Carbios and Landbell Group plan to reinvent the circularity of post-consumer PET waste at Carbios’ bio-recycling plant. Credit: Shutterstock.

As part of the non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Carbios will leverage Landbell Group’s expertise and network for sourcing PET packaging and textile waste, which will undergo preparation for bio-recycling.

Once Carbios’ first commercial bio-recycling plant opens in Longlaville, France in 2026, Landbell Group will provide Carbos with 15 kt/year of PET flakes to ensure a consistent supply chain for sustainable PET production.

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These flakes will serve as feedstock for Carbios’ production of food-grade PTA and MEG, further re-polymerised into PET.

Both entities aim to divert challenging PET fractions, including multilayers, colours and opaque trays from packaging waste, as well as polyester textile waste, towards recycling processes.

Carbos’ enzyme technology claims to necessitate less sorting and washing compared to current recycling technologies, which it believes leads to future savings in terms of both energy and water consumption.

Uwe Echteler, COO of Landbell Group, emphasised the challenges posed by PET trays in food packaging due to their multi-layered structure and said: “The innovative depolymerisation process developed by Carbios facilitates the recycling of PET waste into high-quality recycled PET.

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“Landbell Group and Carbios together will enable closed-loop recycling of problematic PET waste to allow its customers – packaging manufacturers and brands – to use recycled content in food packaging and meet their sustainability targets.”

Carbios’ bio-recycling technology is said to have many environmental benefits based on its recent lifecycle analyses such as a 57% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to virgin plastic production.

The biotech company also stated that for every tonne of recycled PET produced, 1.3 tons of oil are avoided. Plus, enzymatic recycling, according to calculations based on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Material Circularity Indicator, is five times more circular than conventional recycling.

Emmanuel Ladent, CEO of Carbios commented: “Through our new partnership with Landbell Group, Carbios secures a significant feedstock supply for our first commercial plant, and we are pleased to make bio-recycled PET available to Landbell’s extensive client portfolio, powering a circular economy for plastic.

“By minimising bottle usage and diversifying raw material sources, we’re advancing sustainability while meeting market demands effectively. Together, we’re forging a future where waste becomes a valuable resource.”

In February Carbios teamed up with biotech engineering firm De Smet Engineers and Contractors (DSEC) to construct what it claimed to be the “first” PET bio-recycling plant for reinventing the lifecycle of plastic and textiles.