Clariant announces new partnership at K Show

Clariant, a well-known chemical company, has announced a partnership with British business, Polymateria.

Clariant wants to help Polymateria bring its new Biotransformation technology to market in South East Asia. The announcement was made during this year’s K Show in Germany.

Polymateria is a British business which claims to be developing a new standard in biodegradable and compostable plastics with its Biotransformation technology. Together, Polymateria and Clariant have decided to focus on South East Asia as this is the main source of “fugitive” plastic globally. Fugitive plastic is the 32% of plastic each year which escapes the circular economy and leaks into the natural environment.

In order for the circular economy to work there is a need for “Good Cycling”. This ensures the materials used are able to return to nature when the technical cycle fails without causing any ecotoxicology issues. Any plastic that is unable to demonstrate this, whether degraded or not, is simply known as “Bad Cycling”.

This concept of “Good Cycling” is behind the development of Polymateria’s Biotransformation technology. The Biotransformation technology ensures return to nature without creating microplastic, makes sure that products don’t begin biodegrading until a pre-programmed timeframe has elapsed, and also allows for recycling to take place.

Niall Dunne, CEO of Polymateria said: “We are delighted to partner with Clariant to bring our Biotransformation technology to market in South East Asia, with the ambition to combine our technology and formulation know-how with their global reach and production capabilities and knowledge of the Masterbatches market.”

Jan Sueltemeyer, global head of innovation and sustainability at Clariant added: “Clariant Masterbatches has a clear strategy towards sustainability, supporting recycling, bioplastics and biodegradation through partnerships. Polymateria provides a missing link for us and we are excited to bring this technology to regions of the world where fugitive plastic is greatest.

“Together we will also support government and standards bodies around the world to accelerate work on a new standard for biodegradability.”