Dr. William Chizhovsky, founder and CEO of The Good Plastic Company, has made significant strides in the realm of sustainable materials. Based in the Netherlands for the past three years, the Ukrainian entrepreneur has overseen the growth of a group of companies dedicated to addressing plastic pollution on a large scale. In a recent interview, he shared insights into the company's journey, its innovative approach to recycling, exciting collaborations with major brands and ambitious plans for the future.
Left: William Chizhovsky. Right: panels used in The Student Hotel.
From humble beginnings to global expansion
The Good Plastic Company began its journey in 2018 in Almere, the Netherlands. William, originally from Ukraine, moved to the Netherlands five years ago and soon recognised the need for large-scale solutions to plastic waste. 'At the time, many startups were doing small projects with plastic waste, which was good but not sufficient. The problem is large, so we wanted to find a way to solve it on a large scale,' he explains.
Two years after its inception, the company expanded to Ukraine, building a significant factory in the capital. However, due to the war, they had to relocate operations closer to the Romanian border for safety. In addition to their presence in the Netherlands and Ukraine, they have a company in the UK and plans to open a factory in the US next year.
Bridging the gap between recycling and business
The company's mission is to bridge the gap between recycling and business by creating high-quality panels from 100% plastic waste, suitable for use in architecture and interior design. 'We work with large recycling factories across Europe. They collect, clean, separate, and shred the waste, providing us with raw material. We then produce panels on a large scale and sell them to architects, brands, and other clients,' says William.
By working with forward-thinking architects and designers who seek innovative and sustainable materials, The Good Plastic Company not only creates demand for recycled materials but also offers a viable solution to plastic pollution. 'There's a lot of waste, but someone has to create demand for it. Architects and designers are forward-thinking people that love innovation and want to change for the better, but in order to use sustainable materials they need access to those materials. What we do is we provide a solution for them while at the same time create a demand for waste for recycling factories. This is how we bridge this gap.'
The Confetti Dinner Table by Boris Steiner.
Greenwashing vs sustainable solutions
Recycling centres process thousands of tonnes of plastic each month. However, uses for this recycled material remain limited. The Good Plastic Company's panels do enable new applications. 'The difference between our company and others is that we produce our panels in a large scale. Our mission is not only to do business, but to create a solution and make an impact. That's why we target large global brands to use our material. This scalability also leads to a better price, a higher quality and consistency,' William explains.
'We primarily use polystyrene because it is a very structural, hard, and durable material.' Fun fact: when the company melts the shredded polystyrene it creates a nice terrazzo-effect. 'We don't add anything else. We don't mean to make it this way, it just creates it naturally,' William laughs.
Another difference compared to other companies is that the company has a certification proving the practices are really circular. 'It took us a year to get it, they inspected everything, factories, production, etc. There's a lot of greenwashing nowadays, "everybody" is working with sustainability. But we want to create an actual large scale solution.'
Collaborations with Coach and Adidas.
From Nike to McDonald's
The Good Plastic Company has collaborated with numerous high-profile clients, including Nike, Adidas, IKEA, Karl Lagerfeld, and Coach. Nike, in particular, uses their materials extensively in flagship store designs, incorporating the panels into furniture and other applications. 'Each store uses at least 3-5 tonnes of plastic waste, making a significant contribution to sustainability,' William says. 'Recently Nike actually opened their first Dutch flagship store, in The Mall of the Netherlands. I recently went there and our material is really used everywhere. We are very happy to work with them. Nike really wants to try to make a change and doesn't just use our panels for marketing purposes.'
McDonald's is another notable client, choosing The Good Plastic Company's material for tabletops in their new restaurant concepts across Europe. The company also works with architectural firms, supplying materials for office designs and other projects.
One of the Nike flagship stores with the panels.
A global vision for sustainability
With over 1000 projects completed internationally, The Good Plastic Company is most active in Europe but is rapidly expanding into the US market. 'I think the US market has huge potential for us. We see a lot of requests from them and we're planning to open a factory there next year. We also have projects in Asia and the Middle-East, but the readiness for the material is definitely in Europe. We are the frontrunners when it comes to consciousness.'
The market conditions for the company are good right now. William explains: 'We don't need to explain people why they need to use sustainable materials. Not only designers and architects know this, but society in general. So this is a positive sign.' He does see a difference in the different markets: 'Europe is a bit slow when it comes to decision making and the projects are smaller. Whereas the US projects are bigger and they make faster decisions. Global headquarters are there, so this market has a huge potential to grow really fast.'
A call for collective action
William emphasises the importance of collective action in driving sustainable change. 'To make a real impact, we need to work together. Architects and designers play a crucial role in choosing sustainable materials, without their help we can't really do much. It's our social responsibility to support companies dedicated to sustainability. I'm really thankful towards everyone who makes the decision for sustainable materials, not just from our company,' he concludes.
More information:
The Good Plastic Company
+31 (0)20 399 1260
[email protected]
www.thegoodplasticcompany.com