Again has announced a £2.55m pre seed investment, led by Eka Ventures, to develop the worlds’ smartest system for cleaning packaging for refill and reuse. The investment will aid the build of the next generation of Again’s CleanCells and launch 3-5 CleanCells across the UK later this year.

Again’s compact, shipping container sized CleanCell will use 76% less water and 90% less energy than traditional recycling methods and can efficiently process & clean thousands of packaging units each month, ready to be refilled and reused. By 2025, Again aims to power brands to reuse their packaging for cheaper than purchasing single use packaging. The pioneering cleaning technology system already matches the cost of single-use packaging for small brands. Bringing down the cost of reusable packaging will break down a significant barrier to its adoption as, despite commitments to eliminate single use plastic packaging, FMCG brands are restricted by the higher cost of reuse and the lack of cleaning infrastructure.

Resources & Waste Minister Jo Churchill said: “It is really encouraging to see businesses working together on this exciting new pilot to make reuse more affordable and I look forward to hearing the results. Through our new Environment Act we will tackle the nation’s ‘throwaway culture’ - incentivising manufacturers to produce more recyclable packaging, and putting in place consistent recycling collections for households and businesses.”

Matt Kennedy, founder and CEO of Again, said: “Reusable packaging is the future but today it’s prohibitively expensive for brands. We’re in the early stages of building a circular economy and we see our role being the infrastructure that underpins the packaging aspect of this on a mass scale. This can only be done with buy-in from across the value chain and we’re excited to be working in partnership with renowned brands, like Budweiser Brewing Group and Diageo, alongside waste management companies, like Biffa and SWRnewstar, to deliver a reusable packaging solution that can enable the shift of billions of units of packaging to reuse in an economically viable way.”

Again’s model is built on strategic partnerships across the entire FMCG value chain with a growing number of the world’s largest FMCG brands, retailers, reusable packaging platforms and even waste management companies. The dirty, used packaging will be collected and sent to Again’s CleanCells, where it is cleaned using its advanced cleaning system and redistributed back into the economy. The technology gives brands unique data insight into their packaging inventory and cost savings as the circular economy takes hold. Again’s plans for the decentralised planting of its CleanCells in recycling facilities, retailer’s distribution centres and FMCG brand manufacturing plants will drive significant efficiency in transportation logistics across the supply chain.

This spring, Again will pilot the collection, cleaning and redistribution of thousands of Camden Town Brewery, Johnnie Walker Black and Smirnoff bottles. In partnership with waste management company Biffa, the project will use an electric vehicle supplied by Renault to collect the bottles from Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, Greene King, Clays and a variety of London’s hottest nightclubs, including Brixton Jamm. Again’s pilot will help inform the future design of Again’s next generation CleanCells as it prepares to scale.

Oliver Finch, Investment Partner from Maersk Growth added: “Matt and the team at Again are building the enterprise grade circular supply chain, improving access and scalability of reusable packaging. Their decentralised approach and technology shows real promise to make circular packaging lower carbon and more cost effective than ever. We welcome and are very excited to support Again to create economic solutions that reduce landfill, water and environmental footprint, and to support a more sustainable future.”