Symphony Env. Regulatory News (SYM)

SYMPHONY ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES plc

("Symphony")

Four major advances for d2w oxo-biodegradable plastic

Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc is delighted to announce today four major industry developments.

Symphony's CEO, Michael Laurier commented "Public pressure to ban plastic is driven by the fact that plastic litter can last for hundreds of years in the environment. It is now clear that there is no need to ban plastic - just use d2w oxo-biodegradable technology to control the life of the plastic at little or no extra cost. It can still be re-used and recycled during its service-life, and can be safely incinerated and landfilled.

In view of these four important developments the supermarkets and other commercial end-users can now move forward with confidence to adopt d2w technology for all their short-life plastic products made from polyethylene, polypropylene or polystyrene."

BRITISH STANDARD 8472

On 20th June 2011 the British Standards Institution ("BSI") published BS8472, which provides tests for biodegradation in soil and simulates the real-world behaviour of plastic products which get into the environment and cannot realistically be collected.

This is the first and only Standard in Europe for biodegradability of plastic litter in the environment - a major breakthrough for d2w oxo-biodegradable plastics in Europe and around the world. BS8472 is the result of more than five years work in the Committees of BSI, in which Symphony played a leading role.

Until now, the only Standard in Europe by which biodegradable plastics could be tested was EN13432 - for plastics which biodegrade in the special conditions found in industrial composting, but compostable plastic can obviously not address the problem of plastic litter as it must first be collected.

Much confusion had been caused by allegations that a plastic could not be described as biodegradable unless it complied with EN13432 or its equivalents (American Standard D6400, Australian 4736 and the corresponding ISO Standards). This confusion is now at an end.

EU COMMISSION

For the first time the EU commission have expressly recognised the problem of plastic litter in the environment, which d2w is designed to address. In their Consultation Document on Plastics Bags the Commission said:  

"Plastic carrier bags are packaging products with a short lifespan that due to their low weight and small size, can easily escape the waste management flows and be conveyed to the sea by rain, drains and rivers. Once in the environment, plastic bags can last for hundreds of years. Because they last so long, every year the number of plastic bags in the litter stream increases. "

The Commission also said "In the current practice, a packaging product is acknowledged to be biodegradable if it biodegrades in industrial composting facilities in controlled conditions. However, a product that is compostable in an industrial facility will not necessarily biodegrade in natural conditions in the environment."

The Commission made the important point that "Advertising a packaging product as biodegradable when in fact it will not biodegrade in natural conditions can be misleading for the consumer and can contribute to the proliferation of littering of products that will persist in the environment." Symphony therefore expects that suppliers of compostable plastic will stop describing their product as "biodegradable."

The Commission also said "The current legislative provisions do not allow for a clear distinction between biodegradability and compostability" - highlighting the need for a Standard for oxo-biodegradable plastic, which has now been published as BS8472.

UK ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

In February 2011 the UK Environment Agency published a Life-Cycle Assessment which showed that oxo-biodegradable bags have a better LCA than paper or compostable plastic bags.

BRITISH PLASTICS FEDERATION

In April 2011 the British Plastics Federation submitted to the UK Government (DEFRA) a scientific dossier which proves the biodegradability, non eco-toxicity, and recyclability of oxo-biodegradable plastics.

-ENDS-

For further information, please contact:

Symphony

Michael Laurier, CEO Tel: 020 8207 5900

Ian Bristow, FD

Seymour Pierce

Stewart Dickson / Freddy Crossley (Corporate Finance) Tel: 020 7107 8000

Katie Ratner / Jacqui Briscoe (Corporate Broking)

Bishopsgate Communications

Nick Rome Tel: 020 7562 3350

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Symphony Environmental Technologies plc

SYMPHONY ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES PLC is a specialist in controlled-life plastic technology and products - a system that works by a process called oxo-biodegradation. The technology is branded d2w® and appears as a droplet logo on many thousands of tonnes of plastic packaging and other plastic products. 

Symphony's d2w® technology turns plastic at the end of its service-life into a material with a completely different molecular structure. At that stage it is no longer a plastic and can be bioassimilated in the open environment in the same way as a leaf.

For a video of d2w® plastic degrading see http://degradable.net/play-videos/4

Symphony has a diverse and growing customer-base and has established itself successfully as an international business with 67 distributors around the world. Products made with d2w® plastic technology can now be found in more than 90 countries and in many different product applications. Symphony is a member of The British Plastics Federation (BPF), the Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association (www.biodeg.org), and the Society for the Chemical Industry (UK). Symphony is also a member of the European Organisation for Packaging & the Environment (Europen), the Pacific Basin Environmental Council, and the British Brands Group. Symphony actively participates in the Committee work of the British Standards Institute (BSI), the American Standards Organisation (ASTM), the European Standards Organisation (CEN), and the International Standards Organisation (ISO).

Symphony also supplies d2p anti-microbial technology that can be used in most types of plastic products to help protect against infection, and has developed d2Detector, a handheld device which analyses plastics and detects counterfeit products. Symphony is also developing innovative and cost-effective waste-to-value technology to convert scrap tyres and other waste-streams into valuable products.