Polymateria: UK startup develops world’s first biodegradable and recyclable plastic

 

Polymateria, a startup based at Imperial’s White City Campus, has created plastic cling film that breaks down within a year and can also be recycled.

Plastic pollution is still a huge problem globally and is one of the fastest-growing environmental issues ever mounted. Single-use plastic addictions are everywhere,  in which 91% of plastic is never recycled or repurposed. On the other hand, most biodegradable or compostable plastics cannot be recycled, limiting their environmental benefit, and many do not break down outside of industrial composting facilities meaning that they remain a threat to marine life.

A UK based technology startup, Polymateria, has developed a ground-breaking innovation that aims to tackle global plastic pollution. The company has come up with an innovative “biotransformation” technology  that alters the properties of plastic to make it biodegradable, Polymateria has created plastic cling film (plastic wrap) that breaks down within a year and can also be recycled.

The startup, based at Imperial College, London, claims to be the first company in the world to offer such a fully biodegradable solution without creating micro plastics that can harm the natural environment or interfere with recycling streams at scale. The next-gen sustainable technology is the first of its kind.

The company has also developed rigid plastic material for products such as takeaway containers, disposable cups and other packaging which also breaks down in the natural environment in less than a year and is in the final phases of testing for recyclability.

The company’s biodegradable products are labelled with a ‘recycle by’ date, to show consumers the timeframe to dispose of them responsibly before they start breaking down.

Prince Charles visiting Polymateria Labs (Credit: Polymateria)

The additives help break down plastic polymers and turn the plastic into a wax that’s fully digested by microbes like natural bacteria and fungi. These can also be used to create a thin plastic film used for food storage or more rigid materials to make cups or drink pouches.

The ISO-accredited Impact Solutions (UK plastics experts)had conducted independent recyclability testing. Polymateria’s polyethylene film is the first to be independently proven both truly biodegradable in the natural environment and recyclable.

According to Niall Dunne, CEO of Polymateria, the plastic breaks down in as little as 226 days for polyethene-based products, and 336 days for polypropylene ones, leaving no microplastics behind.

“For too long, it has been assumed that biodegradable material cannot also be recycled. Our technology is changing perceptions. Products containing our technology should be recycled as a matter of priority, but any items escaping the system will return to nature at the right time without causing any harm,” he tells the Imperial College, London.

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Verified by the British Standard Institution (BSI), this technology is now being adopted by several international brands across the world including in India.

According to Polymateria’s website, following 18-months of detailed testing and validation work, leading Indian brands including Godrej will be using its technology to make a range of biodegradable plastic packaging applications.

The company writes on its website,

"We are the only technology with evidence in PP and PE product applications reaching full biodegradation, leaving behind zero MICROPLASTICS and no eco-toxicity issues to the environment. We have all the corresponding data points to prove our claims."

“It can either be recycled or breaks down on its own in only 226 days. If recycled, it can be turned into other products like pallets or flowerpots. If left alone, it withers into a harmless wax or sludge.”

Recently, the startup also struck a deal with a supplier to 7-Eleven stores, South Plastic Industry Co, in Taiwan and also inked a deal of up to $100 million to license its technology to Formosa Plastics Corp, one of the world’s largest petrochemical manufacturers . 

Polymateria’s plastic is based on the same structure as conventional polyethylene. However, it has been chemically and biologically altered to disintegrate and leave no microplastics behind. The alteration involves adding a substance that starts a chemical reaction after a certain amount, causing the crystalline plastic structure to break down.

Most biodegradable or compostable plastic, including bioplastics made from sugars from corn starch or ethanol, is not suitable for conventional recycling because it does not break down in the same way as plastic does.

But Polymateria’s biodegradable polyethylene plastic has now passed independent tests clearing it to be recycled into products like flower pots or pallets.

Sources:
Polymateria.com
Imperial College London
The Guardian
Bloomberg Green