The Big Interview

The Big Interview: ‘There is no silver bullet to solving plastic pollution. But there is a potential for real change’ – Niall Dunne of Polymateria

If the chief executive of Polymateria has his way, his company – which makes fully biodegradable plastics that break down in under a year – will be instrumental in reducing industrial pollution in the planet’s oceans. But not everyone wants him to succeed

Niall Dunne, chief executive, Polymateria: ‘We want to have the same type of ripple effect on the sector as Tesla has had on automotives.’ Picture: Bryan Meade

It could be the ultimate conjuring trick: making plastic disappear. Not into landfill sites where it can take hundreds of years to decompose, but in mere weeks or months by making it fully biodegradable. The person trying to pull off this stunning feat is Niall Dunne, chief executive of Polymateria.

Looking like the sixth member of Radiohead, the 47-year-old former Belvedere College boy bounds into the Merrion Hotel in Dublin, dressed in a leather jacket, ...