Following successful launches in China and Turkey, French bio-recycling specialist Carbios is paving the way for a new venture in the United Kingdom. This initiative marks the third international iteration of Carbios’ industrial endeavors, aiming to replicate its innovative facility through a licensing agreement with British firm FCC Environment UK.

This collaboration is poised to establish a new industrial unit that leverages Carbios’ pioneering technology for recycling plastics and synthetic textiles (PET) that are currently non-recyclable locally, such as colored, multi-layered materials, and textiles.

“We need to think creatively about how we recover value from materials that society no longer wants, and textiles present a significant challenge for our industry, as we know from our efforts to promote a reuse culture,” said Steve Longdon, CEO of FCC Environment UK.

In June, Carbios unveiled its first industrial replication project with Chinese conglomerate Zhink, aimed at tapping into China’s vast PET recycling potential. By early August, plans for a second international facility near Adana, Turkey, were also disclosed.

These expansions are concurrent with the development of Carbios’ inaugural facility following a pilot phase in Clermont-Ferrand. The forthcoming Longlaville site in Meurthe-et-Moselle will annually recycle the equivalent of 300 million synthetic t-shirts or two billion colored bottles. This process innovatively separates dyes and impurities from PETs—materials derived from hydrocarbons—that undergo a depolymerization phase.

From the recycled PETs produced, Carbios is set to generate recycled textile fibers and packaging materials, including bottles catering to the cosmetics industry, particularly targeting global giant L’Oréal.