We engineered how to make plastic. And how to unmake it.
Pabyss is a device designed to dissolve pieces made with Timeplast in a few minutes, whatever lifespan they were programmed for. A lab prototype has been demonstrated, and the waitlist is open.
Programmed to last. Built to end.
Timeplast is programmable. Its water resistance is a dial, not a switch: two levers set the lifespan, the copolymer's molecular weight and the thickness of the part. Some Timeplast pieces may last for months and years. Pabyss is built for the other end: when you're done with a piece, it dissolves it in a few minutes, regardless of the programmed time.
ActiveExtendedPassivePabyssMost companies make plastic. Period.
Since the beginning, we have focused on making the plastic, but also on a way to dispose of it at a societal level. Our engineering goes both ways: how to make it, and how to unmake it. We believe that has been the issue in the industry forever. Plastic was engineered to be indestructible, and the environmental consequences were left for later.
waterflowsmall moleculesThe physics: 70% water, chemically locked
Timeplast is our own proprietary version of polyethenol, a hydrophilic copolymer with a dynamically crosslinked network that locks 70% water into a dry, strong solid. The water is part of the structure, not added after. Dissolution starts only after continuous contact with non-stagnant water for the programmed period; stagnant water makes the material swell, not dissolve. Flowing water gradually lowers the molecular weight to natural levels: ethanol and hydroxyl groups, nothing that can become a microplastic. Speed depends on water flow, temperature and thickness. Pabyss supplies those conditions with heated and flowing water, so a piece dissolves in a few minutes instead of waiting for its programmed time.
IntakeReactorWater linesOutputThe engineering model
Pabyss is based on our upcycling patent, US 11,760,859 B1, "Upcycling Process for Unsorted Waste Stream." The patented process works without sorting plastics by type. Inside Pabyss, the piece goes into a reactor, where heated water arrives through its own lines and keeps flowing over the piece. The material is dissolved and depolymerized layer by layer, in an orderly way, into a wax-like material that can be upcycled.
Model, in four stages:
- 1. Intakethe finished Timeplast piece goes in.
- 2. Reactorthe piece meets heated, flowing water under controlled conditions.
- 3. Water linesheated water flows in continuously, so it never stands still around the piece.
- 4. Outputa wax-like material that can be upcycled.
Related patents: US 10,954,354 B1 (Upcycling Process for Unsorted Waste Stream), Japan 7679104, Europe EP 4229121. Full list on our Science page.
Demonstrated in the lab
The Pabyss lab prototype has been demonstrated. Pabyss is not offered for sale yet. The waitlist is open.
The Plastic AbyssTime someone thought about this
Peer-reviewed studies have found microplastics in human blood, lungs, placenta and brain. So we believe it's time someone thought about this, which is why we bring you the plastic abyss.
Sources: Leslie et al., Environment International, 2022; Jenner et al., Science of the Total Environment, 2022; Ragusa et al., Environment International, 2021; Nihart et al., Nature Medicine, 2025.