“I hope my journey demonstrates to the next generation of female entrepreneurs that women bring unique strengths to business. In the recycling industry especially, qualities like compassion, resilience, empathy, and a nurturing mindset naturally align with creating a more sustainable future.” — Maggie Bozic Infante, CEO and Co-Founder, Infinite Industries

When Maggie Bozic Infante and her late husband, Hugo, founded Infinite Industries in 2007, they set out to solve a problem most recyclers avoided: how to process multi-laminated packaging, fibre, plastic and aluminium bonded together, without the costly separation step conventional recycling relies on. ”Our biggest niche was being able to process multi-laminated materials without separation,” says Bozic Infante. That capability is what allows Infinite Industries to recycle products such as Tetra Pak liquid board packaging in full, rather than breaking them down piece by piece.

Getting there was not straightforward. Rising energy costs remain a persistent pressure on the business. In its early years, convincing companies to take responsibility for their own waste proved harder still, at a time when sustainability was treated locally as optional rather than obligatory. Many businesses welcomed what Infinite Industries offered. Few were willing to commit to it.

However, Tetra Pak saw things differently. Bringing a small, agile business into a global corporate structure took patience on both sides. “As a small company, we can make decisions and implement them immediately,” says Bozic Infante. “It was about understanding the corporate space, and getting to a common ground.” Infinite Industries laid out the challenges a small business faces that a multinational doesn’t, while Tetra Pak explained its sustainability goals and asked what impact the partnership could have. Soon enough, the two sides found a way to complement each other’s strengths. “Moving forward together is better than trying to do it apart,” she says.

That commitment has since taken concrete form. Tetra Pak has completed an investment in a dry cleaning line for Infinite Industries, helping the business increase its capacity. Infinite Industries is one of several partners that have benefited from Tetra Pak’s broader investment of just under R100 million in developing South Africa’s carton recycling value chain. Through this network, Infinite Industries converts the aluminium and plastic layers from Tetra Pak cartons into boards, used in products ranging from roofing sheets to furniture and beehives. The results are visible in the numbers: Tetra Pak’s carton recycling rate in South Africa reached 31% in 2025, up from 26% in 2024.

That kind of investment, Tetra Pak says, reflects its broader approach to the circular economy: strengthening the recycling value chain by backing the capable partners within it, rather than working in isolation. For Bozic Infante, the partnership was an invaluable boost after Hugo’s sudden death. “A multinational with a global footprint saying they believe in you, and they support you, that gave me the confidence to keep going.”

She is candid about what leading in this space as a woman has required, from being underestimated on the factory floor to balancing a family’s needs with those of a business that supports an entire workforce. It’s a reality she’s determined to reframe for others coming up behind her: qualities often dismissed as soft, she believes, are exactly what the industry needs. “We don’t just think about profits. We think about the future we want to preserve for our children.”

Looking ahead, Bozic Infante is optimistic about where recycling and circular manufacturing in South Africa are headed. Technology is making recycling more efficient and scalable, she says, while Extended Producer Responsibility regulations have created new economic incentives around recycled materials and packaging designers increasingly favour sustainable solutions from the outset. “We’ve only just started discovering what’s possible with waste materials,” she says.

That future, she believes, is not one any single business builds alone. “When women lift each other up, we don’t just build successful businesses. We create lasting impact for our communities, our environment, and the generations that follow,” she says.