Episode three of our great Australian Startup Season features Samsara Eco, inventors of an enzyme technology that literally eats plastic.
What do coke bottles, carpets and clothes have in common? Along with thousands of other things we use every day, they are made of plastic.
With few practical - let alone commercial - ways to recycle these items into new products, they are choking our oceans, piling up in landfills and breaking down into tiny fragments that are finding their way into our bodies.
And did you know that plastic also accounts for nearly two billion tonnes of carbon emissions every year?
Rather than be overwhelmed by the scale of the problem, Samsara Eco founder Paul Riley saw an opportunity.
Samsara Eco Founder and CEO, Paul Riley and Head of Science, Colin Jackson
He scoured the globe for a way to break common plastics down into their core elements so they can be remanufactured into useful, high-value objects.
The answer was calling close to home, via the magazine of Canberra’s Australian National University. Two researchers Vanessa Vongsouthi and Matthew Spence developed a way to depolymerise plastic using enzymes and with Main Sequence Ventures and Woolworths’ support, the company was founded.
Samsara Eco’s Enzymatic Process
He tries to explain how the system works in simple terms. “The way I describe it is that the enzymes are like little pacmen, and they run around and they literally cut the polymer chain in half,” Riley said.
“Two monomers have been forced together under pressure to produce the plastic and our little enzymatic pacmen come along and they undo the work that was done and cut that polymer chain. Everything goes back to its original building blocks. It’s down at a molecular level, and these enzymes separate out the colour.”
This is a key point, as mechanical recycling systems can only process clean clear plastic. Samsara’s approach can recycle any kind of plastic, even if it's coloured or degraded.
By operating at low temperatures, the system avoids much of the energy used by thermal recycling processes, while also breaking materials down into monomers that can be reused for the highest value applications like clear food containers.
While different types of plastic require different enzymes, Samsara have already developed five and are working on more. This will allow them to achieve their holy grail, where a mixed bale of coloured bottles, plastic trays, punnets, carpet, clothes and other items can be processed simultaneously.
Big Problem, Big Business
Globally, plastic production accounted for nearly 2 billion tonnes of carbon emissions in 2019 and in Australia alone produces the same amount of greenhouse gas as 5.7 million cars every year.
Riley emphasises the scale of the challenge recycling all of that waste, highlighting that 10 billion tonnes of plastic has been created since its invention, all of which remains in existence.
“It’s either sitting in landfill, it’s in the environment somewhere or it’s still in use, but it’s still here because there is no real recycling technology,” he said.
“Even technologies now that we go to like mechanical recycling are actually down cycling, because you can only put it through that process a couple of times before the plastic can’t be used anymore and it ends up in landfill.”
Commendably, many consumers are trying to reduce their plastic use, but the reality is that Australians are still using far too much - between 130 and 160 kilograms per person every year. Some sources suggest just nine per cent of this plastic consumed is actually recycled.
There are indicators that demand for an effective recycling system is there, with Australians diligently sorting their kerbside waste for decades. Even the RedCycle debacle, where a company backed by the big supermarkets was found to be stockpiling thousands of tonnes of soft plastic intended for recycling, was well subscribed.
Riley says scale will be key. “We ambitiously say we’re going to be processing one and a half million tonnes of plastic by 2030. That’s our goal. And, and that turns you into a multi-billion dollar revenue business, a massive business… but that represents 0.375% of the world plastic market.
“You’re barely making a dent in the problem. There needs to be 20 Samsaras to succeed if we’re going to actually address the problem,” he said.
Their vision has significant backing, with Main Sequence, Woolworths, Clean Energy Finance Corporation and Lululemon among a group of investors and the Australian National University a major shareholder. Riley acknowledges that building each recycling plant is likely to cost between $60 and $100 million, but they closed a $56 million series A round last year and are working with a growing list of partners behind the scenes.
From Canberra to the World
They are already producing recycled polyester fibre and hope to have their first product on the market this year as a stepping stone to getting their first full-scale plant online within five years. Beyond Australia, Riley says they are eyeing global markets, particularly in Europe where there is strong appetite for the technology.
They are also eyeing emissions reductions opportunities beyond just plastic, seeing potential to use their recycled monomers to produce chemicals that currently rely on fossil fuels.
“My challenge is the firehose of customers who have reviewed the technology and want it. All of the major fast moving consumer groups are talking to us. They all want it. They’re doing trials. It’s how do you build these facilities quickly enough to actually make an impact on carbon now, to make an impact on plastic pollution,” he said.
It's a challenge many startups all over the globe would love to have - and in Samsara Eco, Paul Riley looks to have assembled the right mix of scientists, investors and partners to pull it off.
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