Carbios and Tomra Textiles partner to increase the circularity of polyester textiles

The resulting monomers will be used to produce recycled polyester fibers

Carbios and Tomra Textiles will collaborate to close the loop on textile circularity: from textile waste collection to innovative technologies that enable textile-to-textile recycling

Carbios, pioneer in the development and industrialization of biological technologies to reinvent the life cycle of plastics and textiles, and Tomra Textiles, a technology company created by the leader in sorting technology Tomra, announces the signing of a collaboration agreement for the establishment of an efficient collection sector in Northern Europe , sorting and preparing textile waste until recycling using Carbios enzymatic depolymerization technology in its first commercial plant being built in Longlaville, France .

The resulting monomers will be used to produce recycled polyester fibers (r-PET), thus closing the loop on the circularity of polyester textiles.

Innovations from Tomra Textiles and Carbios help fill critical gaps in the value chain and significantly increase the textile-to-textile recycling rate, which is currently 1%. By accelerating the circular economy of polyester, a sustainable alternative to incineration or landfill is possible.

Tomra Textiles' mission is to overcome the obstacles that prevent textile circularity, by contributing to the design and scale-up of textile sorting plants. As part of the partnership agreement, Tomra  Textiles will explore specific and tangible measures to enable the preparation of post-consumer polyester waste for biorecycling according to Carbios specifications.