VerdiCycle MLP is our patented chemo-mechanical platform. It cracks open metallised multi-layer plastic - the chip packets, sachets and wrappers at the heart of the global waste crisis, less than 1% of which gets recycled today - and recovers two virgin-grade material streams. Zero waste. Full traceability.
Multi-layer plastic - the layered film that makes chip packets glossy, sachets airtight and pouches tamper-proof - is up to six materials laminated into one. Polymers, metallised foil, adhesives, inks. Brilliant for shelf life. Catastrophic for the planet. The recycling industry has been writing it off as "impossible" for thirty years. We disagree.
Roughly 150 million tonnes of multi-layer and mixed plastic packaging are produced each year. Almost all of it ends up burned, dumped, or buried. None of the value is recovered.
Less than 1% of multi-layer plastic is recycled globally. Mechanical lines can't separate the layers. Pyrolysis burns more carbon than it saves. Solvent-based players keep going bankrupt. The waste keeps stacking.
Conventional MLP "recycling" runs at 400-500°C+, often under inert atmosphere or high pressure. Output is downgraded, the carbon ledger is in the red, and the unit economics rarely close. We took a different route.
VerdiCycle MLP is patented chemo-mechanical extraction. A single water-based reaction simultaneously delaminates, demetalises, washes and depolymerises multi-layer plastic - in conditions gentle enough to recover the polymer instead of destroying it.
Pyrolysis breaks plastic apart by force. We let chemistry untie the knot - so the polymer comes out intact, the aluminium leaves clean, and the PET ends up purer than industrial-grade virgin.
Polymer layers separated, the metal is dissolved, and the inks are partially decolourised.
The aluminium foil and metallised coatings are stripped from the polymer and can be recovered.
A hot caustic wash strips contamination from every surface.
The PET fraction is broken back to its monomer, ready to repolymerise into virgin-like polyester.
Most recyclers chase a single output and dispose of the rest. We designed VerdiCycle so every fraction of the input becomes a saleable, branded material. Polyolefins for moulding. PTA for polyester. Residuals for construction. Nothing leaves the plant as waste.
Engineering-grade recycled polyolefin pellets. Drop into existing injection, blow and extrusion machines without retooling. Multiple grades for eyewear, packaging and automotive.
Recovered PTA, cleaner than industrial-grade virgin on 4-CBA impurity. Polymerises into yarn-grade rPET on first attempt. Headed for polyester refeed in the global textile chain.
Residual MLP fractions plus recovered industrial by-products, locked into rigid composite tiles and planks. Not the most circular - but locks reject waste out of landfill, permanently.
Every fraction of every input has a destination, a buyer and a branded SKU. The reactor doesn't throw anything away because nothing is throwaway.
MLP recycling has two well-funded incumbents: pyrolysis (cooking the plastic until it breaks) and mechanical recycling (shredding what little can be sorted). Both have a place. Neither solves multi-layer plastic. Here's the honest side-by-side.
| Parameter | Pyrolysis | VerdiCycle MLP |
|---|---|---|
| Process temperature | 400-500°C+ | 100-120°C |
| Pressure / atmosphere | Often inert / high pressure | Ambient (1-2 ATM) |
| Solvents | Often organic, sometimes hazardous | Water-based |
| Output quality | Pyrolysis oil - downgraded, often re-blended with virgin | Virgin-grade polymer pellet + purified PTA |
| Suitability for MLP | Poor - laminate destroyed in process | Designed for it |
| Carbon ledger | Net positive (emits more than it saves) | Net-negative at commercial scale |
| Recyclability of output | Limited cycles, downcycles fast | 10× recyclable |
| Parameter | Mechanical Recycling | VerdiCycle MLP |
|---|---|---|
| Suitability for MLP | Cannot separate laminate layers | Built for laminate |
| Sorting requirement | Requires clean, single-resin streams | Handles mixed contamination |
| Recyclability cycles | 2-3 cycles before property loss | 10× cycles, no property loss |
| Output performance | Downcycled - lower spec each loop | Virgin-grade, often outperforms |
| Coloured / contaminated input | Limited - struggles with colour, food residue, ink | Cleans inks, dyes, residues in-process |
| Output formats | Single material stream (best case) | Three branded streams - polymer, PTA, composite |
We don't believe sustainability claims should be self-certified, but we also don't hide behind certificates we don't yet have. Here's what we've verified internally, what we've filed, and what we've put in front of regulators - clearly labelled.
Most recycled material is anonymous. Anonymous flake, from anonymous waste, pretending to be virtuous. Made Without is different. Every batch carries its origin, its people, its proof and its story - because the people sorting and feeding the reactor are the same people who used to scavenge the waste from the streets.
We don't run VerdiCycle despite a workforce drawn from India's informal urban poor. We run it because of them. Formalisation, ESOPs, contracts, health insurance, dignity. That isn't charity. It's the supply chain competitors can't replicate, and what the next decade will demand.
VerdiCycle MLP is the flagship. The same chemistry, lightly retuned, already handles soiled mixed textiles - opening up a second vertical that rides on the same patented core. Each pillar is a separate go-to-market, sharing one reactor design.
Higher depolymerisation efficiency. Better de-inking and delamination. Lower opex per tonne. In active development.
Talk to our team →Same reactor, different feedstock. Recovers virgin-grade polyester from soiled, mixed-blend textile waste headed for landfill.
Explore textiles tech →Tell us what you make today. We'll tell you which VerdiCycle stream replaces the virgin material in it, what it costs, and how soon you can sample it.
