Circular11 Raises £2.4 Million to Expand Recycled Plastic Lumber Production

Updated on June 02, 2026 • 5 min read

UK-based Circular11 has secured £2.4 million in equity funding to accelerate the production of its recycled plastic lumber, a timber alternative manufactured from plastic waste streams that conventional recycling systems typically cannot process.

The Dorset company plans to use the investment to scale manufacturing capacity and recycle an estimated 10,000 tonnes of difficult-to-recycle plastic waste over the next two years.

As pressure grows on industries to reduce landfill and incineration, Circular11 is positioning itself at the intersection of the circular economy, sustainable construction, and advanced materials manufacturing.

Turning Unrecyclable Plastic into Construction Materials

One of the biggest challenges facing the plastics industry is that many plastic waste streams cannot be economically recycled back into high-purity raw materials.

Contamination, mixed polymers, additives, and degradation often make conventional recycling difficult.

As a result, large volumes of plastic are:

• Incinerated
• Sent to landfill
• Exported
• Downcycled into low-value applications

Circular11 has developed a process specifically designed to handle these problematic waste streams.

Instead of attempting to restore plastics to virgin-grade quality, the company converts them into durable composite boards that can replace traditional timber in outdoor applications.

According to Circular11, this approach transforms waste that would otherwise be burned into a commercially valuable building material.

Funding Round Led by Sustainability-Focused Investors

The £2.4 million investment round was led by:

• Vectr7 Investment Partners
• The FSE Group

Additional participation came from:

• British Business Bank
• South West Investment Fund
• FSE Investor Network
• Oxford Innovation Network
• Private investors
• Innovate UK

Part of the funding package includes:

£630,000 from the British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund through FSE.

The investment reflects growing interest in businesses that combine waste reduction with scalable industrial manufacturing.

Why Timber Alternatives Are Attracting Attention

The construction industry is facing increasing pressure from several directions:

Timber Supply Constraints

Global timber markets continue to experience:

• Supply volatility
• Price fluctuations
• Environmental concerns
• Forestry management restrictions

Sustainability Requirements

Governments and corporations are increasingly focused on:

• Carbon reduction
• Circular economy targets
• Waste diversion
• Resource efficiency

Material Durability

Outdoor applications often require materials capable of resisting:

• Moisture
• Rot
• Insects
• Weather exposure

Recycled composite lumber offers potential advantages in these areas while reducing dependence on virgin raw materials.

Circular11’s Growth Strategy

Founded in 2021, Circular11 has built its business model around a relatively untapped opportunity:

Using plastic waste that many recyclers consider unsuitable for processing.

The new funding will support:

• Manufacturing expansion
• Increased recycling capacity
• Market growth
• Product development
• Commercial deployment

Chief Executive Benjamin Gibbons emphasized the broader environmental opportunity.

According to Gibbons:

“Every tonne of plastic that gets incinerated is a missed opportunity.”

The company’s objective is to demonstrate that low-value plastic waste can become a reliable industrial feedstock rather than a disposal problem.

The Circular Economy Opportunity

For decades, recycling discussions have focused primarily on packaging and consumer goods.

However, many investors now see greater value in converting waste into durable industrial products.

Construction materials represent an attractive target because they:

• Consume large material volumes
• Offer long product lifespans
• Can tolerate mixed feedstocks
• Create higher-value applications than conventional recycling

This model aligns with broader trends across advanced materials markets, where manufacturers increasingly seek to convert waste streams into engineered products.

🔒 Content Transparency & Editorial Integrity

This article is developed based on real engineering experience, machine testing data, and practical production knowledge from Jota Machinery’s work in advanced composite manufacturing.

All technical explanations—including material structure, processing methods, and performance characteristics—are reviewed and verified by our engineering team to ensure accuracy and real-world relevance.

To improve clarity and structure, AI-assisted tools may have been used during content organization and language refinement. However:

• All key technical insights originate from first-hand industrial experience
• All data and claims are manually reviewed and validated
• The content is created with the primary goal of educating engineers, manufacturers, and buyers

We do not publish content solely for search ranking purposes. Every article is designed to provide practical, experience-based value to professionals in the composite materials industry.

Editorial Perspective

Circular11’s funding round highlights a significant shift in how investors view waste management.

Historically, recycling businesses were often evaluated as environmental services.

Today, many are being viewed as advanced materials companies.

The real innovation is not simply recycling plastic.

It is finding profitable, scalable applications for material streams that previously had little economic value.

If Circular11 can successfully process 10,000 tonnes of difficult-to-recycle plastic while delivering a commercially competitive timber alternative, it could become a strong example of how circular economy businesses move beyond sustainability messaging and into industrial-scale manufacturing.

The broader lesson is increasingly clear:

The future winners in recycling may not be the companies that create the purest recycled materials, but those that create the most valuable products from the waste that nobody else wants.