'World first': Top brands produce plastic bottles using enzyme recycling process

Food-grade plastic bottles produced entirely from waste material broken down and recycled using enzymes have been manufactured for the first time by a consortium including consumer goods giants L'Oréal, Nestlé, and PepsiCo, as they gear up to launch the first industrial enzymatic recycling facility by 2025.

The milestone, which the companies claims is a world-first, marks the culmination of almost 10 years' worth of research and development led by consortium member Carbios to create a new recycling process that uses enzymes to break down plastic waste back into virgin-quality raw material.

Enzymes which occur naturally in compost heaps to break down the leaf membranes of dead plants have been adapted to break down any type of PET plastic, regardless of colour or complexity, into a raw material that can then be turned back into virgin-quality plastic, according to Carbios.

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, and which result in end product raw materials that can vary in quality. As such, plastic can usually only be recycled a finite number of times, and it is estimated only around nine per cent of all plastic ever made has ever been fully recycled.

But Carbios claims its patented process enables a wide variety of used plastics to be recycled back into food-grade PET that might otherwise go to landfill or incineration, potentially providing a continuous, circular system of recycling.

Moreover, the biotech firm claims its patented, high-speed process is 10,000 times more efficient than any other biological plastic recycling trial to date, as it is able to break down 97 per cent of plastic within around 16 hours.

"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," Carbios CEO Jean Claude Lumaret announced last week. "This is a truly transformational innovation that could finally fully close the loop on PET plastic supply globally, so that it never becomes waste."

Each member of the consortium - which in addition to L'Oréal, Nestlé Waters, and PepsiCo includes Suntory Beverage and Food Europe - has successfully manufactured sample bottles using the enzymatic recycling process, including for high profile drinks brands such as Perrier, Pepsi Max, and Orangina.

Together, the companies in the consortium aim to scale the recycling technology, with a plan to begin construction of a demonstration plant in September this year, before launching a full, industrial facility by 2025 capable of enzymatically recycling up to 40,000 tonnes of plastic each year.

Jean-Francois Briois, head of packaging material science and environmental sustainability in Nestlé Waters' global R&D division, said the prototype bottles made from coloured recycled PET materials were "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," he said.

Roberto Vanin, chief R&D officer at Suntory Beverage & Food Europe, said tackling the global plastic waste mountain required "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 per cent sustainable plastic ambition," he said.