Green tie-ups: Invista/Epoch Biodesign to commercialise enzymatic PA6,6 recycling; Polystyrene Alliance/R3vira to expand PS recycling in Mexico

Nylon/PP supplier Invista and Epoch Biodesign, innovator of enzymatic plastic recycling technology, have signed an MoU aimed at advancing the development of post-consumer recycled nylon 6,6.

The collaboration will combine Epoch’s AI-engineered recycling enzymes with Invista’s polymerisation expertise and global footprint. The end goal is to produce customer-validated, virgin-quality nylon 6,6 at commercial scale. Nylon 6,6 is a critical material across apparel, automotive, and industrial applications, but scaling recycled solutions that meet customer demands is a major industry challenge.

“When your recycling technology is chosen from a global set of options by a company whose heritage is directly linked to the invention of nylon 6,6, it is clearly a defining moment,” said Epoch Biodesign CEO Jacob Nathan. “We are excited to increase momentum towards our goal of global deployment; this is a clear message that one of the largest producers of nylon 6,6 believes in our technology and the need for effective, enzymatic recycling at commercial scale. Working with Invista will accelerate real change in the materials supply chain, advancing the industry beyond existing recycling approaches, transforming waste into virgin-equivalent products.”

The MoU represents the beginning of a structured collaboration between the two companies. Technical assessment and polymer qualification are already underway and will be followed by application performance testing.

In other news, Polystyrene Recycling Alliance (PSRA), a North American coalition advancing scalable polystyrene (PS) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) recycling solutions, has announced a collaboration with R3vira, a Mexico City-based organisation committed to community-driven PS recovery across Latin America’s largest metropolitan area.

The collaboration supports PSRA’s broader mission to enable a more robust circular economy for PS across North America. By investing in proven collection and processing systems, the initiative demonstrates how polystyrene can be recovered, recycled, and reused when infrastructure and end markets are in place.

The partnership will enable R3vira to double the collection capacity of its “peque-ruta” (micro-route) system, from 12 to 24 active pathways, increasing recovery and recycling of high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) and EPS by 2026.

PSRA’s investment will specifically support critical infrastructure enhancements, including densification equipment, expanded warehouse facilities, and workforce development across all 16 boroughs of Mexico City, the largest city in North America.

Through R3vira’s established partnership with Resirene, recovered materials will undergo complete closed-loop processing to produce FDA-approved recycled polystyrene resin for direct reintegration into new packaging applications.

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