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Embracing green polymers: a call to eliminate petrochemical plastics in cosmetics
Embracing green polymers: a call to eliminate petrochemical plastics in cosmetics 800 531 Pollution Solutions Online

Renowned biopolymer specialist urges cosmetic companies to embrace sustainable alternatives.

Teysha Technologies, a leading company specialising in the production of biodegradable polymers derived from natural sources, has reiterated its plea to the cosmetics industry, urging them to abandon the use of traditional petroleum-based polymers in their products. This renewed call comes in the wake of an announcement that Teysha’s AggiePol polymer platform has received a Certificate of Biodegradability after successfully passing OECD 310 testing. This breakthrough signifies the availability of a genuinely sustainable plastic substitute for the cosmetics industry.

A report published by the Plastic Soup Foundation in 2022 revealed that 87 percent of products from the top ten cosmetics brands contain microplastics. The foundation also argues that the European Commission’s legislation introduced in 2022 to ban intentionally added microplastics is progressing too slowly and is inadequately comprehensive. The cosmetics industry cites the lack of viable alternatives to microplastics as a significant hurdle impeding the transition to sustainable additives.

In response to these concerns, Teysha Technologies asserts that cosmetic manufacturers must cease using environmentally detrimental plastic additives and microplastics that contribute to the pollution of water bodies and the food chain.

“Polymers play a crucial role in most cosmetic products, from stabilising formulations to prolonging product longevity on the skin,” explains Matthew Stone, the managing director of Teysha Technologies. “However, there is no inherent reason why many of these polymers cannot be sustainable and environmentally friendly. For instance, a single shower with a traditional shower gel containing microplastics can deposit up to 100,000 microbeads into the ocean.”

“These microplastic fragments persist in the environment for hundreds of years, infiltrate the food chain through consumption by animals, and have even been found in human blood samples.”

Teysha Technologies’ AggiePol platform represents a truly sustainable solution for the cosmetics industry. Unlike conventional bioplastics that rely partially on petroleum and do not easily biodegrade in natural conditions, AggiePol has been officially certified as a readily biodegradable material following OECD 310 testing.

“We are currently collaborating with a global cosmetic manufacturer that is exploring the use of our polymer platform to facilitate the transition away from environmentally harmful products,” Stone adds.

The cosmetics industry still heavily relies on conventional polymers as additives, such as those found in moisturising lotions. Although the use of plastic microbeads for exfoliation has been banned in cosmetic products in the UK, microplastics from other sources persist. Fortunately, Teysha is actively addressing the issue of microplastics.

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Funding biopolymer research is better than fracking
Funding biopolymer research is better than fracking 638 425 Pollution Solutions Online

For the first time ever, the Plastic Waste Makers Index has reported that 55 per cent of the world’s plastic waste is produced by just 20 companies. While the report stimulates the necessary ‘name and shame’ conversations, it’s now time for the most influential businesses to take responsibility for driving the climate crisis. Here, Duncan Clark, head of operations at biopolycarbonate research platform Teysha Technologies, discusses how investing in biodegradable polymer alternatives could lead to the termination of single-use plastics for good.

National Geographic estimates that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, spanning from the west coast of North America to Japan, is comprised of 1.8 trillion plastic pieces. If the report by the Plastic Waste Makers Index is to be believed, just 20 companies could be responsible for more than half of this debris.

While oil and gas giants, like ExxonMobil and Sinopec, each produce more than five per cent of single-use plastics, financiers such as Barclays Bank and HSBC are being held accountable for lending more than $3.1 billion each to virgin polymer producers.

If these companies are to take responsibility for their huge plastic waste footprints, they need to start investing in the search for cheaper, durable and truly sustainable alternatives. But how can this be achieved?

Digging for liquid gold

We know that plastic is damaging our environment. So, why do we still produce it? Firstly, it’s durability, malleability and low-cost mean it’s convenient for use in a variety of consumer and industrial products. What’s less considered is its inability to degrade naturally or within a reasonable timeframe without the help of energy-intensive, greenhouse gas-producing industrial catalysts, or without releasing harmful chemical pollutants into the environment.
In fact, every stage in the lifecycle of plastic contributes significantly to the climate crisis. Fracking, for example, leaks thousands of tonnes of harmful gases into the atmosphere every day. National Geographic estimates that 540,000 tonnes of methane per year is produced in the North Texas Barnett Shale region alone, which is the equivalent of 46 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. What’s more, fracking drills often must invasively dig up to 5,000 feet underground using explosive charges to puncture holes in Earth’s shale layer.

Currently, only 14 per cent of oil fracked globally is used to make plastic. But our increased reliance on this material over the next few decades will undeniably increase the need for these destructive activities. Therefore, the solution for these companies is not to dig a little deeper, but rather switch the focus to creating a biodegradable, sustainable polymer with the strength and convenience of traditional plastic.

