More and more countries, like the Netherlands, are introducing deposits on cans and plastic bottles to reduce litter. Envipco, manufacturer of innovative deposit machines also known as Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs), benefits from this. With financing from Invest International, the Amersfoort-based company is expanding its facilities in Romania to meet growing demand in Europe.
Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) play an important role in the plastics and recycling revolution. Envipco’s advanced technology recognizes and sorts the packaging and automatically returns the deposit to the consumer. This stimulates recycling behavior and contributes to achieving ambitious goals of the European Union (EU) to collect 90 percent of plastic bottles and cans separately by 2029. Deposits are most suitable for properly recycling products and are seen as the first step towards a circular packaging process.
36.1 kilograms of plastic waste per person
In 2021, EU residents produced an average of 36.1 kilograms of plastic packaging waste per person. Of this, 14.2 kilograms were recycled, approximately 40 percent of the total. To increase this and achieve the goals, more and more deposit machines are being installed. There are currently approximately 100,000 deposit machines installed worldwide. This is expected to add 200,000 in Europe over a period of five to seven years. So there is work to be done for Envipco; European regulations on plastic recycling also provide a solid basis for further growth.
Envipco has been developing and producing the RVMs for more than forty years that consumers can use to return PET bottles, cans and glass. “The question is no longer if this market will grow as strongly as expected, but when,” CEO Simon Bolton recently told ABM Financial News. Particularly in Europe, we aim for a large share of that growth of more than 30 percent. In 2023 alone, our turnover in Europe increased from 18.1 million euros to 55.5 million euros. With our many years of experience in Europe, Envipco is a pioneer in the fight against plastic waste and makes an essential contribution to the circular economy.
Working capital for factory in Romania
To meet the growing demand for RVMs, Envipco has received a loan of €9 million from Invest International. This financing was used as working capital for the production facility in Sebeș, Romania. Thousands of machines are produced here every year, increasing European recycling capacity and stimulating local employment. “As Invest International, we are there to provide Dutch companies with financing where this is more difficult through traditional channels. We support Envipco in their mission to accelerate the circular economy. The fact that they also contribute to reducing pollution and avoiding emissions outside the value chain with their production processes was an additional reason to provide this loan,” says Sona Krijger-Dolbakyan, Investment Manager at Invest International.
“The project for which we have provided funding will concretely create 200 jobs in Romania and 25 in the Netherlands and contribute to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including fair jobs (SDG 8), sustainable consumption and production (SDG12) and climate action (SDG13). It helps Envipco grow in a market where this is desperately needed to achieve climate goals.”
Growing in European markets
Simon Bolton emphasizes this: “The investment in the Romanian factory allows us to grow faster in European markets and broaden the supply chain. Crucial given the increasing demand for deposit systems; a realistic solution for large-scale recycling. Romania serves as a hub to meet the growing demand for RVMs in Europe due to changing recycling legislation. Our eye fell on this Eastern European country because of its central location and favorable production conditions.”
Envipco has already supplied machines to a number of European countries. For example, more than 2,000 machines have been installed in Hungary and more than 1,500 in Romania itself. In Poland and the United Kingdom, where new deposit systems are planned for 2026 and 2027, explosive growth is expected, with possibly tens of thousands of additional machines.
Next level bulk feed machine
Envipco is also experimenting with mobile recycling solutions. During the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, a sea container was converted into a mobile collection point for deposit bottles and cans. This ‘recycling container’ offered visitors an accessible way to return their packaging. Another example of Envipco’s innovations is the Quantum Bulk Feed, an advanced bulk feed machine that processes up to 120 packages per minute. This Bulk Feed, a kind of giant plastic devourer makes returning large quantities of packaging super-fast and easy.
Entrepreneur Marc Vlaar from Bunschoten-Spakenburg was the first to purchase this machine in the Netherlands. In nine months, this machine has processed more than two million packages. Bolton: “The deposit is credited to the consumer’s account via the Tikkie app or can be donated to charities. The Quantum can also be found in more than 600 locations in America, Romania, Malta, Greece, Slovakia and Sweden.”
Sona Krijger-Dolbakyan: “With ambitious plans to quadruple or even sixfold turnover between 2021 and 2025, and with new markets such as Poland, the UK and Spain in sight, Envipco remains a force to be reckoned with in the world of recycling.”
The article on Envipco and our financing was published in globe magazine of industry organisation Evofenedex, edition February 2025 (in Dutch).
