Franklin Templeton Investments, a San Mateo, California-based asset management company, has invested $15 million in Incom Renewable Resources, Plastics News reports.
Based in Beijing, China, Incom is a supplier and operator of intelligent solid waste recovery systems. It’s flagship PET bottle-collecting machines — dubbed reverse vending machines — are equipped with cloud software. The company says its cloud management platform and intelligent reverse logistics system are the most advanced in the world.
Incom currently has a network of 1,500 recycling machines in Beijing. The Chinese government uses the data collected from these machines to help it research residential recycling patterns and enact policies accordingly.
In addition to its PET bottle recycling machines, Incom launched a residential recyclable item pickup service earlier this year. The company is currently servicing 100 subdivisions in Beijing and anticipates expanding to 4,000 subdivisions.
The recycling company is looking to export its products to the international market and has secured regional distributors in the US, Mexico, Brazil, Ukraine and the Netherlands.