Carbios, a pioneer in the development and industrialization of biological technologies to reinvent the life cycle of plastic and textiles, and FCC Environment UK (FCC), one of the UK’s leading recycling and waste management companies, have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to jointly study the implementation of a UK-based plant using Carbio's PET biorecycling licensed technology.

Carbios’ biorecycling technology is key to supporting FCC’s continuing goal of contributing to the circular economy by exploring new processes and technologies to produce recycled PET (r-PET) from PET plastic and textiles.

In order to tackle the plastic waste crisis, Carbios has developed a revolutionary enzymatic depolymerization technology that enables efficient and solvent-free recycling of PET plastic and textile waste into virgin-like products.

Carbios has ambitious plans to become a leading technology provider in the recycling of PET by 2035. In addition to the world’s first industrial-scale enzymatic PET recycling plant which is currently under construction in Longlaville, France, this UK-based plant would process PET waste that is currently not recyclable using conventional recycling technologies, such as colored, multilayered or textile waste.

“By creating value from waste, Carbios’ PET biorecycling technology is generating significant interest from waste management companies, proving that CARBIOS’ solution is relevant to both PET producers and waste management companies. For CARBIOS, partnering with FCC means access to feedstock at the source through its established collection systems, enhancing the efficiency and impact of our sustainable waste solution. I’m confident that the combination of our complementary areas of expertise will benefit both our companies, and the acceleration of a circular economy,” said Emmanuel Ladent, CEO, Carbios.

“To deliver the challenges set out in the Environment Act, we need to think creatively about how we recover the value in materials that society no longer wants, and textiles, as we know from our work promoting a reuse culture, pose a huge challenge to our sector. We are keen to explore with Carbios what contribution this technology could make to the UK circular economy and to examine further its place in the UK waste hierarchy from a firm evidence base,” added Steve Longdon, CEO, FCC Environment UK.