PlasticUnits

~$820M

Total market volume 2024

+34%

Year-on-year growth

340+

Active certified projects

47

Countries with projects

$14M

Series A

GreenLoop Capital

Singapore-based project finance vehicle for plastic credit projects in APAC. Led by Temasek sustainability arm.

Project FinanceAPAC
Sep 2025

$28M

Series B

reCLEAN Technologies

Chemical recycling (pyrolysis) startup generating Verra-registered plastic credits. Targeting 50,000 t in year one.

Chemical RecyclingSingapore
Jul 2025

$10M

Fund

South Pole Plastic Credit Fund

South Pole launches dedicated plastic credit fund investing in certified collection and recycling projects.

FundGlobal
Mar 2025

£200M

Nature Capital Fund

Climate Asset Management

Nature capital fund with plastic credit project allocation. Joint venture between HSBC Asset Management and Pollination.

Nature CapitalUK
Feb 2025

$22M

Series A

CleanHub

German plastic collection platform raises growth capital to expand operations in India and Southeast Asia.

CollectionIndiaSoutheast Asia
Nov 2024

Project Finance

Capital to develop, certify, and scale plastic collection and recycling projects. Typically structured around forward credit sales.

~$180M deployed in 2024

GreenLoop Capital · South Pole · Verra Project Developers

Credit Trading

Bilateral OTC transactions between project developers and corporate buyers. No central exchange exists yet.

~$500M transacted in 2024

South Pole · ClimateCare · rePurpose Global · CleanHub

Infrastructure

Collection hubs, sorting facilities, and recycling equipment funded to create certified project supply.

~$120M deployed in 2024

Plastic Bank · rePurpose Global · Prevented Ocean Plastic

Technology

Digital MRV platforms, blockchain traceability, and recycling technology companies targeting plastic waste streams.

~$80M raised in 2024

reCLEAN Technologies · Plastic Bank · CleanHub · Recykal

The Investment Thesis

The plastic credits market is where carbon was in 2008.

Systemiq projects the market reaches $4.8 billion by 2030, driven by EU PPWR compliance demand, expanding corporate plastic neutrality commitments, and potential treaty-linked compliance requirements. The voluntary carbon market was approximately $500M in 2008; it reached $2B by 2021. Plastic credits are following a comparable trajectory — with the added driver of regulatory mandates.

Key risk factors: standard fragmentation, verification integrity, and the absence of a centralised price benchmark. Infrastructure investment in MRV technology and project finance vehicles is addressing the supply-side bottleneck that currently constrains market growth.

Read: Market Structure Analysis →