What is Biotransformation, and how is it related to Polymateria?
Polymateria’s revolutionary Biotransformation technology is a new approach to ensuring that plastic escaping refuse streams can fully biodegrade in the natural environment.
Polymateria has been a vital supporter of developing new standards for polymer analysis, eco-toxicity, and biodegradability testing. With a diverse group of technical specialists, including those from Imperial College London, Avient, and BEIS, Polymateria has contributed to creating a framework that meets its rigorous internal criteria.
The outcome of this collaborative effort is establishing a new British standard for biodegradable plastics, BSI PAS 9017. This standard is designed to address a significant gap in the plastic industry, ensuring that claims about the biodegradability of plastic can be independently verified without causing any harm to the environment.
Notably, this standard is the first for calculating the biodegradability of polyolefins, the most naturally littered form of plastic packaging. The standard outlines strict pass/fail criteria for testing the biodegradability of polyolefin plastic in the open environment without generating microplastics or causing any ecotoxicity issues.
This new standard aligns with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, precisely Goal 12 on ensuring sustainable consumption and production and Goal 15 on protecting and restoring terrestrial ecosystems. Moreover, it complements existing ISO guidelines that encourage brands to communicate responsible disposal to consumers and to substantiate green marketing claims.
