Closing the Loop: GyroPlant’s Path to a Circular Silicone Future

At GyroPlant, innovation doesn’t stop at how we grow plants. It also extends to the materials we use. Every decision we make balances performance, sustainability, and the grower’s experience.

After exploring a wide range of options, our answer—for now—is clear: silicone rubber remains the best choice. But that doesn’t mean we’re standing still. Instead, we’re rethinking silicone’s entire life cycle and taking sustainable materials to the next level—looking at what happens to the material over decades, not just weeks or months.

Why Materials Matter

It might be easy to think of materials as background details, but in hydroponic systems they’re at the heart of everything. The right material keeps plants safe, resists chemicals and microbes, survives countless sterilisation cycles, and lasts through years of use.

Silicone ticks all of these boxes. It’s stable in nutrient solutions, resilient under heat and UV, and trusted for food-safe applications. Simply put, it’s reliable—for growers and for plants.

The Search for Alternatives

To challenge ourselves, we tested a wide range of new materials: bio-based rubbers, algae-derived elastomers, CO₂-based polymers, and recyclable thermoplastic silicones. Each had promise, from biodegradability to renewable sourcing. But each also came with trade-offs: sensitivity to water, shorter lifespan, or not yet ready for commercial use.

The result? None yet match silicone’s unique balance of safety, strength, and durability—qualities essential for reusable products that last.

The Real Challenge: What Happens at the End of Life?

Silicone performs exceptionally well during use, but its sustainability challenge lies at the end of life. Traditionally, silicone has been difficult to recycle, meaning most waste has been incinerated or sent to landfill.

That’s why we’re charting a new circular path with a larger partners in the near future.

A New Circular Path

Recent innovations are opening up exciting possibilities. Silicone can now be mechanically reprocessed and reintegrated into new products. Here’s how we see it working:

• Collection – Gather production scraps, offcuts, and eventually end-of-life parts.

• Processing – Clean, grind, and convert them into reusable material.

• Reintegration – Blend the recycled silicone into fresh compounds.

• Closed Loop – Over time, build systems where every part contains recycled content.

  
  

This won’t happen overnight. It requires partners, testing, and rigorous checks to ensure quality remains the same. But it’s a practical, achievable path forward.

Why Circularity Fits GyroPlant

We are already preventing tons of plastic and card waste by eliminating single use substrate, and we are implementing a new circular silicone loop to support our bigger vision:

• Less waste heading to landfill

• Lower demand for virgin material

• A more resilient, localised supply chain

• Products growers can trust to be both high-performing and sustainable

  
  

It’s about keeping what works best today, while building what the future needs.

Looking Ahead

We’ll keep a close eye on new materials—like bio-based TPUs and algae-derived polymers—as they develop. But true innovation isn’t always about replacing the old. Sometimes it’s about rethinking how we use it.

By combining silicone’s proven reliability with new circular recycling processes, GyroPlant is taking an important step forward. Not just for plants, but for people and the planet—pushing beyond conventional sustainable design.