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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nEach Consortium company has successfully manufactured sample bottles \u2013 based on Carbios\u2019 enzymatic PET recycling technology \u2013 for some of their leading products including: Biotherm\u00ae, Perrier\u00ae, Pepsi Max\u00ae** and Orangina\u00ae.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today\u2019s announcement is the culmination of nearly 10 years\u2019 research and development by Carbios to create a new process and supercharge an enzyme naturally occurring in compost heaps that normally breaks down leaf membranes of dead plants. By adapting this enzyme, Carbios has fine-tuned the technology<\/strong> and optimized this enzyme<\/strong> to break down any kind of PET plastic (regardless of color or complexity) into its building blocks, which can then be turned back into like-new, virgin-quality plastic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carbios\u2019 patented enzymatic PET recycling process enables a wide variety of PET plastics to be recycled into virgin quality, food grade rPET<\/strong>. PET plastics that would otherwise go to waste or be incinerated, can now be brought back into a continuous circular system of recycling. And this can be achieved at high speed \u2013 breaking down 97% of plastic in just 16 hours \u2013 10,000 times more efficient than any biological plastic recycling trial to date (peer-reviewed article in <\/em>Nature<\/em><\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Together, these brands 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 tons capacity industrial facility, by 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Commenting on the announcement, Carbios\u2019 CEO Jean Claude Lumaret commented:<\/strong> \u201cIn 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\u2019s leading brands. This is a truly transformational innovation that could finally fully close the loop on PET plastic supply globally, so that it never becomes waste.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jacques Playe, L\u2019Or\u00e9al\u2019s Global Head of Packaging and Product Development added:<\/strong> \u201cWe have been working with Carbios since 2017 to develop this first bottle made from enzymatically recycled PET. Today, we are happy to announce its industrial feasibility and are delighted to be able to create, with our partners, the packaging of the future. This is a breakthrough innovation which illustrates our commitment to distribute a packaging that is more respectful of the planet and which is part of a circularity process that has been under way for more than 15 years.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jean-Francois Briois, Head of Packaging Material Science and Environmental Sustainability Nestl\u00e9 Waters global R&D added:<\/strong> \u201cIt 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 Nestl\u00e9 Waters in our journey to\u202fboost the circular economy and reduce the use of virgin plastics.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ron Khan, Global VP of Packaging, Beverages, PepsiCo added:<\/strong> \u201cPepsiCo 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Roberto Vanin, Chief R&D Officer, Suntory Beverage & Food Europe, added:<\/strong> \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Enzymatic recycling overcomes the issue of degradation in conventional recycling and can be used on any type of PET plastic. Because Carbios\u2019 recycling process works under mild conditions, it also lowers 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.***<\/p>\n\n\n\n The successful completion of these initial food-grade bottles is a major milestone in the Consortium\u2019s validation of Carbios\u2019 technology. This partnership is part of a growing trend amongst brands to collaborate across industries to tackle these global challenges, working towards a world of circularity, where we limit the production of virgin plastic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carbios will license its technology to PET manufacturers worldwide, accelerating the global adoption of enzymatic recycling for all kinds of PET based products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ** <\/em>Pepsi Max\u00ae also known as Pepsi Black or Pepsi Zero Sugar in other global markets.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n *** Preliminary Life Cycle Assessment of Carbios PET recycling process, 2021<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Around 70 million tons of PET plastic is manufactured globally every year \u2013 equal to around 20% of all plastic \u2013 but through repeated conventional thermomechanical processes, the plastic used in packaging is degraded over time and requires new virgin plastic to retain its quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carbios has successfully hyper-charged naturally occurring enzymes from compost heaps that breaks down leaf membranes of dead plants. PET plastic is made from a string of building blocks also called monomers and this optimized enzyme is super-efficient at cutting the PET plastic into these building blocks: terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol. Those monomers can then be recombined to recreate the PET polymer, at food grade quality, in an infinite, virgin-quality loop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carbios, a green biotech company, develops biological and innovative processes to revolutionize the end of life of plastics and textiles. Through its unique approach of combining enzymes and plastics, Carbios aims to address new consumer expectations and the challenges of a broader energy transition by taking up a major challenge of our time: plastic and textile pollution. Carbios was named one of the World Economic Forum\u2019s Technology Pioneers of 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carbios and L\u2019Or\u00e9al founded the Consortium in 2017 and were joined in 2019 by Nestl\u00e9 Waters, PepsiCo and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAbout Enzymatic Recycling<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
About Carbios<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n