The plant is located in Jerrabomberra, New South Wales, Australia. It also houses Samsara Eco’s new headquarters and expanded enzyme production facilities.
Samsara Eco’s enzymatic recycling technology, called EosEco, aims to create a continuous recycling loop for some of the most common types of plastic and synthetic fibres. Powered by its proprietary AI platform, Samsara Eco has developed patented enzymes to depolymerise PET, nylon 66, and most recently nylon 6 at low temperatures. The process can handle a variety of blended fabric and mixed bale feedstocks including poly/cotton and nylon/elastane blends, carpet fibres, zip ties, and airbags.
“The opening of Jerrabomberra is a proud milestone for us and the broader circular economy,” said Paul Riley, CEO and founder of Samsara Eco. “In just four years, we’ve scaled from bench research through to pilot, demonstration, and now our first plant.”
Samsara Eco didn’t disclose the exact capacity of the new plant, but Riley said it has the capacity to produce the ‘equivalent of thousands’ of garments per year.
The new plant will be a test bed for Samsara Eco’s first nylon 66 commercial plant. The company has partnered with KBR to develop the 20,000 tonnes/year plant, slatted to open at an undisclosed location in Asia in 2028.
The recycled fibres produced at Jerrabomberra will feature in upcoming product lines for global brands like lululemon, as well as pilot programs and trials with brands across textiles, automotive, and packaging.
Polyester and nylon are two widely used fibres in textiles, accounting for approximately 60% of the world’s total fibres production.
Nylon 66, also known as polyamide 66, is one of the most commonly used plastics in the textile industry due to its outstanding wear resistance and low frictional properties. Roughly 4 million tonnes are produced yearly.
Polyester is the most widely used fibre worldwide, accounting for around 80% of the synthetic fibre market and equating to over 63 million tonnes made each year.
Textile waste is a major source of pollution, with synthetic textiles in particular being a major source of microplastics pollution. The European Union alone generates 12.6 million tonnes of textile waste per year. However, only 13% of textile waste is currently recycled, and only 1% is recycled fibre-to-fibre. Separate collection of textile waste has been mandatory in Europe since Jan. 1, 2025. By 2030, the European Union intends to require textiles to contain a minimum percentage of recycled fibres.