At a global level, approximately one third of plastic ends up in nature due to the failure of, and leakage from, waste management systems.

While every effort must be made to reduce plastic use, re-use materials where possible and increase recycling rates, if we leave the problem of unmanaged waste untackled there will be an additional 4 billion tonnes of plastic waste entering our natural environment by 2050. With an estimated 80% of plastics in our oceans originating as unmanaged waste on land, this aspect of the plastic pollution crisis is a major blindspot in global policies to tackle the issue.

In common with antidotes to other major global environmental challenges like climate change, the solutions to plastic pollution are complex and varied with no silver bullets. We will only succeed by working together and combining behaviour change with technological innovation.

The spotlight on plastic pollution has encouraged leading scientists and innovators to focus on developing new solutions. Polymateria’s Biotransformation technology is one such solution beginning to play its role. On account of Polymateria’s contribution to circularity and tackling plastic pollution, we have been recognised as one of the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers 2021. We’re excited to be part of a hundred companies globally set to play a defining role in the future of business and society thanks to their innovation.

By redesigning plastic at the point of manufacture, Polymateria’s technology is uniquely able to transform and biodegrade the most common plastic applications should they become part of the one third of plastic that ends up in the natural environment. Plastic containing our technology gets transformed from a plastic to a wax. The synthetic prebiotic mimic included makes the wax attractive to nature, enabling it to be quickly consumed by bacteria, microbes and fungi. To our knowledge, we are the only company in the world that has proven full biodegradation of thin polyethylene and rigid polypropylene materials in under a year in the open terrestrial environment.

From a technical perspective, at a certain threshold a plastic can transform into a wax. It can be scientifically measured as such and the wax can no longer be used to form the basis of finished plastic products – a key determinant of whether a material is a plastic or not. The ability to transform a plastic into a wax when it enters the open terrestrial environment is unique to Polymateria’s technology. Our technology has been awarded global patents in recognition of its novelty.

There have been other technologies in the past, such as oxo-degradable plastics, which have attempted to biodegrade plastic in the open environment. Unfortunately, due to their simple oxidative chemistry, those technologies ‘simply lead to the fragmentation of the plastic material into micro-fragments or to chemical decomposition’ (EU Single Use Plastics Directive) – more commonly known as microplastics. With the risk of microplastic pollution, these technologies are rightly being restricted in the European Union through the Single-Use Plastics Directive.

Polymateria’s technology can be verified according to a new specification from the British Standards Institution (BSI) called BSI PAS 9017. This standard contains tests to ensure that a plastic has transformed into a wax (i.e. does not create microplastics), does not leave any toxic substances behind and fully biodegrades. The BSI makes clear in its FAQs that this standard is designed for new technologies, not oxo-degradable plastics.

While biodegradation is necessary to halt the build-up of plastics on land and in oceans, it would be better if the material never entered nature in the first place. As a result, our technology is also designed to be recyclable and has been shown to be compatible with recycling systems at scale.

The original vision for the circular economy was for the natural and technical cycles to work in harmony. The technical cycle (i.e. re-use & recycling) keeps materials in circulation for as long as possible, but the natural cycle (i.e. biodegradation) is there to enable any materials escaping the technical cycle to return safely to nature without persisting in the environment or causing any harm.

The evidence base behind Biotransformation is constantly growing as it gets deployed around the world and more research is undertaken into it. Science, evidence, and data are at the heart of everything we do. In March 2021, for example, a peer-reviewed scientific study was published which shows how laboratory testing for the technology is directly correlated to real-world outdoor performance. Keep an eye on our website for more evidence about the uniqueness and effectiveness of our technology as it is published.

In common with all new technologies – from electric cars to social media platforms – governmental bodies had not envisaged them when creating today’s policies. Disruptive technologies like ours don’t necessarily fit neatly into the pre-existing frameworks. We therefore look forward to working closely with policymakers at all levels to explore how our technology can help them achieve our shared goal of tackling plastic pollution.

We invite everyone to join us on this journey and be part of our mission to advance science to help nature deal with plastic pollution.