Full speed ahead for Samsara Eco scale-up
Canberra-based biotech company Samsara Eco has announced that it will develop a new plastics and textile enzymatic recycling plant.
It is to work with technology licensing and engineering design partner KBR to develop the new recycling plant and is aiming to complete the project in early 2028.
Samsara Eco has developed plastic-eating enzymes that can break nylon and polyester fibres in apparel back down into monomer form to enable textile-to-textile recycling. It has already demonstrated that its technology can recycle nylon 6,6, mixed fibres and dyed fabric blends. In 2024, it became part of the hub that sustainability-focused innovation accelerator Fashion for Good runs.
It has worked with Lululemon to create the world’s first garment containing enzymatically recycled nylon 6,6. The product was Lululemon’s limited-edition Packable Anorak jacket.
Now the biotech start-up has said its aim in developing the new recycling plant with KBR is to create a continuous recycling loop for some of the most common types of plastic and synthetic fibres, including materials that have traditionally been difficult or impossible to recycle.
KBR will carry out front-end engineering design of the project by the end of the second quarter of 2025. Its team will then deliver a package for the process design to build a commercial facility for recycled nylon 6,6 with capacity to produce 20,000 tonnes per year.
Founder and chief executive of Samsara Eco, Paul Riley, commented: “We are charging full speed ahead to deliver our first-of-a-kind plant to fuel a circular economy and support brands’ ambition to create more circular products from low-carbon recycled materials.”
He added that the Australian start-up was proud to have KBR in its corner in its bid to bring its technology to industrial scale.
