Symphony pleased with recent EC decision over oxo-degradable plastics
Symphony Environmental Technologies
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16:55 19/04/24
Symphony Environmental Technologies advised on Friday that, further to its statement on 15 March, that the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) had been instructed by the European Commission to close the oxo-degradable plastics restriction process which began in December 2017.
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The AIM-traded firm said the restriction process was initially implemented because the commission believed that those plastics created microplastics.
It said it still left the EU Single-use Plastics Directive in draft, but explained that it was now clear that there was “no scientific dossier” published by ECHA to support any restriction on such plastics in Europe.
“Microplastics are created by the disintegration of ordinary plastics, and they are very persistent,” said Symphony chief executive officer Michael Laurier.
“Oxo-biodegradable plastics like d2w are necessary, because they are for the time being the only way to prevent the accumulation of plastics and microplastics in the open environment.
“They do this by degrading much more quickly than ordinary plastic so that they can then be properly biodegraded and recycled back into nature by bacteria and fungi, and will not accumulate as a problem for future generations.”
Symphony said its ‘d2w’ oxo-biodegradable technology had been proven to be properly biodegrade, recyclable, and to have an environmental benefit.
The technology had been made mandatory in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Pakistan after extensive due diligence, with examples there reportedly being followed by other countries.