A Christchurch company founded by two young entrepreneurs is set to expand production after securing £2.4 million in investment to grow its business turning hard-to-recycle plastic waste into construction materials.
Circular11, established in 2021 by Ben Gibbons and Connor Winter, manufactures composite lumber from low-grade plastic that would otherwise be difficult to recycle through conventional systems. The company says the funding will allow it to increase output and recycle an estimated 10,000 tonnes of plastic over the next two years.
The investment round was led by Vectr7 Investment Partners, with The FSE Group acting as co-lead. Funding included a £630,000 investment from the British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund, alongside support from the FSE Investor Network, Oxford Innovation Network, private investors and InnovateUK.
The business grew out of a waste management project the founders worked on in Nepal, where they saw first-hand the challenges of dealing with plastic waste. Their technology is designed to cope with variations in lower-quality plastics that are often unsuitable for traditional recycling processes.
Chief executive Ben Gibbons said: ‘We believe that every tonne of plastic that gets incinerated is a missed opportunity to deliver low-carbon materials to a construction sector that desperately needs affordable and long-lasting assets.’
Beyond manufacturing, Circular11 has become increasingly active within the local community. Through a network of collection points and volunteers, residents have gathered more than 1.75 tonnes of plastic waste in recent months. The material was recently transformed into a recycled plastic bench donated to the Stable Family Home Trust’s new sensory garden in Southbourne.
The company works with a number of Dorset collection partners and has organised community plastic collections and beach clean initiatives as part of its wider environmental mission.
With fresh investment secured and production set to increase, Circular11 represents a growing example of Dorset-based innovation tackling environmental challenges while creating practical products from material that would otherwise be discarded.
circular11.com
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