Polymateria has developed a method which allows a cost-effective route to producing plastic products which are 100% biodegradable, while releasing zero toxins in decomposition. This project has been supported by Imperial College London with the eye to end plastic pollution globally. The first stage to enabling plastic to biodegrade involves using prodegradant additives in production, which support a predetermined shelf-life. This is combined with oxidising small parts of the polymer, and so weakening it in the initial stages of plastic production. By this process, plastic is converted back to its basic compounds of carbon dioxide, water and biomass after six months.
Is the future of plastic biodegradable?
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- Topic: Climate change
- Other Tags: ManufacturingOcean WastePlasticsWaste