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World’s first food-grade bottles made from 100% enzymatically recycled PET

Industry Food & Beverage
Technologies PET Biorecycling
Impact
  • 1st food-grade bottles made entirely from enzymatically recycled PET
  • 100% recycled, food-grade PET bottles
  • 4 leading brands (Biotherm®, Perrier®, Pepsi Max®, Orangina®)

In 2017, Carbios and L’Oréal co-founded a consortium to industrialize a breakthrough enzymatic recycling technology, later joined in 2019 by Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo, and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe. United by a shared ambition to accelerate the circular economy for plastics, the partners have worked to scale this disruptive innovation and increase the global availability of high-quality, 100% recycled PET.

This collaboration has already led to a major milestone: the successful production of the world’s first food-grade r-PET bottles made entirely from enzymatically recycled plastic. This achievement demonstrates not only the technological breakthrough, but also its industrial viability across multiple leading brands and applications.

The challenge

Enable biorecycling of PET into
food-grade packaging without quality loss,
including complex and colored plastic waste.

OBJECTIVES

  • Produce 100% recycled, food-grade PET bottles

    from enzymatically recycled waste.

  • Maintain virgin-equivalent quality

    clarity, safety, performance, food-grade compliance.

  • Validate the technology

    across multiple global brands and applications.

  • Accelerate the transition

    toward a fully circular PET economy.

Discover the full story

Read the press release Open in new tab

Testimonials

  • “We have been working with Carbios since 2017 to develop this first bottle made from enzymatically recycled PET. Today, we are happy to announce its industrial feasibility and are delighted to be able to create, with our partners, the packaging of the future. This is a breakthrough innovation which illustrates our commitment to distribute a packaging that is more respectful of the planet and which is part of a circularity process that has been under way for more than 15 years.”

    Jacques Playe,

    Global Head of Packaging and Product Development, L’Oréal

  • “It is very exciting to see that the quality of the prototype bottles made from colored recycled PET materials is virtually identical to clear virgin PET. When we reach industrial scale, this enzymatic recycling technology will enable us to produce high-quality r-PET bottles and help Nestlé Waters in our journey to boost the circular economy and reduce the use of virgin plastics.”

    Jean-François Briois,

    Head of Packaging Material Science & Environmental Sustainability, Nestlé Waters

“PepsiCo is committed to building a circular economy to achieve our vision that packaging never becomes waste. We are dedicated to reducing the virgin plastic we use and with the breakthrough Carbios enzymatic recycling technology, we can help keep valuable material in the circular economy, reduce waste and take another step toward a truly closed loop system.”

Ron Khan,

Global VP of Packaging, Beverages, PepsiCo

“The global issue of plastic waste requires transformational thinking, creative partnerships and innovative brands coming together to seek out new solutions. Continued investment in new ways of tackling waste and creating true circularity such as this ground-breaking technology from Carbios will be key to Suntory Beverage & Food Europe achieving its 100% sustainable plastic ambition.”

Roberto Vanin,

Chief R&D Officer, Suntory Beverage & Food Europe

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