An Australian start-up claims to have cracked the code to infinite recycling after it developed a solvent that allows contaminated plastic to be used repeatedly. This move could potentially boost its revenue by $100m a year.
Paco Industries’ discovery has overcome one of the biggest barriers to the repeated recycling of polyethylene terephthalate plastic (PET), which degrades each time it is reprocessed.
It has caught the attention of food giant Arnott’s and speciality coffee roaster Pablo & Rusty’s, who agreed to use Paco’s technology if it can be delivered at scale.
Paco Industries can produce 1000 tonnes of plastic per year at its base at the University of New South Wales, but the start-up is seeking a larger facility and aims to reach between 20,000 and 30,000 tonnes.