Meta deal backs MacroCycle’s first plastics recycling plant

Plastics recycling startup MacroCycle says a new agreement with Meta will help accelerate development of its first commercial plant.

The three-year-old company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, says its process removes contaminants from plastic waste and produces recycled material that is more attractive to customers. MacroCycle says its technology generates 80% fewer carbon emissions than new, non-recycled virgin PET, a common material in bottles, containers and textiles.

Under the agreement, Meta will pay MacroCycle for rights to avoided emissions, known as environmental attribute credits, allowing Meta to count the reduction toward its carbon footprint. A Meta spokesperson confirmed it is the company’s first such deal. The payments could provide revenue to support construction of the plant in the U.S. Meta also hopes the agreement will help create a market for low-carbon materials used in its supply chain.

MacroCycle says its demonstration plant will produce 5,000 metric tons of recycled plastic per year. Its process dissolves and purifies PET from waste streams including textiles, whose recycling rate is 0.5%. The company was a Top 20 finalist in the 2025 Startup Battlefield competition.

MacroCycle aims to produce recycled textiles domestically at prices that compete with overseas suppliers. U.S. textile employment has fallen 85% over the last 25 years. The startup is seeking buyers for its material. CEO Stewart Peña Feliz told TechCrunch that the Meta deal could make future agreements easier; future plants could produce 50,000 metric tons per year.