Australia has entered a new phase in the fight against plastic waste with the opening of Samsara Eco’s first enzymatic recycling plant in Jerrabomberra, regional New South Wales. The facility, powered by the company’s breakthrough EosEco technology, promises to bring infinite recycling to commercial scale and introduces new opportunities for packaging circularity.
EosEco uses AI-crafted enzymes to break down plastics that would otherwise end up in landfill, returning them to their original building blocks so they can be remade into virgin-identical, low-carbon raw materials. While the technology has wide application across apparel and automotive sectors, Samsara Eco has confirmed it is also targeting packaging – including flexible and multi-layer formats that have been notoriously difficult to recycle.
“Our technology is specifically developed to handle hard-to-recycle plastics, including coloured, multi-layered, and mixed plastics,” Paul Riley, CEO and funder of Samsara Eco told PKN. “By using enzymes, we break down plastics to their original building blocks, helping to solve for previously unrecyclable packaging. We’ve designed our process with our end customer in mind. Our materials plug directly into existing supply chains, allowing easy adoption for brands to swap virgin materials for recycled materials.”
Currently, only 10 per cent of plastics are recycled globally, a figure that underscores the urgency of new approaches. With extended producer responsibility schemes and mandatory recycled content requirements on the horizon, Samsara’s process could offer packaging producers a scalable pathway to meeting regulatory demands while reducing landfill reliance. The company has been vocal in its call for packaging reform to support a circular economy.
Riley said the Jerrabomberra site marks a tipping point. “In just four years, we’ve scaled from bench research through to pilot, demonstration, and now our first plant. This is a true tipping point for circularity, shifting circular materials from early-stage innovation to mainstream reality.”
Samsara Eco is already collaborating with brands to accelerate adoption. “We’re working with a number of partners to help bring our circular materials to commercial packaging products,” Riley said. “Brands are crucial to pull our materials through their supply chain, and incoming regulation is only helping to drive demand.”
While the Jerrabomberra plant will produce recycled nylon 6,6 and polyester at scale, its applications go beyond textiles. The same enzymatic process can convert mixed plastics into virgin-identical feedstock suitable for packaging, providing a potential closed-loop solution for sectors struggling with difficult-to-recycle materials.
The facility also houses expanded enzyme production and R&D capabilities, including partnerships with The LYCRA Company and Deakin University’s Recycling and Clean Energy Commercialisation Hub, part of the Australian Government’s Trailblazer Universities Program.
Looking ahead, Samsara Eco plans to open a 20,000-tonne commercial nylon plant in Asia by 2028 – the first of a global fleet – positioning Australia as a leader in advanced recycling and circular materials.
“Our Jerrabomberra plant marks a significant milestone in Australia’s advanced manufacturing and circular economy journey,” Riley said. “Our technology supports Australia’s net-zero targets while driving economic growth and resilience. For packaging, it represents the beginning of a new era where no pack is destined for landfill, but instead has an infinite afterlife in a closed-loop system.”
Samsara Eco launched in 2021 in partnership with the Australian National University (ANU), and with backing from Main Sequence and the Woolworths Group. It has raised over AUD $150M from its growing supporters including Temasek, Breakthrough VIC, Greycroft, DCVC, CEFC, lululemon, Hitachi Ventures, Titanium Ventures and Wollemi. In 2024, Samsara Eco created apparel with lululemon, including the world’s first enzymatically recycled nylon 6,6 product. In 2025, it was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies.
