Every year, 90 million pieces of plastic waste end up in UK landfills alone, and 14 million tonnes enter the global ocean. This project tackles the core reason industries cannot switch to biodegradable plastics: cost and scale. Existing biodegradable polymers are too expensive and produced in volumes too small to meet market demand. E.V.A Biosystems has developed a synthetic biological additive that can be embedded into conventional plastics during manufacturing. The additive lies dormant during the product’s useful life but activates to break down the plastic only when it enters a specific environment, such as seawater or a landfill. This approach keeps the durability and low cost of traditional plastics while adding triggered degradability. The BIOME project will adapt this additive for high-throughput injection moulding, the manufacturing method used for billions of plastic items worldwide. Researchers will also analyse the degradation by-products to confirm that no harmful microplastics form. If successful, the technology could allow major packaging companies—already expressing interest—to switch to degradable plastics without redesigning their factories or raising costs for consumers. This would directly reduce the plastic waste burden on UK landfills and marine environments while strengthening Scotland’s bioeconomy.
View original technical description
Plastic pollution poses a global challenge, with around 14 million tonnes entering the ocean and 90 million pieces of plastic waste reaching UK landfills each year. Although biodegradable polymers exist, they remain prohibitively expensive and are not produced at scales sufficient to meet market demands. As a result, industries reliant on large volumes of plastic find it nearly impossible to transition away from traditional materials. By combining industrial biotechnology with large-scale manufacturing, it is possible to create synthetic biological additives that can be embedded into plastics, lie dormant, and then selectively break down the material only once it enters specific environments, such as seawater or landfill. This strategy offers a cost-effective, scalable solution to curbing the environmental impact of current plastics, all while preserving the benefits that make plastic so essential in our modern world. E.V.A Biosystems is pioneering the development of biological additives to meet this need, and their recent achievements have garnered significant attention across both industry and public spheres. Their breakthrough technology has been highlighted in a variety of media outlets - from specialised industry publications like Packaging News and FoodBev Media to more general-interest platforms such as Insider and The Sunday Express. Major corporations have also expressed direct interest in incorporating E.V.A's technology into their packaging, creating a substantial opportunity to bolster Scotland's bioeconomy and combat plastic pollution simultaneously. Before this technology can be commercialised, it must be adapted to industrial manufacturing methods, and data must be gathered on its degradation products and potential microplastic formation. This project - Bioplastic Injection-Moulding Optimisation and Microplastic Evaluation (BIOME) - led by E.V.A in collaboration with National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) builds on previous advancements in selectively-degradable plastics. BIOME will optimise the use of these materials in high-throughput manufacturing processes such as injection moulding, fine-tune their controlled degradation in response to environmental triggers, and thoroughly analyse the resulting by-products. This work will ensure that this transformative technology is ready for large-scale, environmentally responsible deployment, and pave the way for future commercialisation within Scotland.
Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.
Is something wrong? Let us know