Global Brands Pilot Bottles Made Using ‘Transformational’ Recycling Technology

As Carbios explains, its patented enzymatic PET recycling process enables a wide variety of PET plastics to be recycled into virgin-quality, food-grade rPET. PET plastics that would otherwise go to waste or be incinerated can now be brought back into a continuous circular system of recycling. And, according to Carbios, this can be achieved at high speeds, breaking down 97% of plastic in just 16 hours, which the company is says is 10,000-times more efficient than any biological plastic recycling trial to date (see peer-reviewed article in Nature).

Furthermore, Carbios explains, enzymatic recycling overcomes the issue of degradation in conventional recycling. Because Carbios’ recycling process works under mild conditions, it could also lower the carbon footprint of PET waste treatment by saving 30% of CO₂ emissions compared to a conventional end-of-life mix of incineration and landfill, taking virgin PET production substitution into account (Preliminary Life Cycle Assessment of Carbios PET recycling process, 2021).

Carbios has created a new process to supercharge an enzyme naturally occurring in compost heaps that normally breaks down the leaf membranes of dead plants.Together, the consortium will work to scale this innovation to help meet the global demand for sustainable packaging solutions. In September 2021, Carbios will break ground on a demonstration plant, before launching a 40,000-ton-capacity industrial facility by 2025.

Says Carbios CEO Jean Claude Lumaret, “In a world first, we have created food-grade clear bottles from enzymatically recycled colored and complex plastic with identical properties to virgin PET, and in partnership with the Consortium, we have proved the viability of the technology with the world’s leading brands. This is a truly transformational innovation that could finally fully close the loop on the PET plastic supply globally, so that it never becomes waste.”

Adds Jean-Francois Briois, Head of Packaging Material Science and Environmental Sustainability, Nestlé Waters global R&D, “It is very exciting to see that the quality of the prototype bottles made from colored recycled PET materials is virtually identical to clear virgin PET. When we reach industrial scale, this enzymatic recycling technology will enable us to produce high-quality rPET bottles and help Nestlé Waters in our journey to boost the circular economy and reduce the use of virgin plastics.”

Read how plasma gasification can be used for the closed-loop recycling of plastics.

Says Ron Khan, Global VP of Packaging, Beverages, PepsiCo, “PepsiCo is committed to building a circular economy to achieve our vision that packaging never becomes waste. We are dedicated to reducing the virgin plastic we use, and with the breakthrough Carbios enzymatic recycling technology, we can help keep valuable material in the circular economy, reduce waste, and take another step toward a truly closed-loop system.”

Roberto Vanin, Chief R&D Officer, Suntory Beverage & Food Europe, adds, “The global issue of plastic waste requires transformational thinking, creative partnerships, and innovative brands coming together to seek out new solutions. Continued investment in new ways of tackling waste and creating true circularity such as this ground-breaking technology from Carbios, will be key to Suntory Beverage & Food Europe achieving its 100% sustainable plastic ambition.”