Rheiazymes nominated for Green Alley Award

Rheiazymes from the canton of Zurich has been selected among the Top 20 by the jury of the Green Alley Award. Now in its tenth year, this competition searches for the best methods of avoiding waste and conserving resources, with the aim of supporting the development of a functioning circular economy. The Landbell Group, a German firm that specializes in environmental matters and waste disposal, announced in its role as the competition organizer that it received a total of 330 applications from 29 European countries this year.

In the LinkedIn post that Rheiazymes used to announce its nomination, the start-up asks for support in the Top 20 public vote, which is open until February 19. The start-up that claims the most votes will advance to the grand finale, with the jury responsible for selecting the other five finalists. At the final on April 25 in Berlin, all six finalists will present their business concepts, with the winning team set to bank prize money of 25,000 euros.

Only around 1 percent of all clothing items around the world are recycled - a situation that Rheiazymes is now striving to change. This is mainly due to the fact that, up to now, there has been no practical way of recycling textiles made from mixed fabrics. However, Rheiazymes has developed a method to break down mixed textiles into their components using biological enzymes. For example, polyamide is recovered from swimwear, sportswear and functional underwear.

Rheiazymes calls its flagship project that seeks to establish a circular ecosystem YARN-TO-YARN. In order to bring this “pioneering technology” to market and reach industrial standard, the start-up is working with textiles companies and the Migros Pioneer Fund. ce/mm