At a time when more than 450 million tons of plastic waste are generated every year worldwide, of which less than 10% is effectively reused, DePoly views plastic waste as a valuable material resource. Reintegrating it into production chains not only reduces the reliance on fossil resources but also strengthens the resilience and sovereignty of supply chains.
Unlike traditional recycling, which progressively degrades material quality with each cycle, DePoly's technology breaks PET down into its original chemical components, enabling it to recreate virgin-quality raw materials with no loss of performance and suitable for all PET applications.
From laboratory to industrial scale
Founded in 2020 as an EPFL spin-off by Samantha Anderson, Chris Ireland and Bardiya Valizadeh, DePoly was born from the ambition to make plastics truly circular. Based in Sion with a team of around 30 employees, the company is taking a decisive step with the opening of its Showcase Plant in Monthey.
To house this first industrial unit, DePoly chose to establish itself at the heart of Monthey’s Industrial Park (CIMO), which brings together cutting-edge infrastructure, chemical expertise and proximity to its Valais headquarters, an environment that enabled the company to accelerate its deployment while drawing on a well-established industrial ecosystem.
The result of a significant investment with the creation of 12 direct jobs and more than 30 indirect jobs, the Showcase Plant has a nominal capacity of around 500 tons feedstock input per year. Beyond production, it will serve to optimize the process, qualify raw materials with industrial customers, and prepare for the deployment of DePoly's first commercial plant, which targets a capacity of 50,000 tons per year.
“Innovation is often celebrated in the lab, but impact happens when the technology enters the industrial world. This Showcase Plant represents that transition for DePoly, it is the point where vision becomes execution and it represents more than just steel, pipes and equipment. It represents six years of asking if the circular economy is possible, and proving that it is. It's the first visible step toward a future where waste is no longer seen as a problem to manage, but as a resource that can be continuously reused, and DePoly will lead that future.” says Samantha Anderson, CEO and co-founder of DePoly.
