An Interview with Patricia Astrain: Founder of Recircular

Join us as Patricia Astrain, founder of Recircular, shares her expertise on the circular economy, waste management solutions, and how technology is driving sustainability. Explore Recircular’s mission and future goals.

Good morning, Patricia. It’s an honor to be here with you today. To start, we’d like to know firsthand: who is Patricia Astrain, and what is Recircular?

Good morning, I’m delighted to spend this time with you. Well, I’m the founder of Recircular, an entrepreneur who one day decided to change her path and contribute to a more sustainable world. I’m a firm believer in the need for a transition to a circular economy—more sustainable (in the broadest sense), fair, and respectful to everyone. Additionally, I’m a chemical engineer, and in my previous life, I worked in industrial environments in the Oil & Gas, cosmetics, and metallurgical sectors in different countries. My experience in China motivated me to start my own business and found Recircular, a startup that helps companies implement circular strategies. We mainly focus on helping give a second life to their waste and surplus resources, extending the life of materials, products, and industrial equipment. Our goal is to generate a triple impact: economic savings, environmental and social benefits, promoting a more circular transition in industries.

How would you define the circular economy for those unfamiliar with the concept?

The circular economy is an economic model that seeks to generate economic value in a way that respects the planet's limited resources. It’s about ensuring that future generations can also enjoy these comforts by consuming and producing consciously. This involves everything from product design to managing them at the end of their life cycle, promoting reuse and extending the life of materials, among other things.

How does Recircular work to help companies in this transition towards the circular economy?

Our main tool is a digital platform that connects companies’ surplus resources with others that can reuse or recycle them. These resources can be production waste, excess inventory, quality defects, or used industrial equipment—in short, anything that the company no longer needs. The platform is accessible to all types of companies, including small ones, and it allows visibility for all those underutilized resources, providing traceability to resource valorization by recording the information on blockchain. We also calculate the environmental and social benefits generated, providing detailed reports to our users. Additionally, we support companies in finding solutions for waste that currently goes to landfills.

 

 

What are the biggest challenges Recircular faces?

We face challenges in both innovation and companies’ resistance to change. Sometimes, the solutions we find require investments or changes that companies are unwilling to make. There’s also a cultural challenge in digitalization, especially in small businesses where the adoption of new technologies is limited. We work to change these mindsets and demonstrate the economic, environmental, and social value of our solutions.

What role does technology play in your work and the transition towards the circular economy?

Technology is fundamental to Recircular. Digitalization and new technologies allow us to automate processes that were previously manual, connecting companies and facilitating efficient resource management. We’ve implemented artificial intelligence and greater traceability (with blockchain recording), among other features, thanks to a PERTE (Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation) for Circular Economy. We aim to improve traceability and connections between companies, ensuring that resources are reused or recycled appropriately. These technologies help us offer more precise solutions and promote greater adoption of circular practices.

What motivates companies to join Recircular? Is it out of personal conviction or because of regulations?

It’s a combination of both. Many companies join because of the economic benefits they achieve by selling through our platform and because they can demonstrate their commitment to sustainable practices. Others do it because of regulations that require them to manage their waste more responsibly. Our goal is to simplify this process and show them that they can obtain economic value while generating a positive impact.

What is Recircular’s long-term vision?

We want to become the go-to platform for the reuse and recycling of all types of industrial resources. We are working on a relaunch with new technological features to improve the usability and effectiveness of our platform. Our goal is to centralize the management of surplus resources, making it easier for companies to find sustainable solutions for their materials and promoting a more circular economy.

How do you envision the future of the circular economy?

The circular economy is here to stay. We are in a phase where we’re not just talking about the concept but moving into action. We need to act, implement initiatives, create opportunities, and prove that it’s possible. It’s necessary to rethink how we do things, ensuring that our methods are sustainable and responsible. Supporting startups and innovations in this field is crucial for achieving an effective transition to a circular economy.

Thank you very much, Patricia, for sharing your vision and for the work Recircular is doing.

Thank you for your support and for giving me the opportunity to share our mission and goals.