"Revolutionary Enzyme Devours Plastic Waste, Starting with T-shirts"

French company Carbios has developed an enzyme, LCCICCG, that can efficiently break down PET plastic into its constituent monomers, allowing for the production of new plastic. The company plans to open a factory in northeast France by 2025 to recycle 50,000 tonnes of PET waste annually. Carbios aims to license its process to other companies and has formed a consortium with major brands like Nestle, L'Oréal, and PepsiCo. While other research teams are also working on PET recycling, Carbios is at the forefront of scaling up the process. However, the cost of the recycled monomers is expected to be about 60% higher than those derived from petrochemicals.