By Marion Rae in Canberra

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.

“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.

“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.

“And in 90 minutes to two hours you are back to those original building blocks.”

Plastic production is forecast to triple by 2050 with most ending up in landfill and microplastics infiltrating the air, water and food.

“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.

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.

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.

“Your garments are made of polyester, and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles are exactly the same plastic as your polyester fibres,” he said.

“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.”

Samsara Eco and activewear giant Lululemon launched their first product in 2024 made from recycled polyester – the limited edition Packable Anorak.

The startup is also working with global nylon producer NILIT on a business case for a production plant in Southeast Asia.

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.

“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.

“It’s close to polymerisation capability and it’s close to where yarn and fabric are created.”

What they produce at the polymer level is then moved on to yarn, which is turned into fabric, which is turned into a garment.

“That’s the stage at which we become a fully-fledged, revenue-generating commercial operation, when that facility is established,” Mr Riley said.

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.

“Very few people know mechanical recycling is not a permanent recycling solution. We call it a down-cycling solution,” he said.

“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.

“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.”

Similarly, plastic bottles can only go through mechanical recycling about three or four times before the plastic degrades and can’t be used again.

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.

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.

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.

Plastic pollution is a environmental crisis, polluting oceans and waterways, killing marine life and impacting human health, according to the Australian Marine Conservation Society.

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.

Other top polymer-producing countries include the US, China, India and South Korea.