Symphony Environmental Tech. PLC
SYMPHONY ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES PLC
("Symphony" or the "Company")
Remarks Delivered at 2018 ECOSOC Partnership Forum at United Nations Headquarters
Bob Wigley, a Non-Executive Director of Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc (AIM: SYM), a global specialist in products and technologies that "make plastic smarter" addressing the 2018 Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Partnership Forum held at the United Nations HQ in New York on 4 April 2018 said that 11 countries, most recently Saudi Arabia have now adopted oxo-biodegradable plastic technology which will help solve the world's plastic pollution problems.
Mr Wigley's remarks included:
"Recently, some governments have moved on from encouraging the recycling and reuse of plastics to reducing the amount of plastic used in the first place, but we all know that it is going to take a very long time to persuade citizens not to use plastic to the extent that they do today.
There is another option, which is removing plastic from the environment. The problem is that more than half of waste plastic ends up in the environment and we are not doing anything about it. That in turn causes the problem in the oceans as well as problems for politicians, because litter is lying around and citizens, understandably get cross about it.
There is a technology available today, called oxo-biodegradation, which has one, utterly unique, characteristic. Plastic is not water absorbent, it is water resistant. Oxo-biodegradation makes plastic water absorbent. When the plastic absorbs water, it basically absorbs organisms, which bio-assimilate that plastic back into the environment as harmless carbon molecules.
Now, for reasons I do not understand, this technology has not been adopted by the majority of governments. There are 11 governments that have now made it law that if you want to manufacture plastic in their country or import plastic to their country you have to incorporate an additive like d2w (i.e. an oxo-biodegradation technology) in it.
Saudi Arabia has some of the world's strictest enforcement systems and is not only the most recent to adopt this law, but they are enforcing it very aggressively. If you want to manufacture plastic in Saudi or if you want to bring plastic into the country, it has to be oxo-biodegradable. They recognise that whilst you can train and educate people to recycle, encourage people through the tax system to use less plastic, but for decades to come there is still going to be a huge amount of plastic in the environment and we are not doing anything effective to get rid of it in a way that takes it back to organic matter.
This technology is available. It works. It is not expensive and does not interrupt the supply chain. Again, if any member state is interested to learn more, we will share the experiences and how you can adopt it and use it in your own member states."
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NOTES TO EDITORS:
Focusing on the theme of "Partnering for Resilient and Inclusive Societies: Contributions of the Private Sector," the Partnership Forum highlighted innovative business practices aimed at promoting inclusion and participation of vulnerable populations. The event also showcased corporate and public/private partnerships focused around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Partnership Forum brought together a large number of high-profile and multi-stakeholder representatives, including from governments, civil society, the private sector, philanthropic organizations, local governments, parliamentarians, the UN system and academia.
About Symphony Environmental Technologies plc
Symphony has developed and continues to develop, controlled-life plastic technology which helps tackle the problem of microplastics by turning ordinary plastic at the end of its service-life into biodegradable materials. It is then no longer a plastic and can be bioassimilated in the open environment in the same way as a leaf. The technology is branded d2w® and appears as a droplet logo on many thousands of tonnes of plastic packaging and other plastic products around the world. In some countries oxo-biodegradable plastic is mandatory.
To view a BBC World Service short film introducing d2w oxo-biodegradable (controlled-life) plastic technology please click on the following links:
From within the UK- http://www.symphonyenvironmental.com/d2w/d2w-brochure-5/
From outside of the UK - http://www.bbc.com/storyworks/the-british-bid/symphony
In addition, Symphony has developed a range of additives, concentrates and master-batches marketed under its d2p® brand, which can be incorporated in a wide variety of plastic and non-plastic products so as to give them protection against many different types of bacteria, fungi, algae, moulds, and insects, and against fire. d2p products also include odour, moisture and ethylene adsorbers as well as other types of food preserving technologies. We have also launched d2p anti-microbial household gloves and are developing a range of other d2p retail finished products.
Symphony has also developed the d2Detector®, a portable device which analyses plastics and detects counterfeit products. This is useful to government officials tasked with enforcing legislation. Symphony's d2t tagging and tracer technology is also available for further security.
Symphony has a diverse and growing customer-base and has established itself as an international business with 74 distributors around the world. Products made with Symphony's plastic technologies are now available in nearly 100 countries and in many different product applications. Symphony is accredited to ISO9001 and ISO14001.
Symphony is a member of The Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association (www.biodeg.org) (OPA), the Society for the Chemical Industry (UK), and the Pacific Basin Environmental Council. 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).
Further information on the Symphony Group can be found at www.symphonyenvironmental.com
