Enzyme-based plastic recycling moves a step closer with new demo plant
Consortium speeds towards full commercialisation of innovative recycling approach
Carbios has successfully launched a industrial demonstration plant for its enzyme-based plastic recycling technology, marking the culmination of a decade of research.
The consortium said it is now working “hand in hand” with its multinational brand partners including L’Oréal, Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo, and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe to implement its technology and “lead the transition toward a truly circular economy”.
The Carbios system uses enzymes, which occur naturally in compost heaps, and adapts them to break down any type of PET plastic, regardless of colour or complexity. The enzyme leaves behind a raw material which can then be turned back into virgin-quality plastic.
Conventional plastic recycling methods often rely on complex and energy-intensive processes, which typically require a different process for tackling each of the myriad types and colours of PET, resulting in end product raw materials that can vary in quality.
The launch of the demonstration plant comes less than six months after Carbios manufactured its first food-grade plastic bottles produced entirely from waste material broken down and recycled using enzymes.
“For more than 10 years, we have been creating innovative solutions to rethink the end of life of plastics and textiles,” said Jean-Claude Lumaret, Carbios’ chief executive officer. “This industrial demonstration plant fulfils the promises of our enzymatic recycling process, C-ZYME. The continuous cycle of recycling PET waste is one step closer to becoming a reality.”
With early tests successfully completed, the new plant will now highlight the potential scalability of the process and is the last stage before the commercialisation of its C-ZYME technology.
The goal of the Carbois team and its multinational partners is to launch the first industrial enzymatic recycling facility by 2025.
A delegation from Japan’s Suntory Group attended the opening of the demonstration plant in recognition of its support for the technology. Suntory Beverage Food Europe – a division within the Suntory Group – launched the world’s first Orangina bottle made from enzymatically recycled plastic earlier this year.
