New York-based Closed Loop Partners and UK-based Brookfield Renewable founded Circular Services as developers of circular economy and recycling infrastructure in the United States. Circular Services is majority owned and managed by Closed Loop Partners, and Brookfield has committed up to $700 million towards Circular Services’ growth through the Brookfield Global Transition Fund.
“[Circular Services] Closed Loop Partners Chief Strategy Officer Jessica Long said:
According to Long, Closed Loop has three main business focuses: innovation, investment and operations.
she said: From an investment perspective, there are asset management firms that do venture growth, buyouts, and catalytic private capital. And now we have a steering group called Circular Services. ”
According to Closed Loop Partners, Brookfield invested an initial $200 million in circular services and another $500 million in pursuit of growth opportunities. The first of his $200 million will be used to launch a circular services business, with the remaining $500 million in growth capital to expand operations in the eastern and southern United States, Long said.
Natalie Admite, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of the Brookfield Global Transition Fund, said the Brookfield Global Transition Fund will deliver strong risk-adjusted returns while reducing its carbon footprint. It adds that it is focused on providing long-term infrastructure development for emerging business models that help
The Partnership Fund for New York City has also invested in Circular Services, according to Closed Loop Partners, but has not disclosed plans to invest in the unit.
The Circular Services business includes certain recycling businesses acquired by Closed Loop Partners. This includes Sims Municipal Recycling, Balcones Resources, Single Stream Recyclers, Retrievers, Home Biogas, and several smaller Modular Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs). According to Closed Loop Partners, Circular Services operates a total of 12 facilities in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Florida, Texas and Arizona. The business also has several long-term municipal and commercial contracts for the recycling and reuse of paper, metals, glass, plastics, organics, textiles and electronics. The business processes more than one million tons of material annually at 12 facilities.
With 12 facilities and several municipal and commercial recycling contracts, Long said the operation “will be the largest privately held recycling company in North America.”
All of these locations and services are under the new Circular Services umbrella, but Long added that Closed Loop Partners has no plans to rebrand their locations at this time.
“They still have a great brand name and a great reputation, so they still keep that name,” she says. It’s the parent company, the overall operating company that has the business entity as part of the company.While we may look for rebranding opportunities and identity consolidation opportunities in the next year, these just so happen to have a great reputation. We are very mindful of the fact that it is a business.”
Closed Loop Partners will be hiring for a leadership position to oversee circular services, she said. But she adds that the company intends to maintain the same leadership at individual MRFs and recycling facilities.
“We want to bring in new talent and leadership to help us grow, but overall it’s important to keep the people who are doing great work with us.” “The big advantage that we have is the leadership and operations teams for all these entities. We have worked with Tom Outerbridge. [of Sims Municipal Recycling]Adam Vehik [of Balcones Resources] People who have been running these facilities for years and decades. They continue to participate in their leadership. I think they are amazing leaders. It’s hard to find really smart people who really understand this business and know how to run it. ”
Closed Loop Partners’ new business aims to focus on several different growth opportunities. First, Long said the company hopes to use this business unit to grow within the cities it already serves by expanding its processing capacity. Second, she says she hopes to expand the company by finding ways to recycle materials she doesn’t have as many outlets for recycling, such as textiles, organics and electronics.
“I don’t think these sectors are as mature as packaging,” she says. “Therefore, growth opportunities exist to get these sectors where they need to be.”
Third, Long said Circular Services wants to expand its reach to underserved communities and focus on increasing recycling rates across the country. She adds that the modular MRF is “much more affordable and much easier to set up” than her traditional MRF.
Closed Loop Partners founder and CEO Ron Gonen says the United States has adopted a “very linear system” of waste management. he said: We are excited about the move to a circular economy, an economic system that invests in the continued use of commodities and reduces our dependence on extracting natural resources and landfills. ”
Mr Long added: …we want to be in a position to prove that the models we have built here are economical and that recycling really works. This is something that will have ripple effects across the country and benefit everyone. ”