Financing future research, not fracking

If researchers were given just half of the funding granted by the world’s biggest banks, we’d be a lot further along in the transition to zero-waste plastic.  Despite this, research into developing biodegradable biopolymers is continuing to yield promising results, with companies like Teysha Technologies making landmark breakthroughs in viable plastic substitutes.

Teysha have developed a plug-and-play platform where various modified natural-product monomers, co-monomers and additives can be combined to create versatile, tuneable materials akin to traditional plastic. Because platforms like these use a variety of natural components, everything from strength to thermal stability and degradation rates can be carefully controlled according to the application.

Most petrochemical-derived polycarbonates achieve their versatility through control of molar mass, crystallinity and blending with other potentially toxic petrochemicals. The resulting materials can persist in the environment for more than 450 years, causing irreparable damage to organisms and their ecosystems. By diverting funding away from the production of virgin plastics and towards biodegradable biopolymer production, it may be possible to reverse the climate crisis.

Leading this change should be the companies identified in the Plastic Waste Makers Index report. If each one were to silence their drills and direct their attention to the search for sustainable plastics, a healthier, greener carbon-neutral world may just be possible.

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What is the solution to plastic pollution?
What is the solution to plastic pollution? 1536 727 Pollution Solutions Online

“People and the planet are only as healthy as the ecosystems we depend on.” This is a statement to encourage ecosystem restoration published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). But ecosystem restoration is more than a pathway to achieving climate goals. Here Duncan Clark, head of operations at biopolymer researcher Teysha Technologies, explains how we can take steps in restoring ecosystems by terminating the use of Earth’s biggest polluter, plastic.

The WWF describes plastic pollution as one of the most visible symptoms of the environmental crisis, damaging natural habitats and threatening wildlife. In fact, the Geneva Environment Network estimates that the cumulative production of plastic surpassed eight billion metric tons worldwide in 2020 and is expected to increase in the coming decades.

The images we see in the media of litter-strewn beaches and marine life tangled up in single-use plastic bags are powerful conversation starters, but they don’t represent the entire problem. Plastic is harmful from the point of manufacture and even with more robust recycling policies, the plastic crisis will persist into the future if we can’t source a sustainable alternative.

To understand the extent of this issue, we must dig deeper into how plastic is produced.

Plastic’s ugly truths

Most plastic production requires a core ingredient: crude oil dug deep from the Earth’s crust. The seismic vibrations caused by oil extraction is enough to disrupt some habitats. But when you factor in the threat of oil spills and the infrastructure needed to transport resources in-land, thousands of species have been displaced to accommodate demand for crude oil.
It may not seem much, but five per cent of all global crude oil extracted is used for the manufacturing of plastics. This actually equates to approximately 35m barrels per year.

Plastic production is also extremely energy intensive, consuming 2000 times the amount of energy it takes to treat and distribute tap water. It also generates harmful pollutants that damage the Earth’s atmosphere and leach into our land and water systems.

The carbon emissions from producing plastic are threatening thousands of species who are struggling to adapt to rapidly changing environmental temperatures. National Public Radio (NPR) estimates that carbon emissions from plastic production could amount to 56 gigatons between now and 2050.

Finally, the products made from plastic pose an even bigger threat to our ecosystems. One single-use plastic bottle, whose contents may take minutes to consume, will persist in the environment anywhere from 450 years to several thousand years.

The result is that there are now some 80,000 tonnes of plastic — the equivalent weight of 500 jumbo jets — in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch alone, according to The Ocean Clean Up. Once broken down into microplastic particles, these are consumed by marine life, only to work their way back through the food chain and end up on our plates.

The evidence is clear that plastic is a cause for concern, but it’s convenience cannot be understated. The good news is that there is now a viable alternative that means we can feasibly outlaw traditional plastic for good.

Solving the polymer puzzle

Teysha Technologies has developed a polymer platform using sustainable feedstocks to generate Earth-friendly polycarbonate materials. This plug-and-play system incorporates natural monomers and co-monomers, rather than hydrocarbons from crude oil, formulated from starches or agricultural waste.

A major benefit of this is that the resulting material’s physical, mechanical and chemical properties can be tuned to fit specific applications. Even the polycarbonate’s degradation rates are tuneable. Food packaging, for example, is often disposed of after a single use, so it could be tuned to break down quicker in an environment with sufficient moisture.

A common problem with traditional bioplastics, despite being composed of ‘greener’ materials, is that they still need industrial catalysts and the right microbial conditions to degrade. Most countries simply don’t have the infrastructure to facilitate this.

By considering the impact of each stage in the lifecycle of plastic on ecosystems, we can start to transition from petrochemical-based plastics towards truly natural, harmless materials.

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