Local recycling tech start-up Samsara Eco is gearing up to commercialise a new patented carbon-neutral recycling process, using enzymes that can break down plastics into their foundational building blocks, known as monomers.
The company was founded 18 months ago by CEO Paul Riley, on the back of his work as entrepreneur-in-residence at Main Sequence. Main Sequence was created by CSIRO to address the “valley of death” between research and commercialisation, and manages two innovation funds. There are more than 7 billion tonnes of plastic that have been created globally, and it is estimated only 10 per cent of it has been recycled.Complications with conventional recycling include soft plastics, such as plastic bags and cling wrap, getting caught in the conveyor belt of the mechanical machinery, while coloured plastics such as the old green Sprite bottles are challenging to recycle because the colour can’t be removed.
Samsara Eco’s first enzyme is being used to recycle PET plastics, but it is developing a “library” of enzymes that can be used to break down nylon, soft plastics and other forms of plastic. The company already has a partnership with Tennis Australia to recycle 5000 plastic bottles from the Australian Open, and it hopes to have a plastic product on the shelves of Woolworths before the end of the year.The funding will help Samsara commence building a 20,000 tonne recycling plant in Melbourne or Sydney, grow its team of scientists and continue developing it enzyme library.
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