIF-R), and the Rabo Foundation.
With this investment, Oscar Circulair says it is set to expand its operations to more cities and areas.
Founders Remco Wagemakers and Jan Willem van Bokhorst say, “We are very happy that we agree 100 per cent with the consortium of investors on our mission, which means that we can take the next growth step with the Oscar Circular team.”
“This ensures that we can include more people in the circular transition, that we reuse more raw materials, burn less waste, and that we make the living environment in cities cleaner and safer! We will not do that in the future, but already today,” they add.
Oscar Circulair: Area-oriented waste collection
Founded by Remco Wagemakers and Jan Willem van Bokhorst, Oscar Circulair is a startup driven by social and circular goals with an aim to revolutionise the commercial waste market and save valuable raw materials.
On average, 60 per cent of industrial waste ends up being incinerated, while only 40 per cent is recycled. The Dutch company aims to reduce the residual waste from 60 per cent to just 10 per cent.
The Dutch company’s solution to this problem involves the central collection of (separated) industrial waste in urban areas close to the companies generating them.
As a result, it ensures that high-quality raw materials are extracted from the waste, less residual waste remains, and fewer (polluting) transport movements are required to collect the waste.
Oscar Circulair’s collection is done by ‘Oscars’, some of whom have vulnerable positions in the labour market. They are guided in the development and acquire skills within the circular economy.
Oscar Circulair claims that residual waste has been reduced to 30 per cent in just three months at the Westergasterrein and the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam.
The number of polluting transport movements was also reduced by up to 900 trucks per year at the Westergasterrein.
Expansion to Rotterdam
The DOEN Foundation and the Rabo Foundation have financially supported Oscar Circulair’s activities in Amsterdam.
After a successful trial in Amsterdam, the company is expanding its operations to Rotterdam, with the Social Impact Fund Rotterdam participating in the funding round.
Existing financiers, the Rabo Foundation and Stichting DOEN, are also co-financing the expansion.
