ECHA update

SYMPHONY ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES PLC

("Symphony", the "Company" or "the Group")

Market Update

EU ABANDONS SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION INTO OXO-PLASTICS

Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc (AIM: SYM), a global specialist in products and technologies that "make plastic smarter" is pleased to advise, further to its statement on 15 March 2019, that the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has been instructed by the European Commission to close the oxo-degradable plastics restriction process which commenced in December 2017 because the Commission thought that those plastics created microplastics. This still leaves the EU Single-use Plastics Directive in draft, but it is now clear that there is no scientific dossier published by ECHA to support any restriction on such plastics in Europe.

Michael Laurier, Symphony's CEO said "Microplastics are created by the disintegration of ordinary plastics, and they are very persistent. 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's d2w oxo-biodegradable technology is used all over the world and has been proved to properly biodegrade, to be recyclable, and to have a proven environmental benefit.   The technology has been made mandatory in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Pakistan after extensive due diligence, and their example is being followed by other countries.

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NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Symphony Environmental Technologies plc

Symphony was founded in 1995 and was admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 2001. The company 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 a similar way to 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. The science of oxo-biodegradation has recently been reviewed by a former judge of the High Court in England.  See http://www.biodeg.org/2018/11/06/uk-judge-find-the-case-for-oxo-biodegradable-plastic-proven/ 

Symphony licences the manufacture of its products in Europe, Asia, and the USA. 

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 toothbrushes, and are developing a range of other d2p finished products for retail sale.

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, and Symphony's d2t tagging and tracer technology is 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 itself is accredited to ISO9001 and ISO14001.

Symphony is a member of The Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association (OPA) and 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). D2w has been awarded an Eco-label by the Brazilian Standards Authority.

Further information on the Symphony Group can be found at www.symphonyenvironmental.com and twitter @SymphonyEnv See also Symphony on Instagram. A Symphony App is available for downloading to smartphones.  For oxo-biodegradable plastic generally see the OPA website at www.biodeg.org