On November 2025, CORDIS released a new episode in its “Make the Connection with EU Science” video series, highlighting the achievements of the EU-funded UPLIFT project. The video presents UPLIFT’s breakthrough in tackling one of Europe’s most pressing environmental challenges — the recycling of complex plastics. Through an innovative biotechnology process, UPLIFT uses bacteria to digest multilayered and blended plastics into their constituent monomers, which are then transformed into new, easier-to-recycle biopolymers. As explained by the project coordinator Cristiano Varrone, the project has successfully demonstrated pilot-scale enzymatic depolymerisation of 25 kg of real plastic waste and produced novel biopolymers in a 1 500-litre reactor. With a patent on chimeric enzymes already secured, the team is now optimising the process to make plastic upcycling and biopolymer production more cost-efficient and sustainable. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/media/video/I-278438