“We’re a lot better equipped as a result of the Greenhouse Accelerator Program, to structure our business and prepare for growth as we work towards extending the lifecycle of products and minimizing waste.”
Theresa Wernery – General Manager
Sustainability is personal to all of us. It reflects in our way of life – from how we consume to how we dispose things, and whether we really recognize the cost of a product, beyond its monetary value. For me, it goes back to my upbringing, but it has also evolved so much over the years.
Our company Terrax was born from a vision to do more and be better. We transform hard-to-recycle materials, such as plastic films, packaging, fiberglass, carpet, and fabrics into durable and recyclable products for the construction, events, and logistics industries. These products include building materials, pallets, flooring, shelving, and furniture. Our process can take all forms of commingled plastic waste and depends on fibrous and organic matter, such as food waste, vegetable peelings and cardboard to process it. We don’t need to wash or segregate post-consumer packaging in order to recycle it, which allows our technology to be implemented in economies with unsophisticated or even non-existent waste management systems.
We applied for the Greenhouse Accelerator Program: MENA edition because we share PepsiCo’s vision for a circular economy and have solutions in place that allow us to think infinitely about the life cycle of a product.
The main challenge within the startup ecosystem in the region is the lack of funding for smaller companies. Banks generally only lend to startups once they have passed the startup phase and there are limited grant schemes. With consumers, we battle the perception that a sustainable product is a more expensive product, which is often not the case.
Due to their reach and influence, multinationals can provide start-ups with an accelerated growth path, and access to the public sector. At the same time, start-ups can provide multinationals with a platform to experiment and innovate. We’re a lot better equipped as a result of the Greenhouse program, to structure our business and prepare for growth.
We want to begin by strategically placing Terrax plants to produce items that go back into PepsiCo’s supply chain as pallets, crates, boxes and contribute to the local economy in the form of building materials and wood replacement products. We’re also working towards building a Terrax plant in the UAE to showcase our technology at COP 28 to be held in the UAE next year.
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