Review of Clear Drop's Soft Plastic Compactor: A High-Cost Home Recycling Device

WIRED tested Clear Drop's Soft Plastic Compactor (SPC), a stainless steel device that processes household soft plastics like bubble wrap and mailers into compact blocks for recycling. The machine requires a $799 down payment plus a $49 monthly subscription, totaling $2,000 over two years, and includes one mailer monthly for shipping blocks to a facility in Frankfort, Indiana, where they are turned into products like composite decking. Founder Ivan Arbouzov targets early adopters motivated by sustainability, though the device faces practicality concerns for average consumers. Clear Drop is piloting the SPC with institutions like The Shaw Institute in Maine and commercial partners to build distributed recycling infrastructure.