Samsara Eco has started a new commercial plant that uses AI-made enzymes to recycle old clothes and plastics. The plant is in New South Wales, Australia, near Canberra.
Samsara Eco, a company that started this plant in early September in Jerrabomberra, says it is the first to create a process called “textile-to-textile” recycling. This process takes plastic fibers from used clothes and turns them into new materials that can be used to make new clothes. The company didn’t say exactly how much it can produce, but it says it can make enough recycled materials for hundreds of thousands of clothes each year.
The plant uses special technology to remove nylon, polyester, and PET from old clothes and plastics. Then, it uses enzymes to break these materials down into smaller parts called monomers. These monomers are cleaned and separated from colors and dyes before being sent to other companies. These companies turn the monomers back into new nylon 6,6 and polyester.
The plant in Jerrabomberra will supply sportswear brand lululemon with recycled nylon and polyester. The two companies signed a ten-year deal in June. In February of last year, lululemon made the first ever clothing item made from recycled nylon 6,6, a long-sleeve sports top with over 90% recycled material. In April 2024, they added an anorak made from recycled polyester.
Samsara Eco mainly focuses on recycling nylon 6,6 and polyester, which are two of the most common materials used in clothing. These materials are strong and durable, which makes them hard to recycle.
The company also wants to recycle many types of plastics using its “library of plastic-eating enzymes,” which are developed with the help of AI. The Jerrabomberra site also has new areas for making enzymes and labs for research, including studies by The LYCRA Company on recycling spandex.
Paul Riley, the CEO and founder of Samsara Eco, said the opening of the plant isn’t just about building a facility. It’s about creating a cycle where materials never truly end up as waste. Instead, they are recycled over and over, reducing the need for limited resources.
He added: “This is a big turning point for circularity, moving materials from just early ideas to something that’s now widely used.”
The launch of the plant was celebrated with a ceremony attended by local and government officials, including Chris Bowen, the Australian minister for climate change and energy.
“Extraordinary achievement”
Every year, about 92 million tons of textile waste are created worldwide, and this accounts for 11% of all plastic waste.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, 8% of textile fibers came from recycled sources in 2023.
Samsara Eco was started in 2021 with support from the Australian National University and financial help from Woolworths Group and the venture capital firm Main Sequence. The goal is to develop a way to infinitely recycle textiles and plastic waste. The company aims to recycle the equivalent of 500 million garments and 10 billion plastic bottles each year by 2030.
Samsara Eco has attracted support from big names in deep tech investment, including Hitachi Ventures and Greycroft. Jan Marchewski from Hitachi Ventures said they were very impressed by Samsara Eco’s ability to complete all their goals on time and within budget—an impressive achievement for a deep tech company.
