<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>336365</docID> <postdate>2025-01-11 10:56:13</postdate> <headline>Paul’s plastic-eating enzymes offer ‘infinite recycling’</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-336366" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Paul-Riley.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <caption>Led by CEO Paul Riley, Samsara Eco has developed patent-pending "infinite recycling" technology.</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Marion Rae </strong>in Canberra</span></p> <p><strong>Everything old is new again as plastic-eating enzymes turn polyester and nylon into molecules for high-quality fibres to make t-shirts, yoga wear and water bottles.</strong></p> <p>"If I never have to see another piece of single-used plastic or fast fashion in my life, I'd be very happy, that would be very exciting," enviro-tech startup Samsara Eco chief executive Paul Riley told AAP.</p> <p>"You could take a footy jersey, you could take a bottle, you put it in the process - it could be coloured, multi-layered, degraded, it doesn't matter what the state of that plastic is.</p> <p>"And in 90 minutes to two hours you are back to those original building blocks."</p> <p>Plastic production is forecast to triple by 2050 with most ending up in landfill and microplastics infiltrating the air, water and food.</p> <p>"It is here and it's here to stay... our ability to recycle nylon 6, nylon 6,6, polyester and mixed fibres, including coloured and dyed blends, is a game-changer," Mr Riley said.</p> <p>Starting with a team of four, the startup now employs 90 people and is expanding from its small industrial plant in Canberra with a research and development hub to open in July just across the border in Jerrabomberra, NSW.</p> <p>A library of enzymes is being developed with the latest breakthrough capable of breaking down "nylon 6", which is a synthetic fibre commonly used in apparel, hosiery and cars.</p> <p>"Your garments are made of polyester, and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles are exactly the same plastic as your polyester fibres," he said.</p> <p>"Plastic is a carbon problem... original building blocks that we recover, they feed straight into the existing supply chain - they displace fossil fuel-derived polymers."</p> <p>Samsara Eco and activewear giant Lululemon launched their first product in 2024 made from recycled polyester – the limited edition Packable Anorak.</p> <p>The startup is also working with global nylon producer NILIT on a business case for a production plant in Southeast Asia.</p> <p>These raw materials can be integrated into existing manufacturing processes that need high-quality nylon and spandex, and significantly reduce global emissions and the amount of textile waste that goes to landfill each year, according to NILIT.</p> <p>"The location of the facility is all about being close to where the waste is being generated – the large volume of waste that comes out of the fashion supply chain," Mr Riley said.</p> <p>"It's close to polymerisation capability and it's close to where yarn and fabric are created."</p> <p>What they produce at the polymer level is then moved on to yarn, which is turned into fabric, which is turned into a garment.</p> <p>"That's the stage at which we become a fully-fledged, revenue-generating commercial operation, when that facility is established," Mr Riley said.</p> <p>The patent-pending "infinite recycling" technology breaks plastics down driven by artificial intelligence and machine learning, which he said has allowed the rapid development of enzymes to carry out specific tasks.</p> <p>"Very few people know mechanical recycling is not a permanent recycling solution. We call it a down-cycling solution," he said.</p> <p>"At the moment, the minute you take plastic and put it in a garment there are no options – it's going to landfill. It's mixed, it's coloured.</p> <p>"There's no known technology that can resolve that unless you get a technology like ours that can separate out the colour and the polymers."</p> <p>Similarly, plastic bottles can only go through mechanical recycling about three or four times before the plastic degrades and can't be used again.</p> <p>A regulatory mechanism known as extended producer responsibility, or EPR, used by some other countries would make companies responsible for how they make carbon-laden products and for what happens after the consumer has used them.</p> <p>In Australia, the federal government decided against a mandatory producer responsibility scheme in late-2024 to the frustration of an emerging industry looking at reducing packaging waste and the harmful chemicals they contain.</p> <p>As well as packaging, the EPR approach can be applied across products containing plastics – textiles, electronics and electrical equipment, car parts, fishing gear and agricultural plastics.</p> <p>Plastic pollution is a environmental crisis, polluting oceans and waterways, killing marine life and impacting human health, according to the Australian Marine Conservation Society.</p> <p>But global plastic pollution treaty talks collapsed in December as a small number of petro-states including Saudi Arabia continue to block efforts to reduce plastic production, which remains a key source of growth for producers.</p> <p>Other top polymer-producing countries include the US, China, India and South Korea.</p> </body>