Top 29 Metal Recycling startups

Updated: Mar 01, 2026
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These startups develop new technologies to recycle scrap metal and refine metals
1
Mint Innovation
Country: New Zealand | Funding: $68.5M
Developing a biometallurgical processes that use microbes to capture value from metal waste streams while mitigating environmental harm.
2
Aqua Metals
Country: USA | Funding: $260M
Aqua Metals is the only company that has produced a commercially proven sustainable, closed-loop metal recycling process that is capable of producing the world’s purest metals.
3
Sortera
Country: USA | Funding: $111.4M
Sortera uses AI to recover valuable aluminum from scrap piles and produce affordable, high-quality metal alloys. Sortera's computer-vision-based sensor-based sorter can both upgrade raw material streams (shredded old automotive parts and appliances) and remove unwanted contaminants. The upgraded streams can then be used to manufacture new products. This technology is revolutionary because it enables domestic (US) production of new raw materials from existing automotive industry streams. Sortera's main facility in Markle, Indiana, currently processes approximately 100 million pounds of shredded metal annually to produce blends of aluminum with other elements that make them stronger and more durable.
4
Nth Cycle
Country: USA | Funding: $64.1M
Nth Cycle is a metal processing technology company working with battery recyclers and miners to recover production-grade critical minerals.
5
Sun Metalon
Country: USA | Funding: $39.7M
SUN METALON provides cost-effective technology to decarbonize metal manufacturing through recycling, refining, and forming.
6
MolyWorks Materials
Country: USA | Funding: $36M
MolyWorks has developed a recycling foundry which converts metallic scrap into metal powders for additive manufacturing at the point-of-need.
7
DEScycle
Country: UK | Funding: $26M
DEScycle is an e-waste recycling & metal recovery startup
8
Metycle
Country: Germany | Funding: €20.3M
METYCLE is building the B2B trading platform to accelerate international trade of secondary metals.
9
Metaloop
Country: Austria | Funding: €18.8M
Metaloop is a scrap trading company that helps businesses from the metal recycling industry to boost revenue without scaling.
10
Emulsion Flow Technologies
Country: Japan | Funding: ¥2.3B
Emulsion Flow Technologies offers rare metal recycling, utilizing emulsion flow technology, emulsion flow technology, etc., businesses.
11
Saperatec
Country: Germany | Funding: $11.3M
Sapertec’s technology allows laminated packaging materials to be separated more easily. Many packaging materials don’t make the recycling cut because they contain mixed materials like soup cartons or cardboard and aluminum combos.
12
Zincovery
Country: USA | Funding: $9.4M
The galvanized steel industry produces a waste acid with high concentrations of dissolved zinc and iron. Zincovery developed a process that recovers the precious zinc and regenerates the acid for reuse and reducing waste in the process.
13
ScrapBees
Country: Germany | Funding: €6.3M
ScrapBees is a pick-up service for the recycling of scrap metal from commercial businesses and private households.
14
Lemontri
Country: France | Funding: €1M
Lemontri offers a turnkey multi-flow recycling service (plastic, metal, paper, glass, etc.).
15
Chanja Datti
Country: Nigeria | Funding: £850K
Chanja Datti is making Nigeria safer and cleaner by recycling Plastic (PET bottles, pure water sachet, nylon bags etc.) and other waste streams such as Aluminium cans, Paper (old newspapers, old textbooks, corrugated cardboard, carton etc.), Glass bottles and Tires.
16
Namo E-waste
Country: India
Namo ewaste is a pioneer in asset management and electronics recycling, with its top of the line services to efficiently manage, dispose and recycle discarded electronic items.
17
GreenIron H2
Country: Sweden
GreenIron H2 is focused on cost efficient CO2-free reduction of metal oxides to pure metals.
18
Earth Recycling Services
Country: Singapore
Disposal services of general waste and bulky items across Singapore
19
Solar Kisasa
Country: Kenya
Solar Kisasa is a business enterprise that recycles used copper rods to produce solar water heaters for household use
20
enim
Country: Canada
enim offers metals extraction technology from circuit board. enim can recover metals such as palladium, gold, silver, copper, platinum, aluminum, zinc, tin and lead.
21
Runaya
Country: India
Runaya provides sustainable metal recycling solutions
22
Agave Networks
Country: UK
Agave Networks is an online scrap and surplus materials trading platform that develops a solution which can grade and verify scrap ferrous metals using only images and videos from the materials.
23
Hydro
Country: Norway
Hydro is present throughout the aluminium value chain, from energy to bauxite mining and alumina refining, primary aluminium, aluminium extrusions and aluminium recycling.
24
VALIS Insights
Country: USA
VALIS builds AI-powered software that makes recycling more profitable, material supply chains more sustainable, and closes the loop on a circular economy for metal fabrication.
25
MATR
Country: Austria
MATR is offering an innovative mattress-as-a-service solution to hotels. Their mission is to save hotels time, money and CO2, all whilst providing their guests with a premium sleep experience.
26
AMG ChemTech
Country: Serbia
AMG ChemTech Solutions offers an innovative, “zero-waste” technology to make steel production environmentally sustainable. Its patent-pending technology allows for an environmentally safe extraction of Zinc (Zn) during steel mill production, enabling significant cost benefits to steel producers while “recycling” metal waste to reduce landfill waste.
27
Usha Enterprises
Country: India
We are a recycling consultant and help new recycling startups providing guidance and trading copper aluminium iron etc
28
Nupur Recyclers
Country: India
Nupur recyclers is a leading company in metal scrap processing & recycling in India and also a leading name in the field of import of non-ferrous metal scrap such as shredded zinc scrap, zinc die cast scrap, zurik ss scrap and aluminium zorba grades.
29
Aurubis
Country: Germany
Aurubis is the leading integrated copper group and the world’s largest copper recycler
  See also:
Marjana Bačić
Editor: Marjana Bačić
Marjana Bačić is a senior editor for RecyclingStartups. She has has more than 5 years experience covering the recycling industry. Marjana graduated from University of Belgrade, where she edited Recycling and Sustainable Development Journal. She has helped several non-profit organizations dedicated to promoting environmental education and sustainability. She also participates in beach clean-up initiatives and advocates for sustainable practices in local businesses. In her free time, Marjana enjoys hiking in the scenic Montenegrin countryside, practicing yoga for mindfulness, and experimenting with plant-based recipes in her kitchen. You can contact Marjana at marjanabacic(at)recyclingstartups(dot)com