Beauty Brands Bet on Enzymes to Fix Plastic Waste

Carbios secures L'Oréal and L'Occitane as first buyers of enzyme-based recycled plastic in Europe.

3 Jun 2025

Europe's tightening packaging laws are pushing industry towards new technologies. Carbios, a French biotech, has secured long-term supply deals with L'Oréal and L'Occitane for recycled plastic made using its enzymes. This marks the first commercial use of enzymatic PET recycling in Europe, and a sign that regulation is reshaping supply chains.

Conventional mechanical recycling struggles with coloured and multilayer plastics, leaving much waste unrecoverable. Carbios's enzymes break PET into its core molecules, which can be reassembled into plastic indistinguishable from virgin material. Its flagship plant in Longlaville, France, will serve as both supplier and demonstration site for scaling the approach.

The timing is no accident. The EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation will soon require higher shares of recycled content. By signing advance contracts, Carbios not only validates its technology but also secures demand before expanding capacity. "This is about securing the future supply chain," a company spokesperson said.

Analysts see the combination of regulatory pressure, brand demand and ready technology as a rare alignment. Other consumer-goods firms may follow suit, pooling demand to ensure access to scarce high-quality recycled material.

Yet barriers remain. Building enzyme-based plants is costly, and steady supplies of PET waste are essential. Alternative methods, such as chemical depolymerisation, are also competing for recognition and investment.

If Longlaville proves efficient, the model could be replicated across Europe and beyond. The partnerships are more than commercial deals: they show how regulation can accelerate innovation, and how industry may finally move closer to closing the loop on plastic packaging.