Carbios releases recycled plastic bottle prototype

In June 2021, Nestlé Waters partnered with French green biotechnology company Carbios and a global industry consortium to successfully produce what was described as the world’s first food-grade prototype bottles made entirely from enzymatically recycled plastic. The initiative marked a major development in efforts to improve circular recycling technologies for PET plastic packaging used in the food and beverage industry. The consortium was originally established by Carbios and L’Oréal, with Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo, and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe joining the collaboration in 2019. The partnership focused on scaling a biological recycling process capable of breaking down polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic waste into its original chemical components so it could be reused to create new food-grade packaging. Nestlé Waters contributed research and development capabilities to produce bottle preforms for the consortium, which were then blown into prototype bottles for its Perrier® mineral water brand. Other consortium members also created demonstration packaging prototypes for major brands, including L’Oréal’s Biotherm®, Pepsi Max®, and Orangina®. The prototypes were intended to demonstrate that enzymatically recycled PET could meet food-grade and cosmetic packaging standards while supporting repeated recycling cycles. The underlying technology developed by Carbios uses an optimized enzyme originally discovered in compost material. The enzyme breaks PET plastic down into its two fundamental building blocks, terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol. These raw materials can then be purified and reused to manufacture new PET plastic with properties comparable to virgin plastic produced from fossil fuels. The consortium stated that the enzymatic recycling process could potentially recycle a wider range of PET waste, including colored and complex plastics that are often difficult to process through conventional mechanical recycling systems. The project formed part of broader industry efforts to reduce virgin plastic use and increase circular packaging solutions amid growing environmental concerns about plastic waste. Why This Moment Matters The June 2021 prototype launch demonstrated how biotechnology and large-scale consumer goods companies were beginning to collaborate on next-generation recycling systems. The project also showed growing industry interest in technologies capable of repeatedly recycling food-grade plastics while reducing dependence on newly produced fossil-based materials.