Pip Catchpole

Pip Catchpole’s PhD was awarded in November 2023. ‘Copolymerisation of cyclic esters by yttrium initiators for increasingly sustainable applications’ reports research into the manufacture of polymers and the shaping of their use by social processes. Some polymers can be ‘returned’ to the life cycle while others cannot cost effectively and hence end up in the environment as micro-plastics. The thesis explores how the business and social contexts across the life cycle might be impacted by different polymers and, conversely, how the same life cycle, when seen as a whole, might direct the creation of new polymers. Hitherto, material scientists have focused on substituting one polymer with another largely on the basis of a polymer’s functional properties at a particular point in its life cycle – such as liquid carriage, as in the case of recyclable coffee cups. They have not looked at polymers from a comprehensive calculation of costs and benefits throughout a full life cycle. Similarly, social scientific investigations have tended to lump the chemistry of disposable containers into one and have not taken differences in polymers seriously. As a result, they have failed to explore the linkage between business and social use and the specifics of plastic materials. Pip is currently a research chemist working in industry.