FMCG companies unveil world’s first enzymatically recycled bottles
In a bid to drive the recycling of plastic agenda by companies in the FMCG sector, L’Oréal, Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe have announced the successful production of the world’s first food-grade PET plastic bottles produced entirely from enzymatically recycled plastic.
The breakthrough is a product of nearly 10 years’ research and development by Carbios, a French company pioneering bio-industrial solutions to reinvent the lifecycle of plastic and textile polymers which developed a process to 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 and optimized it to break down any kind of PET plastic regardless of colour or complexity into its building blocks, which can then be turned back into like-new, virgin-quality plastic.
Carbios CEO Jean Claude Lumaret explains that “In a world first, we have created food-grade clear bottles from enzymatically recycled, coloured 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 PET plastic supply globally, so that it never becomes waste.”
Food-grade sample bottles produced by a consortium of companies dedicated to the cause are using Carbios’ breakthrough enzymatic recycling process.
Each participating company has successfully manufactured sample bottles — based on Carbios’ enzymatic PET recycling technology for leading products including Biotherm, Perrier, Pepsi Max (aka Pepsi Black and Pepsi Zero Sugar in some markets) and Orangina.
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