Smart Plastic Technologies Secures Issued U.S. Patent for SPTek ECLIPSE® Bio-Assimilation Technology

U.S. Patent No. 12,668,672 includes issued claims directed to specific SPTek ECLIPSE® master batch formulations, moving Smart Plastic from patent-pending to patent-protected.

CHICAGO, July 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Smart Plastic Technologies LLC, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent No. 12,668,672 B2, "Bio-Assimilation Master Batch Composition, Processes for Producing Polymeric Bio-Assimilating Material Therefrom, and Products Produced Therefrom." The issued claims are directed to specific SPTek ECLIPSE® master batch formulations for polyolefin applications, including formulations designed for approximately 18-month and 24-month functional-life use cases. The patent marks an important transition from patent-pending to issued-patent status for Smart Plastic's SPTek ECLIPSE® technology platform. The newly issued patent is part of a broader Smart Plastic patent portfolio strategy, which includes pending continuation and continuation-in-part applications directed to additional aspects of the SPTek ECLIPSE® technology platform.

For a plastics industry crowded with companies claiming similar end-of-life solutions, an issued U.S. patent provides a concrete, publicly reviewable milestone. The issued claims are directed to specific SPTek ECLIPSE® master batch formulations and were allowed after examination against cited prior art, including references relating to microorganism colonization of plastics and biodegradation testing. Smart Plastic separately supports its performance claims through technical testing, including ASTM D5526 and D6954-based work.

"An issued patent is an important milestone for Smart Plastic and for SPTek ECLIPSE®," said Yaman Peksenar, Director of Science & Technology at Smart Plastic Technologies. "After a multi-year USPTO examination, we now have issued claims to specific master batch chemistries that are central to our SPTek ECLIPSE® platform. Combined with our technical testing program, which is 3rd-party validated, this gives manufacturers and brand owners a clearer basis to evaluate the technology."

Smart Plastic's SPTek ECLIPSE® transforms conventional polyethylene and polypropylene — resin Types 2, 4, and 5 — into materials that, as supported by Smart Plastic's functional testing, promote bio-assimilation at the end of their intended functional life, supporting breakdown into CO₂, water, and biomass rather than fragmenting into microplastics. The newly issued patent's claims cover master batch formulations tuned to specific functional lifespans — from a formulation built on HDPE/LLDPE blends designed for about 18 months of use in flexible packaging, to a polypropylene formulation designed for about 24 months of use in rigid, food-contact applications such as consumer tableware. The issued claims recite a 1% inclusion rate for the approximately 18-month formulation and a 1.5% inclusion rate for the approximately 24-month polypropylene formulation, while Smart Plastic separately evaluates recyclability and food-contact suitability for applicable products.

"Our manufacturing partners ask us the same question in every first meeting: is this real or is it another pending application dressed up as a solution?" said Robin Misir, Vice President of Operations at Smart Plastic Technologies. "Now the answer includes an issued U.S. patent number they can review themselves, alongside Smart Plastic's technical data. That changes the conversation with converters and brand owners who've been sitting on the sidelines waiting for exactly this kind of issued-patent milestone and technical documentation before they commit a production line to SPTek ECLIPSE®."

Smart Plastic is pairing the announcement with a renewed push for the Smart Standard™, the company's proposed end-of-life disposal and labeling framework for bio-assimilating plastics. The company argues that conventional recycling captures only about 9% of plastic waste and that industrial composting requires infrastructure most communities do not have, leaving polyolefin packaging with no realistic end-of-life path today. Smart Plastic is inviting brand owners, converters, and regulators to review the Smart Standard alongside the newly issued patent documentation at changetheplastic.com.

ABOUT SMART PLASTIC TECHNOLOGIES

Smart Plastic Technologies LLC, a certified B Corporation, is based in Wheeling, Illinois. Founded in 2016, the company is revolutionizing the potential of plastic to improve the environment for future generations. Its flagship bio-assimilation technology, SPTek ECLIPSE®, is supported by U.S. Patent No. 12,668,672 and is designed to help selected polyethylene and polypropylene applications undergo bio-assimilation after the article's intended useful life, with the goal of reducing persistent plastic fragments. Smart Plastic's mission is to prevent persistent microplastic pollution in everyday packaging solutions. This represents a key and critical aspect of the company's commitment to plastic lifecycle management. Smart Plastic works with manufacturing partners to evaluate product-specific performance, recyclability, and applicable regulatory requirements. All Smart Plastic technologies are designed to alter the very nature of plastic for the benefit of both people and the planet. Proudly made in the United States, all Smart Plastic products are 100% recyclable pre-activation, FDA compliant, and purposely designed for the circular and regenerative economies. Learn more at www.changetheplastic.com

Media Contact
Chuck Morris, Chief Marketing Officer
Smart Plastic Technologies LLC
[email protected]
(865) 300-5669

SOURCE Smart Plastic Technologies LLC