Urbyn is the first SaaS platform enabling companies to recycle all their waste. Let's break down what convinced us to invest in this company.

Waste recycling, a new obligation for businesses

How much does your waste management cost? Where do the different streams end up? What's your recycling rate?

Few companies today can answer these three questions precisely.

Yet waste management and recycling are becoming a legal obligation.

Regulations are tightening to make recycling the norm

Regulations require companies to manage an ever-growing number of waste streams.

This is notably the case with European regulations that mandate sorting at source on one hand, and penalize unsorted waste through the TGAP tax, which has been steadily increasing for the past 10 years.

Several waste recovery channels are currently being developed and are funded by the eco-tax paid by consumers.

As a result, new waste streams are becoming mandatory and have been steadily increasing in France in recent years:

In 2016, there were 5 mandatory waste streams: cardboard/paper, metals, plastics, wood, and glass.

In 2021, there were 7, with the addition of plaster and rubble.

In 2025, there will be 8, following the addition of textile waste.

The same applies to biowaste, where thresholds have been steadily lowered until reaching zero.

Waste treatment costs continue to rise

The amount spent by French companies on waste management has been rising continuously since 2000, from €9.3 billion to €20.6 billion in 2019—a 2.2x increase (Source).

Furthermore, the volume of waste collected in France has also been steadily increasing since 1996, rising from 3.7k tonnes to 14.8k in 2019 (a 4x increase)

Overall, the waste management market is becoming increasingly complex: beyond the established players, independent local operators exist and new ones emerge every year, while collection solutions through extended producer responsibility (EPR) organizations continue to multiply.

This makes the waste management offering difficult to read and navigate for large corporations.

As a result, there is a huge gap between well-known waste management solutions and existing local alternatives.

But the market size is substantial, making partnerships and coexistence between competitors feasible.

We're not facing a winner-takes-all market.

Urbyn addresses the full spectrum of waste

Urbyn's mission is to help French companies manage their waste effectively, while reducing both the environmental and financial costs of waste processing.

A platform centered around two benefits and 3 interfaces

Urbyn pulls off the feat of better recycling waste while lowering the final bill.

This is made possible through a clear understanding of waste streams, thanks to:

the Urbyn audit that identifies more waste streams for recovery, rerouting flows to shorter recycling circuits, thereby reducing transport costs.

Concretely, Urbyn is a unique SaaS platform characterized by:

Interface 1: A client portal

It provides a complete and transparent view of all waste streams.

This is made possible through indicators and reporting that comply with regulations, while also enabling analysis of treatment improvements and cost optimization.

Interface 2: An Internal Back-Office

This is an internal Urbyn interface that matches waste streams with the right service providers.

Automated management has the advantage of orchestrating all waste streams handled for clients through:

a pricing database per service and information for over 1,000 service providers across regions, billing information, and logistics flow traceability

Interface 3: A Portal for Service Providers

This allows them to be alerted to new client needs and respond directly to information requests.

This portal streamlines exchanges between Urbyn and service providers: contracts, service pricing, collection routes, communication with waste-producing clients, and operational coordination with Urbyn

Over 110 clients already on board

Urbyn now works with around ten major accounts (ERI, Inea, Icade) and a hundred SMEs.

Thanks to a high-caliber team of 20 employees led by Julien Hamilius and Arthur Däweritz, revenue grew by 54% in 2022 with a strong retention rate!

This confirms the relevance of their value proposition and the sustainability of the business model.

Furthermore, partnerships with direct competitors are also possible: Urbyn has already held discussions with several partners about jointly managing certain clients in order to go even further.

"We brought in Urbyn to collect our waste in the 11th arrondissement. The company is highly responsive and available. Waste is collected twice a month by Urbyn's partners, who are very professional." Testimonial from a Fleet Manager - Road Transport Group

Positive impact is proven

On average, we see a 20% increase in sorted and recycled waste from the first year for each client, with costs reduced by up to 20%.

And that's just one of the many value-adds offered by Urbyn's service. Among them:

Urbyn's clients benefit from more waste tracking KPIs and carbon savings metrics. There's less polluting transportation for waste disposal, SMEs in regional areas generate more revenue, and the provider matching system allows clients who want to prioritize working with disability employment organizations and sheltered workshops.

For all these reasons, we are very proud to enable Urbyn to accelerate and deploy their solution at a larger scale through targeted hires and a strengthened acquisition strategy.