A London science-led company, based at Imperial College London's White City campus, that develops plastic which can be recycled and also biodegrades if it escapes into nature.
Polymateria is a British company that changes how plastic behaves at the end of its life. It has developed a technology it calls Biotransformation, a formula added to everyday plastic at the point of manufacture. The plastic works normally and can be recycled while it is in use, but if it leaks into the environment it is designed to break down fully and be digested by microbes, leaving no harmful leftovers. The company says it has been tested on plastic films, such as cling film, and on rigid containers, and it has worked on a plastic for disposable drinks cups.
The company was founded in 2015 and spent its early years on research and development. It was the first business to join Imperial College London's White City Incubator, and it later moved into its own space at the college's Translation and Innovation Hub on the White City campus in west London. Chief executive Niall Dunne has said: "For too long, it has been assumed that biodegradable material cannot also be recycled." The company's own pages describe a focus on creating a new standard in biodegradable plastics to reduce plastic pollution, but we did not find a longer formal mission statement, so we have not invented one. It cites an estimate that almost 80% of all plastic ever made has ended up in landfill or the natural environment.
Polymateria is based in London, in the I-HUB building on Imperial's White City campus. Its lab tests report that, in real-world conditions, its treated polyethylene films biotransform within 226 days and rigid polypropylene containers within 336 days, according to independent testing described in the college's news story. Products made with the technology carry a "recycle by" date, so that shoppers are encouraged to recycle them in the UK system before the plastic starts to degrade, and the plastic can be recycled into items such as flowerpots or pallets. One fashion brand, Pour les Femmes, announced that it would use the plastic for deliveries to customers and shops.
The company's pages say its scientists include polymer scientists, chemists and biologists, and that Marc Bolland, a former chief executive of Marks and Spencer and Morrisons, serves as chair. It develops its technology jointly with Imperial College London. The page links to a "Life at Polymateria" section, but we could not read it, so we cannot say much about day-to-day culture. A small science company like this is likely to feel close-knit and research-driven, though that is our inference rather than something the company says.
People in a company like this include laboratory scientists who test how plastics break down, polymer chemists, microbiologists, process and packaging engineers who work with manufacturers, and commercial, finance and communications staff who explain the technology to retailers and brands. Chemistry, biology, materials science and engineering are the obvious starting subjects. Check the company's own website for current roles and for how its business has developed since the sources we read.
Website: www.polymateria.com
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