A digestible problem? Nestlé Waters bites into plastic pollution with plastic-devouring enzyme investment

16 Dec 2020 --- Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) is investing in Florida-based startup Timeplast, which has created a patented enzyme-based additive that degrades plastic into wax after use. 

The company says its “revolutionary” technology mimics the natural enzymatic breakdown of plastic but speeds the process from a millennia to a matter of years.

Researchers at Timeplast developed a technique whereby plastics such as PET are pre-heated and combined with a liquid solution that can be programmed to trigger and disintegrate the plastic at a predetermined time. 

Timeplast’s creator and CEO, Maneul Rendon, a former PepsiCo employee, hails the invention as a paradigm shift for industry – from biodegradability to pre-degradation. He claims the technology could solve the ever-endemic problem of ocean pollution.

“I knew a strategic partnership would be critical to develop further a solution that both addresses plastic pollution while maintaining compatibility with the existing recycling system,” says Rendon. 

“With Nestlé Waters’ packaging and recycling expertise, we will continue testing the capabilities of our technology and work toward bringing it to market. This is a stepping stone in our company’s plan to create a world where all plastics are transformed based on their expected use.”

Timeplast uses an additive that can degrade plastics in water naturally.As part of the investment in Timeplast, NWNA will provide financing and additional support to evaluate the technology, combining NWNA’s safety, quality and performance standards for food-grade packaging with Timeplast’s technology. 

The investment has created a limited liability company, TPN Alliance Polymers, based in Florida, US.

Water solubility gold standard 
Rendon says it took over 1200 experiments and five years to complete the research before achieving what he says is the only US patent for the nano-degradation of fossil plastics.

“Biodegradability can no longer be accepted as the standard for green labeling. Water solubility should be the gold standard for product degradation,” he says.

“Timeplast does not require soil bacteria, oxygen or heat to disintegrate. It only needs water. The more biodiversity an ecosystem has, the more water will be present, which means that Timeplast goes away faster when faster is needed.”

By adding a solution to plastics before use, it avoids the need for any recycling process. 

“Our solution uses Abiogenesis principles for the synthesis of liquid artificial enzymes and powerful solvents that, when combined, can break plastic down to a molecular level, essentially turning plastic into a corn-starch or wax-like material.” 

“We specialize in the creation of plastic’s liquid chemical enemies.”

The company says it has the only US patent for nano-degradation of fossil plastics.Using computers, gravimetric scales, probes and tubes, the liquid combination is added when new plastics are being manufactured to break down as much of the plastic’s molecular signature, says the company, without losing the commercial characteristics. 

The final plastic is transformed into new material, technically a copolymer between the host plastic and a depolymerized version of itself, the company says. 

Randen claims the final product also outperforms virgin and recycled plastics on almost every level. 

Plastic-eating bacteria
Timeplast’s technology is similar to a number of ongoing projects currently experimenting with bacteria that can speed the degradation process of plastic naturally. 

Canadian company Breakdown Plastics spoke with PackagingInsights last year about its organic biopolymer BPD, which “Causes an enzymatic reaction that allows microbes to see it as a food source and consume it. When microbes consume something, they only leave behind ‘microbe poop.’” 

A German research team similarly found a bacterium that can break down polyurethane, emitting chemical gases that kill most bacteria. While the company described its discovery as an important step, it warned of the questionable viability of such technology for industry, given the difficulty of applying it to mixed plastic waste. 

Edited

By Louis Gore-Langton